The Korean indie pop group Say Sue Me take musical cues from shoegaze's heavy guitars and dream pop's tender melodies while also adding surfy twang and classic '60s chord changes. They began their career with a series of breezy records, but the untimely injury of the band's beloved drummer lent subsequent releases, like 2018's Where We Were Together, a more somber tone. That album brought them worldwide acclaim; 2022's The Last Thing Left, which was made after their ex-bandmate passed, gamely balanced sunny up tempo tracks with dark, heartbroken songs about friendship and loss.

The band formed in 2012 in Busan, South Korea. Bassist Jae Young and guitarist Kim Byungkyu had been friends since fifth grade, and met drummer Kang Semin in high school. The trio played in a number of bands together, and in 2012 they encountered Sumi Choi in a tea shop. They enjoyed Choi's speaking voice so much they invited her to join the band as their lead vocalist. In 2013, the group released their debut album. We've Sobered Up on Korean label Electric Muse, which also put out their follow-up EP Big Summer Night in 2014. Tragically, after suffering a serious accident in 2016, Semin ended up in a semi-comatose state. The band, their label, and fans pulled together to raise over £11,000 to help out with his health care. While Semin continued his recovery, Say Sue Me started to work with British independent label Damnably (Shonen Knife, Wussy), who put out their sophomore EP as a Record Store Day exclusive in 2017. The EP was created in tribute to, and named after, Semin, and his friend Casey McKeever filled in on drums for two new songs, "But I Like You"/"I Just Wanna Dance." They later enlisted Chan Won, who they met on the internet, to fill in on drums while Semin recovered. Later in 2017, Damnably released a self-titled CD that compiled their first album and EP, and a split 7" ("For Some Good Reason") with Japan's punk-rock four-piece Otoboke Beaver. The group went to work recording a new album that balanced indie pop sweetness with dream pop guitars, using 5 songs that were written before Semin's accident and many that were written about their still-recovering friend. Where When We Were Together was released in 2018 by Damnably. The album was highly successful in their home country and was nominated for a numder of awards at the 2019 Korean Music Awards. The took home the prize for Best Modern Rock Album and Song (for the track "Old Town.")

The band toured the world behind the album with drummer Sungwan Lim on board, then in late 2019 were hit with the tragic news that Semin had passed away. That terrible event, along with the global pandemic and the suffering it brought about, heavily informed the band's 2022 album The Last Thing Left. Made with new bassist Jaeyoung Kim, the album consists of songs about loss, fear, and sadness set to assured dream pop. Despite the record's tragic underpinnings, the band saved some space for a glimmer of hope, and even included a bouncy song celebrating the marriage of their label heads with "George & Janice." ~ Bekki Bemrose