A radiant indie pop daydream, NoSo’s new song “Parasites” is an intimately invigorating rebirth: A celebration of physical and emotional freedom full of passion and stunning weight.
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Stream: “Parasites” – NoSo
It’s your life, take off the drag. The Parasites, removed from your skin, and so lovely, lovely to meet you, again…
If you’ve ever felt uncomfortable in your skin; if you’ve ever felt out of place in your body; if you’ve ever felt like a stranger to yourself, then NoSo’s new single is for you. “So lovely to meet you again… Lovely to be born again,” the artist sings sweetly in a spirit of warmth and wonder, gentle joy and tranquil revelry. A radiant indie pop daydream, NoSo’s “Parasites” is an intimately invigorating rebirth: A celebration of physical and emotional freedom full of passion and stunning weight.
Call out just like a dream
In a white room
if I move too quickly
Ahhhhh
Wheel me around the ramp
sing a lullaby
But I still felt everything
Ahhhhh
Released May 25, 2022 via Partisan Records, “Parasites” arrives this spring as NoSo’s third single of the year. The fourth single taken off their debut album Stay Proud of Me (out July 8, 2022) is a beautiful and breathtaking reintroduction to Abby Hwong, the non-binary Korean-American singer, songwriter, producer, and guitarist behind the NoSo name. Operating in the indie, dream-pop space, NoSo’s music has long been lush and lilting, enveloping and enchanting: 2018’s debut single “Allie” set a firm foundation, but it’s been through more recent songs like the cinematically smoldering “Honey Understand” and the buoyant, glistening pop song “David” that NoSo’s songwriting voice has fully come into view.
“Parasites” is undeniably NoSo’s most vulnerable, visceral, and raw offering to date:
Written in the wake of their recovery from top surgery, the song captures their own spiritual, physical, and emotional rebirth as they get to know their new body, and the alignment of identity that comes with it. Hwong holds little back in the chorus; their voice washes over listeners’ ears in a waterfall of visceral, euphoric release.
It’s your life
take off the drag
The Parasites, removed from your skin
And so lovely, lovely to meet you, again
Lovely to be born again
“I made the instrumental and it sat in my DAW (digital audio workspace) for a long time, but I didn’t know what I wanted to write about,” NoSo tells Atwood Magazine. “I didn’t have any romantic interests or typical gay pining going on, so I felt stuck. I shelved it for months, then had top surgery on Jan 8, 2020, which prohibited me from playing music for six weeks. After I healed, I revisited the song and grappled with what I wanted to say. The instrumental felt dreamy and romantic, but I didn’t want to keep writing romantic songs about other people; I just had a significant procedure that brought repressed memories to the surface, and I needed to express it somehow.”
“I decided to speak to my younger self in ‘Parasites’. The opening verses describe me waking up post surgery (where I was loopy and left alone for a moment, so I sang ‘On My Own’ from Les Miserables), being wheeled to the car, and my earliest childhood memories with gender confusion. Through the song, I assure younger Abby that there’s hope in the future, and to stick around to experience it.”
Stop tracing over men
And their paper skin
But they had my heart and eyes
Ohhhhh
Looking down I’m free
it was worth the wait
stay proud of me
Ahhhhhh
A gentle giant of a song, “Parasites” is a soft anthem of hope and renewal.
NoSo’s latest is also their best yet, showcasing a marriage of heart and soul that shines bright and true. Stream “Parasites,” out now!
It’s your life
take off the drag
The Parasites, removed from your skin
And so lovely, lovely to meet you, again
so lovely to be born again
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:: stream/purchase “Parasites” here ::
Stream: “Parasites” – NoSo
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