Written by Elijah P. Angelica Ponce aka Jikamarie took the Tiktok world by storm when she released her debut single “Lutang” — a synth-y r&b track that encapsulates our feelings that are in an absent-minded state — where it drew in colossal streaming numbers, a bunch of niche micro celebrities lip syncing to the song, and eventually made her land in a label deal with Warner Music during the last quarter of 2021. The track itself was a smash-hit for its infectious hooks, borderline-fantastical production, and leading synths that make a callback to electropop phases of K-Pop production styles in the mid 2010s. “Lutang” persisted throughout the rest of 2021 and marks a promising career for both Jika and her sibling-slash-executive producer Kenneth, establishing an early Billie-Finneas chemistry later on as she prepares herself in a post-pandemic world in 2022. Several months after the viral rollout of “Lutang” and countless other features across the industry board, it seemed like Jikamarie was about to reach the peak of her career as a singer-songwriter already. Mostly relying on Tiktok snippets and excessive remixes of “Lutang”, the debut single was about to reach its quota and it was high time for Jikamarie to churn out a new single before time runs out. “Kailangan ko ng” is a brand new single released days after the Valentine’s rush. It featured odd Korg-y bass lines, a cinematic chorus, and a weird, out-of-place bridge injected right smack dab in the middle of the single. To prove one’s artistic longevity is a challenge artists struggle shortly after they’ve hit their Smells Like Teen Spirit moment. But to Jikamarie’s benefit, “Kailangan ko ng” still stays true to her earnestness and drive, however, the end result has embodied the literal definition of a half-baked product. Being a one hit wonder surely is a curse, it’s a slump that’s taken for granted by many, and Jikamarie has experienced her first stumble in her latest single; The choruses have overstayed its welcome, a promising subject matter that’s interrupted by an odd choice in tone by the bridge, and a song structure that’s slightly identical from her past two singles — which are “bawi ako sa next life” and “Lutang” respectively. There are a lot more cons that outweigh its pros, to which it doesn’t completely apply to Jikamarie’s detriment entirely and surely “Kailangan ko ng” and its themes was able to conjure up a relatable feeling. But as far as repeated listens are concerned, Jikamarie’s “Kailangan ko ng” fails to be on par with the quality of her previous singles. SUPPORT THE ART & THE ARTIST:
Author: TFL
TRACK REVIEW: SHNTI – Fuck it (im in love again)
Written by Louis Pelingen Even if this year’s Valentine’s day has passed, LIAB Studios‘ SHNTI shows that the declaration of love isn’t limited to that date. Like goodie goodie, this is a reworked version of the same song that was put out on her SoundCloud page a year ago. SHNTI described this as a new era for her music, which I do agree with. This reworked version shows the mixing of the keys and the vocals balanced out as there are now inclusions of bass and violins besides the glossy keys and simple drum beat to add to the melodic foundation and charming feel to the song in courtesy of Calix’s contribution as a producer. SHNTI’s rapping and singing have improved ever since, showing more control, confidence, and charisma that makes her musings of newfound love feel charming and believable. And unlike the Soundcloud version of the song, this version really goes all out with the strings, bass, harmonized vocals, and handclaps that conclude the song where that love becomes more blissful and exciting to grasp. While my nitpick would be the chorus that could’ve been developed a bit further, that’s just minor. It’s a simple, quaint love song that SHNTI breezes through with enough expressive charisma paired with balanced and necessary production choices from Calix that make it so damn charming and blissful. Support the art & the artist:
ALBUM REVIEW: Drive of Daydreams – DRIVE OF DAYDREAMS VOL. 1
Written by Janlor Encarnacion The OPM landscape has a never-ending list of bands singing about love and all its tangents. A band can find success just by sticking to this topic and avoiding any deviation from it. Signed to O/C Records back in 2018, Drive of Daydreams released their debut album – Daydreams Vol. 1 – with a collection of previously released singles and new songs while referencing the past overusing tropes to mixed results. All the songs in the album are your typical OPM songs talking about love and heartbreak that you may have already listened to in the 90’s and 00’s albeit with more modern sounding vocals. That is to say, they bypass the shout-along choruses you’d normally associate with these kinds of songs and deploy a more subdued vocal performance to mixed results. The opening song – Come With Me – is the best song on the album and sets the bar high where the rest of the songs fall short except for one. Taking cues from British bands like Oasis, the song has a great arrangement and is a banger opening track. The succeeding tracks fall short even if they try to pay homage to popular bands in the 90’s: Join the Club in Giliw, Spongecola in K.L.A., Itchyworms in L.D.R., and Silent Sanctuary in Wag Ka Lang Malumbay. But there is a glimmer of hope – Martyr. It shows the bands’ ability to shift from multiple genres and styles with great effect and shows the potential of the band where only glimpses can be seen in the other songs. Paying homage to the past is always a good starting point for any up-and-coming band but it’s always best to make your own mark – especially in the oversaturated space that the band is trying to make a name in. The album shows potential and we can only hope that this experience will help the band and their music grow in the hopes that the band can snap out of their own daydream and make a difference. SUPPORT THE ART & THE ARTIST:
