Music: Hevel Debut Album, our home, and my overstayed welcome
Rising alt-pop artist Hevel leaves a bold mark with a deeply personal and powerful 12-track debut album, our home, and my overstayed welcome.
“I’ve also always wanted a full project for people to remember this period of me by.”
Twenty-two seconds into the album, and you’re hooked. Hevel’s melancholic and fresh vocals over a simple yet melodic guitar instrumental instantly has you focused into what the young creative has put out for the world. As the song proceeds with harmonic vocal layovers and grunge guitar sounds, first track ‘caleb intro’ sets high expectations for the project.
Debut album, our home, and my overstayed welcome, is Hevel’s deeply personal sonic dive into their roots and journey of growing up, maturing, and reflecting on lost innocence and immaturity as a foreigner in the West.
1. You’ve been putting out music since 2020. What made “now” the reason for a debut album, and what does this project mean to you?
“I think the main reason is because I think that I’m finally good enough to put together a cohesive project in terms of sound and theme. I spent a lot of time off after my collaborative project with Sonny Zero just experimenting and trying new stuff, traveling and learning new instruments. I’ve also always wanted a full project for people to remember this period of me by.”
Having already gained attention from genre fans through Y2K-themed pre-album singles like “1004” feat. Jiselle, and bi-lingual pop-funk tracks like “Skin”, Hevel’s long awaited project showcases true talent, creative capability and intense storytelling of the multi genre artist.
2. In songs like “Kids,” “1004,” or “Skin,” we hear a mix of English and Korean. As an artist, what draws you to use both languages in your music, and what do you feel it adds to your storytelling or emotional expression?
“I think it’s fun, it gives me a little edge. It also only makes sense to me that the songs I write reflect my upbringing and life so I think it serves the purpose of accurately telling my story. I’ve always wondered what Korean people think of my music, so a lot of it has small references to culture and what I grew up with.”
The project uniquely blends and accelerates the characteristics of alternative pop, punk pop, grunge rock and much more. Traveling through the themes of Asian diaspora, assimilation, and the struggle of being trapped in a cycle of mistakes, reflection, addiction, nihilism, and the tension between pessimism and optimism, Hevel reflects on their journey of growing up alone in a foreign country and how that experience shaped them.
3. With just one runthrough of the album, it’s clear that every track was crafted with care and attention to detail. That said, are there any standout songs or lyrics you’d like listeners to pay special attention to?
“I think the latter half of the album is me being a lot more vulnerable. Tracks like “ghost of the peninsula”, “frozen river”, “lullaby” are my favorite in the project because I got to say whatever I want. The whole project is jam-packed with fun little moments and to be honest what I really want is people to listen to the project from start to finish. :)”
4. With the successful release of your debut album, what can we expect from you in 2025? Any shows or personal projects we should be aware of?
“I’m really excited to make new material for the next project because that’s always the most fun part. Hopefully if there is demand I am planning to drop a deluxe with a couple extra songs that got dropped from the original tracklist, and that would come out in the latter half of the year. I wanna do more side quests in the time between projects so maybe a short collaboration tape would be something I'm interested in as well. Oh yeah also just focusing on releasing material from the album like merchandise and music videos!” GR8T
Check out our home, and my overstayed welcome in the link below, along with Hevel’s other releases.