In the opening moments of Se So Neon’s first new song of 2021, singer-songwriter So-Yoon Hwang commiserates with her young, world-weary listeners, stuck in the doldrums of lockdown and facing a future that feels empty. She wonders aloud if all this has been for naught: “What will I sing now?” she asks herself. “Too many choruses/Outside feels like a jacket belonging to a past season.” The rasp in her voice slides upwards, peaking as she wrings every note she possibly can from the last phrase of the verse: “Everyone shivers.”

Over the past few years, Se So Neon have positioned themselves as a versatile name in the Korean indie scene, capable of tackling wobbly psych-rock and K-drama OST-ready ballads without skipping a beat. “Jayu” (Korean for “freedom”) imagines the band as a ’90s trio, tapping into the Verve’s Britpop magic while borrowing vocal filtering tricks from modern producers like Oneohtrix Point Never. The result is not a song about hopelessness, nor an indulgent coping fantasy, but a message about embracing respite, wherever you can find it.

For Hwang, comfort comes in the form of the empty night sky; the long days and their myriad troubles might feel relentless, but nightfall too comes without fail. “Let’s chop up the moon and eat up this night,” she sings at the climax, strings swelling around her. “It’s gonna be fine/On this day, I feel free.” For a moment, you might too.