NoSo – Sugar

Korean-American artist NoSo (real name: Baek Hwong, he/they) has unveiled “Sugar”, the lead single from their sophomore album “When Are You Leaving?”, due October 10th via Partisan Records. The announcement marks a significant evolution from their 2022 debut “Stay Proud Of Me”, with NoSo deliberately shifting from fantasy to reality.

“My first album mostly comprised of daydreaming about what my life could be like if I embraced my identity,” Hwong explains. “This record is firmly rooted in reality and details my enlightening and tumultuous experiences head on.” This grounding in lived experience gives “When Are You Leaving?” a particular resonance for “anyone still figuring themselves out”.

“Sugar” exemplifies this maturation, wrapping complex emotional content in deceptively upbeat packaging. The track embraces a nu-disco, ’80s New Wave aesthetic with synths, marimba, and a pulsing tempo that belies the emotional weight of its subject.

Co-produced with Wild Nothing’s Jack Tatum, “Sugar” confronts the difficult dynamics of relationships with volatile individuals. Hwong elaborates: “’Sugar’ is about the delicate dance of interacting with volatile, unwell individuals. It’s a reflection on those experiences, aiming to approach them with sympathy instead of anger. I’ve learned that this is the only way I can move forward—by not feeding those memories and giving them power.”

This approach of processing rather than suppressing difficult experiences extends throughout the largely self-produced album. “When Are You Leaving?” promises to sharpen NoSo’s artistry into something more expansive and intimate, exploring “the subtle, slow-burning victories that come after walking away from what no longer serves you”. The album’s musical landscape spans disco grooves, jagged guitars, and spacious ballads, with Hwong creating rich contrasts—embedding thorny lyrics within shimmering arrangements and delivering quiet moments of self-recognition with storytelling confidence.