EP REVIEW: neytan – Normal Pop Radio
Written by Elijah P. There’s an unspoken gap in synthetic pop grounded from the bedroom and r&b recorded in lapel mics, and the one way to address the void in between those genres are the acts that bridged it: Men I Trust, Clairo, and just to name a few. Those artists paved the way for DIY musicians to come up with ideas wherein they mix in several musical influences and ultimately come up with a singular, signature sound or movement. It was an itch longing to be scratched for many and yet it’s still missing the oomph everyone was looking to consider. For bedroom pop/r&b neophyte Nathan Ron Del Mundo aka Neytan, it comes across as if that itch has been scratched by his versatility and taste in his first ever EP titled “Normal Pop Radio”. Judging from the EP title alone, it looks and sounds like the 17-year old performer-producer wasn’t trying to duplicate an era that was lost, but rather he finds comfort in the strumming, the vocal twisting, and the mic cupping with additional themes of love, infatuation, and other what have yous that are sonic hallmarks in those respective genres. Tracks like “ALMANDINE” and “Malaysia” – the latter track being a loosie that isn’t on this EP but it exemplifies his knack for choosing appropriate melodies – are examples of hard-hitting and hazy production choices that best suit his vocal range. There are showcases of variety in genre choices but it’s enough to disjoint the EP even further. The filler tracks “SHE’S PRETTY (OUT OF MY LEAGUE)” and “CHICKEN WINGS” are products of soft soul and r&b that are easy on the ears but run on the mill if seated among the sea of songs that are identical structurally. It only makes it more superficially restrained rather than melodically consistent that would brand their identity later on. If anything “Normal Pop Radio” is memorable for, it’s the sheer potential the young up-and-coming musician can pull off sonically. However, his vocal chops could get a little bit of training before he can go full on Rex Orange County while surfing on those dreamy symphonies cascading to the drum machines. Neytan has a lot of work to do in the future, especially when searching for a natural sound to cling on and not rest on the laurels of his Discord contemporaries. Moving beyond one’s influences is one step closer to being a performer of a lifetime. SUPPORT THE ART & THE ARTIST:
EP REVIEW: Shanti Dope – Basic
Written by Elijah P. “Basic” is Shanti Dope’s statement to rap’s mega complex. Right off the bat, he finds it easy to course through 5-tracks showing that he’s the best. The young Caviteño has barely even reached his creative peak. Shanti’s career as a rapper so far has been a mix of triumph and controversy: PDEA tags “Amatz” as a negative influence towards his audiences; Gloc-9 passes the torch shortly after signing a deal with Universal Records; Disney+ adds the aforementioned track in their hit series Falcon and the Winter Soldier; and clearing his name from being affiliated with the notorious Miguelito Malakas. The de facto leader of Young God Recordz first started out from playing at small rooftop bars in Bacoor. Now he has the whole world on his hands. For this EP however, he’s going back to his roots. “Basic” was an assemblage of his cohorts; he givesthe spotlight to his closest family in his own label — minus Pricetagg Official and Hero who have their own respective cliques to handle in the competition. He maximized his resources for this EP, it’s evident comparing this from his previous full-length outing as a rookie back in his self-titled debut release – a project where we witnessed his first stumble as a rapper. It had tracks that expressed his juvenility and impulses, but neither of those subject matter proved a checkmate in the game. In “Basic”, there’s maturity, solid schemes, and a mission. All the tracks were mapped out, Shanti being the master at his element: tracklist feels more compact but packed with punchlines, guest features feel at home, and most importantly, Shanti Dope proves time and time again that he isn’t just a rapper with a double-time flow, he’s more than that. Shanti has a skillset almost no one can match at his age and current status. In the title track “Basic”, he and fellow Cavite partner Mhot go back and forth at a boom bap beat, all the while playing around with different voice pitches by the latter half, which calls for an experimental phase in Shanti’s music. The different voices of Shanti possess a different tone in his arsenal, wherein his untouchable hook writing can go very well together with his affinity for pitching his vocals differently in each track; The best example of this stylistic choice are either tracks like “Tabi” or “Loaded” – the former takes a form of a tamed conscience while the latter describes the life and times of a desperado at the dead of night. “Basic” collects one of Shanti’s best tracks in recent memory. The instrumentals put a good spin to the solo rapper’s career as he continues to push himself further as an individual with a generation behind him and raise the standard of rap altogether. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: dia maté – FANTASY
