NoSo

When Are You Leaving?, singer/songwriter/producer Baek Hwong’s second LP as NoSo, finds Hwong trading fantasy for reality. Previously, Hwong (they/he) sang about longing for “straight hips” and “simple limbs” in advance of their transition. Their debut Stay Proud of Me was an album-length daydream about what it would be like to fully embrace their trans masc identity, written mostly under quarantine restrictions. They released that record in 2022 to critical acclaim, with praise from NPR’s All Songs Considered, Paste, The Guardian, Notion, a performance at Tiny Desk and much more. But it’s one thing to wistfully yearn for transition, and another to actually do it. So what happens after? What happens when you get what you've always wanted, and it comes with a new set of problems? Even if you do everything in your power to feel more comfortable in your skin, it’s hard to tell who sees you and who doesn’t.

 

When Are You Leaving? Tenderly but directly explores the internal effects of those relationships with a witty, mature lens. The aching from their past work has itself moved into something more thoughtful and measured, showing amore fully-formed, complex Hwong in the process. Originating from Chicago before studying guitar and songwriting at the Thornton School of Music, and now based in Los Angeles, NoSo’s music deals with the alienation that comes at the intersection of his different identities. The stage name of NoSo itself comes from a question he’d get growing up in a largely white neighbourhood (“North or South Korean?”)While he became known in LA for his talent with guitar, he ultimately decided to pursue writing his own deeply personal music. This is as personal as anything else he’s made. He clarifies about the album: “While it’s intense in terms of lyrical content at times, it’s still triumphant, but in a more grounded and realistic way.” The joy doesn’t come from daydreaming, but from tangible, smaller victories like leaving toxic relationships and painful situations. That title, When Are You Leaving? comes from the mental fortitude required to deal with or exit those dynamics altogether. The music gives those small successes the scale they deserve. The albumg listens with spacious arrangements accompanied by the occasional saxophone and strings.