After years of releasing catchy electro-disco singles that should've been hits, South Korean-born DJ, producer, and songwriter
Peggy Gou finally crossed over in 2023, when "(It Goes Like) Nanana" went viral, then became a massive worldwide chart smash. Borrowing the curly guitar lick sound from
ATB's early hits, the track is a full-on embrace of late-'90s Euro-dance, with an earworm hook representing an undescribable feeling.
I Hear You, her long-awaited debut full-length, is the type of risk-taking album fans would expect her to make based on her eclectic DJ sets, seemingly encapsulating her musical evolution and influences in ten songs. There's something distinctly reminiscent of '90s dance albums in the way
I Hear You balances obvious singles and festival anthems with downtempo cuts and genre dabblings. Spoken intro "Your Art" incorporates a poem by artist
Olafur Eliasson, who designed the psychoacoustic empathy amp
Gou wears on the album's cover. "Back to One" is the sort of propulsive disco-house floor-filler that has become
Gou's signature, and there are other tracks in this vein on the album, but she tries plenty of different ideas as well. "I Believe in Love Again" features a familiar Korg organ tone used in numerous dance hits, set to a stripped-back drum pattern and featuring falsetto vocals by
Lenny Kravitz in soul crooner mode. Puerto Rican rap star and trans icon
Villano Antillano flows effortlessly over the airy synths and booming hip-hop beats of "All That." "Purple Horizons," another downtempo cut, has acid squiggles percolating through choppy vocal samples and rave pianos. "Seoulsi Peggygou" is a brief, intriguing drum'n'bass diversion with a melody played on the gayageum, a traditional Korean zither. Along with
Gou's crossover hit, the sublime 2021 single "I Go" is wisely included, and the nonsensical, surrealism-inspired "Lobster Telephone" is in line with her excellent early singles. The release concludes with "1=1=11," a trancey instrumental dedicated to dancefloor unity. Overall,
I Hear You is a fun, adventurous record confirming
Peggy Gou's status as one of the more distinctive figures in club music. ~ Paul Simpson