Written by Louis Pelingen Island Records Philippines‘ Dia Mate lets you into her musings on her newest song, “Fantasy”. Her voice shows her passion and her struggle as she trudges through a relationship that she wants to keep alive despite the vulnerability that is shown in the lyrics. The sparse beats, hazy effects, and somber guitar licks help set the tone of this slow-moving ballad. It’s a song that presents her fantasy towards the relationship that she wants to keep alive, but it’s not exactly fully realized. It can be alluring for the most part, but that fantasy can get smothered as the percussion and hazy effects cover up the gentle guitar passages that provide an intimate layer to the overall tone of the song. The gorgeous pre-chorus transition to a simple yet brittle chorus makes Dia Mate’s yearning sentiments sound slap-dashed and a bit sloppy as a result. But still, Dia Mate carries through the song with her impassioned vocals and lyricism. It’s the production and melodic slip-ups that pull back her fantasy from resonating ever stronger. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: Muri – Lately
Written by Sab Aguirre Releasing “Thunder” and “Tulog na” last year, Muriel Gonzales, also known as Muri, continued to produce nostalgia-driven melodies outside the shadows of The Ransom Collective, of which she is a member as violinist. “Lately” is a heartfelt journey towards self-consciousness, overarching the glee from playful guitar notes and the pulsating rhythm elevates it into a carefree, easy-going song. Unlike “Thunder” which seemed to be a recurring dream of a disheveled, but not completely forgotten life, “Lately” is a reflection of vulnerability in relationships while recognizing the lapses of one’s action. Muri didn’t only showcase her years of experience as a musician but also presented her personal notes to the listener. With the rise of solo projects during quarantine and isolation, more artists exuded their intimate side as they decide on everything they want to put out to the world. “Lately” is an output of processed emotions running through multiple verses and wandering. The layering of multiple instruments throughout the song was well-intended, as her bright-toned voice encapsulates the whole track. It will be difficult to disassociate Muri from her band’s identity, since some listeners might underscore that her thematic tracks lean-to Ransom Collective’s cult-favorite songs. However, from the start, Muri’s releases only proved that it’s her individuality and personal recollection that makes her music truly her own. After various life transitions and appealing releases, any listener of Muri would desire to hear a full-length album that can either set forth to her cohesive sound or present her versatility towards her craft. From its opening and recurring rhythm, through neatly orchestrated violins and warm chord progression, “Lately” is a much-needed whimsical companion to a sun-filled long drive. Support the art & the artist:
ALBUM REVIEW: BURZAGOM – Kontrabida
Written by Red Bartolome To attempt to confine an art project into conventional musical genres is a futile, fruitless effort. I could say that BURZAGOM’s album effortlessly combines dissonant genres such as punk, hip hop, noise, funk, TV/Film scores, and more into something surprisingly cohesive. I could say that the record’s pacing, at times slow and deliberate, at times frenetic and full-bore, mixed with its spoken word vocals, evokes memories of my adolescence listening to the Radioactive Sago Project from my Nokia 5130 while commuting to school. I could say that BURZAGOM’s sound is largely emblematic of a post-internet, post-pandemic venture. I could say that it cleverly borrows and steals from more established songs to create something entirely new. I could say that it is a piece of work that is inimitably anchored around its time of release. I could just say all of this and be done with it– but that would be a disservice to both you, the reader and possible enjoyer of the album, as well as to BURZAGOM’s vision. Grandi Oso, or Simbuyo D. Maunawaan: The grand impulse that cannot be understood. A force in the local music scene as enigmatic as their project the STIGMATICS, they cut through conventions like a Good Knife. Known for a variety of different projects, I honestly have no idea whether to refer to the artist as Grandi Oso or Simbuyo D. Maunawaan. For the sake of brevity and maybe my sanity, let me refer to Simbuyo D. Maunawaan, the vocalist Eric Barabas-Hestas, and BURZAGOM in its entirety simply as “the artist”. The artist crafts an experience that demands deliberate attention. A few weeks prior to even hearing about KONTRABIDA, I received a friend request on facebook from an account named Bur Za Gom. I did not know what to expect. I found myself experiencing chaos, anarchy, and disarray. A flurry of incoherent Facebook posts intermittently flooded my feed. Bur Za Gom shared cryptic images reminiscent of the weird side of the Facebook marketplace and boomer humor. They were somehow surprisingly salient but also stuttered and bewildering at the same time. That