"Originally a trio of South Korean guitarists formed to accompany modern reinterpretations of traditional mask dances, Chang Wording Girl have evolved into an electrifying mixture of abstraction and harmony, focusing their energies on a succession of musical projects. Now joined by two vocalists, this is the groups first album to be released beyond the domestic market, and its dramatic noise collages seem decisively divorced from any specific regional or cultural origins.
Including guitar-generated pulses and drones and sudden jumps in volume and intensity, Neon Eon presents an uncompromising sound, a single piece of music that shifts restlessly between moods and arrangements for more than 20 minutes, never settling into anything resembling a comfortable groove, but opting for an episodic series of compressed but intense tableaux.
Amid the processed fuzziness, grit and aural clutter, there are hints at melody, small snippets of twanging guitar, suggestive of a fleeting, ghostlike harmony struggling to be heard. The vocals are deadpan, robotic narratives, competing with the clamour of the group, adding one more layer to this monumental but mutable sound sculpture. With a last volley of noisy, electric siren calls followed by echoing drones, swoops and dives, the music comes to an abrupt halt, suggesting perhaps that the group may well extend themselves further, with only considerations of duration offering any kind of barrier."
Review by Tom Ridge