LEENALCHI

To call LEENALCHI simply "K-pop" would be to obfuscate the wild mix of Korean traditions and Western rock influences this ensemble offers. The Seoul, South Korea-based septet builds on a style of music known as pansori, a highly traditional genre of musical storytelling that involves a vocalist and a drummer. LEENALCHI expands this with little regard for convention, with four vocalists (two male and two female), two bassists, a drummer, and occasional keyboard and synthesizer sounds. The result is highly rhythmic, nervy, and impressionistic with onomatopoeic lyrics. The whole thing recalls an Eastern version of Talking Heads (whose collaborator Brian Eno is an avowed fan, and whose frontman David Byrne's label Luaka Bop released their 2026 EP Here Comes That Crow).