account would be banned a short while later. As I listened to the record, I found myself sinking into the same feelings of disorder and general confusion; only this time I had a vague sense of what was actually going on. I felt as if I could get a grasp of what the artist was trying to impart. The so-called “spoken word diatribes” and “mutant Frankenstein sound” reminded me of the metro, of the Philippines, of living here, and everything that that would entail. A sonic assault, not entirely unwelcome, painted feelings of anxiety amidst a bustling crowd. Existential dread flowed and mixed, ironically, into brighter and more hopeful sentiments in tracks like “Tamang Timpla”. The record reminded me of so many things. The record reminded me of how it felt to line up for the MRT. The record reminded me of the times I spent crammed inside a jeep that purportedly fit nine people on each side. The record reminded me of the blinding sunlight that hit my eyes while I walked in the middle of the day. The record reminded me of the wastes and of the wasted in Manila. The record reminded me of revolution. Just as I felt I was about to achieve a revelation, however, the artist made fun of me. “Magduda Ka,” the album’s penultimate track, wraps the entire project once again in a sense of confusion. With an almost schizophrenic fervor, it forces you to question whether or not what you felt was actually the intention. Was that what they wanted to say? Was it just a projection of your own affectations? You doubt your interpretations, and question not only yourself, but every little choice on the record. Why reference the story of GomBurZa? Why release it this close to the election? Why was it only made available on YouTube? I do not like to take things at surface value, but it is inevitable that I inject more and more of myself the more I try to process what I have experienced. The project, as Diane Arbus would describe photographs, is like a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know. At the time of this writing, I am satisfied not knowing everything. I no longer wish to seek meaning where there may be none; hipan mo na ang kandila, gusto ko nang magpahinga. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: Lyn Lapid – I Guess That Was Goodbye
Written by Elijah P. When it comes to dramatic pieces of a piano ballad, there’s a mix of melodrama, regret, and even remorse from the songwriter. There are times of reminiscing and nostalgia found in the subtle parts of its verses and a cathartic release by the chorus. And more often than not, the songwriter asks for closure once the final piano line fades in the distance. For Baltimore-based singer Lyn Lapid, her constant aping on Lorde’s Melodrama proves that the singer-songwriter genre is at a stagnant state. “I Guess That Was Goodbye” is a follow-up to her massive slow jam soul of a single “In My Mind” – one of her many viral tracks that helped skyrocketed her career on platforms like Tiktok – and it’s becoming frustratingly obvious that her unceasing desire of genre-hopping has made her artistry all the more across-the-board. Sometimes going back and forth from her debut to the latest single, it should at least occur to the listener that Lyn acts like an algorithm changing to better suit everyone’s tastes every now and then, with nothing of substance and emotional value to it whatsoever. “I Guess That Was Goodbye” combines dry diaristic writing, anticlimactic structures, unnecessary symphonic leads, and a singer whose skills scream mid-tier all the way back at the recording studio. Link:
EP REVIEW: Ozzga | Polar Lows SPLIT
Written by Janlor Encarnacion As we enter into the third year of this never-ending pandemic, bands have kept their hands busy. Enter two up-and-coming local shoegaze bands with their own version of relentless noise: Ozzga and Polar Lows have broken the deafening silence and released a surprise split EP. Spanning only four songs, it whets the listeners appetite for the potential of what the bands can unleash. The EP starts out with the banger track “Feel You” by Ozzga. Upbeat and hard-hitting, Ozzga dictate the pace with a high tempo track that is not usually heard of in the genre. It also debuts their newest member – Poti – on vocals. Her sweet melodies add a delicate contrast to the distortion of the band. ”Should” is next and is a personal favorite of mine ever since they played it at an Alternatrip show and it finally has a proper recording to do it justice. The back end of the track also features a droning transition – as the band mentioned – to introduce their co-stars in the EP. Polar Lows’ “Paper Street” is a surprise, mainly because of the male vocals and song structure but also shows the versatility of the band members. According to Pablo, the song is his take on a dissociative experience similar to the narrator’s experience in the movie Fight Club. The EP ends with “Ellipsis”, another stellar track from the band. It features the signature vocals of Megumie and the bombastic percussion of Josh, coupled with Pablo’s expertise with fuzz and reverb. Though really short in scale, the EP shows potential from the scarce tracks – leaving fans excited or more robust releases from both bands in the future. This EP is a definite must-listen from two bands that pave the way for shoegaze in the modern era. SUPPORT THE ART & THE ARTIST: https://ozzgaph.bandcamp.com/album/ozzga-polar-lows-split