With sin swims, Korean band Cotoba bares their heart and passions through their intense, sensitive, intimate, and contemplative rock sound. Review.
SIN SWIMS – COTOBA
Their new EP, sin swims, takes on every form Cotoba is willing to share with us. Like water, the record adapts to their moods. Whether stormy or calm, their music remains utterly captivating. It begins with the heart-wrenching syhi. It hits close to the heart as the vivid, saturated textures of the guitars beautifully highlight a clear yet distant vocals. It’s thrilling, anxious, and full of passion. The mood then shifts with ice sea, but not harshly, quite the opposite. Here, the band blends hushed vocals with luminous, emotive guitar work to conjure a melancholy that begins almost shyly, before swelling into something vibrant and empathetic.
With contigo, emotions seem to settle. Everything remains raw, delicate, like the surface of a lake after a storm. The track keeps you waiting for one more drop of rain, one more sung line. Mostly instrumental, it exudes immense tenderness and creates a swelling bubble of calm. It’s the turning point, the EP’s most contemplative moment. Full of magic, it also ties beautifully into the record’s brightest moments.
Then life’s bubbling energy returns. Its excitement, its anxiety, its shifting moods and tenderness all melt together in away home, which begins with whispered vocals before opening up more fully. The layering in this track makes it a must. Finally, sin seems to take root in the chaos that has just unfolded. Through this closing track, Cotoba appears to wonder and understand solitude and mistakes made at the heart of a night that’s both sensual and unsettling. Vocals converge and play with contrast, and so Cotoba brings sin swims to a close. It’s a gripping math-post-rock experience that shifts from dreamlike to grounded in just a few notes. A must-listen!
