The first impression of 'Made in Korea,' the debut single from Widgykeff, is that frontman James Halliday has the perfect voice for this sort of indie-rock. Over the course of the song, he alternates between a very poised, semi-spoken vocal, and an angular, yelpy-edged cry that's the epitome of modern indie.The chorus, again, would slot seamlessly into the modern indie-rock scene, as the guitars break out of the stop-start rhythms that characterise the verses, and hustle the song towards anthemic heights. Even with the help of Halliday's urgent vocals, the chorus doesn't quite reach the status of bona fide indie anthem, but it gets pretty close.
Unfortunately, the rest of 'Made in Korea' lags behind the chorus. Widgykeff are content to pad the rest of the song with the sort of skittering drumbeats and vaguely angular guitars that are pretty standard when it comes to indie music. Beyond that chorus, there's very little to make 'Made in Korea' stand out from the crowd. And things take a turn for the bizarre towards the end, as Widgykeff bring in some funky beats and space-aged synths that really don't fit the rest of the song.
Still, the chorus is so good, you might just find yourself giving 'Made in Korea' a few repeat listens.
