Sometimes you hear a song, you find a band or singer and you immediately feel like you’ve found your version of home. You’ve found someone who says everything you wish you could and maybe that person is all you wish you were brave enough to be. You find this piece of music, and everything that had been missing is right there. Something clicks, and maybe you were absolutely fine all along. You just needed something like this to pull you through or to essentially, be a mirror. When I first started listening to NoSo a while ago, that’s exactly what happened. Then I saw them live, and my world got flipped and everything clicked. Those feelings have come back around this morning as I listen to the new record, and I absolutely could not love or be more proud of NoSo.

In 2023, NoSo’s debut record came out and it felt like my brain had been rewired. That same feeling happened a year later when I heard jasmine.4.t and it’s smacked me between the eyes again with When Are You Leaving? With just 10 songs, Baek Hwong has yet again created a masterpiece for the ears and heart. It’s a beautiful record, and I honestly didn’t know what to expect going into this. I didn’t know if something so perfect could be done again. I was silly to even have a fragment of doubt. There’s no second record curse or whatever here- far from it. Every single song on this record feels like home. There’s so much vulnerability in Baek’s songwriting, and it is so obvious on this record. They are a sensational songwriter, and it’s the way he truly gets to the core of every emotion possible and makes it beautiful. This record is a thing of beauty- even when touching on difficult themes. It’s everything you could want, and more. The way Baek writes about race, gender, the way the world is- it will break your heart because of the sheer honesty, but we need it. We need to hear it, and the way he does it is sheer poetry.

I’ve played this record about 3 times so far, and with every listen I am finding more and more things to love about Baek as an artist and as a writer. This record was entirely self-produced, and you can feel the grandness in it all. It’s such an open record and you feel there’s a lot of healing within the record. And I think the title alone shows the power in walking away from something or someone that is damaging. The relief you feel from walking away from something or someone that’s harming you can feel daunting but when it clicks, you know it’s the best thing you could have done. It’s also a record that feels like self-growth and becoming the person you knew you could be but still knowing there’s more to do.

Every single song on the record is just a work of art. I couldn’t pick a favourite at all and trust me I’ve been trying to work out which songs speaks to me the post, but I can’t do it. With the debut record, it was so easy. There’s a line on You’re No Man that got me in the gut, “And she’s gloating about being a gold star, you won’t break the spell.”  I don’t want to go into detail, but it absolutely got me. I think it perfectly sums up how Baek can write something so heartbreaking in a way no other could. There’s no one else who could write something so painful in such a careful way. It’s just beautiful. I love the urgency throughout Don’t Hurt Me, I’m Trying. It feels like it could be in a film or something- it’s got a speed chase feel to it.

For me, NoSo’s music is sacred and honestly if I could listen to his music without crying then I’d be fine, ha! The way he can just pull these feelings out in such an effortless manner leaves me in awe. It’s the way he just manages to portray such fragile feelings that make you feel like he’s writing about you or puts you in his position. It’s such a glorious record and it really does feel like the next step from Stay Proud Of Me. If you listen to NoSo’s debut first then go right into When Are You Leaving? you’ll hear the growth in the words, the music, the production and all in between. It is truly a perfect record, and it feels like home.

Baek has such a distinctive voice and it’s a voice that can soothe, and I think everything beautifully comes together on the last song on the record, Let It Die. And I think after playing the record on a loop for the past few hours- this could be my favourite on the record. It has such a big and euphoric feel to it. It feels like letting go, a massive sigh after the damage is done and relief takes over. It’s the perfect way to wrap up such a divine record.

I feel I may not have said enough about the record in the way I wanted, but maybe it’s because I feel the words so personally, I want to try not get too into it. All I know is that if I was a 13/14 year old queer kid listening to this record- I’d feel like it’s going to be okay. As queer adult, I think I’m still trying to find that reassurance, ha! That’s why artists like Baek are SO important and why his words and his experiences need to be told. The record defines survival, escaping and being okay. It isn’t an easy journey but it’s not one you always have to do alone.

When Are You Leaving? is a record to treasure and to love. It’s one of those records that you play for someone and say, “this is everything I cannot say just yet, but it’s all in here.” Like a diary entry I suppose, but deeper and with more care. The honesty and the way the songs just feel like home mean the world. I feel I’ve just made zero sense in all I’ve written so I’ll leave it here. In short, one of the best records of the year. Easily.

Thank you Baek for creating something so open and beautiful.