Written by Elijah P. Metro Manila hitmakers Lola Amour have changed musically, literally. From shifting band members to constant codeswitching in songwriting here and there, the funky pop outfit are trained to release one single at a time. One hit after the other, the Al James collab “Madali” was almost getting there, which is by the way their most technically robust, while “Fallin” was still riding on the cheese, but “Raining in Manila” is a whole different offering. You have senti-tracks that act as fodder for the label while you have refined genre tracks with pop sensibilities that have successful appeal. This band chose the latter. This is the band that isn’t just compartmentalized with their vocalist Pio Dumayas. There’s no separation anxiety happening nor any solo spotlight, instead, we get to see Lola Amour work like an actual band in their latest single. “Raining in Manila” nearly does not drag as their previous singles years ago. Assuming that their lineup change has anything to do with the sound they’re persistently tweaking, Lola Amour’s hit the jackpot at the seasonal turn that’s lowkey a love letter written for their previous band members who are on the other side of the planet. The band plays with the theme of a cheese-driven weather parochial along with their tasteful selection of keyboard licks, sharp bass lines, and saxophone parts, all hitting the spot. Minus the Dilaws and the Sunkissed Lolas, scene virtuoso Lola Amour and “Raining in Manila” is a step in the direction for the band who are moving to become the biggest pop band heading to the mainstream. Support the art & the artist:
Author: Elijah Timothy Pareno
ALBUM REVIEW: Kenaniah – s/t
Lipa, Batangas’s very own Kenaniah has been hitting it big since the past year with viral Spotify hits such as “Bahala Na”, “Hindi Ikaw” and “Better Now”. O/C Records has consistently kept his schedule busy by playing a bunch of large-scale shows in the past year or so, building networks in the circuit of festivals all around the country. The 18-year old artist ticks all the boxes for sharing the same swagger with the big dogs of mainstream pop rock acts that have a suit, a tie, and a guitar. He is what other “Pogi Rock” zoomers aspire to be: a talent that’s planted by the industry. After years of brewing singles, sharing one video teaser after teaser and one record milestone after the other, Kenny looks and feels like he’s ready for the music world, and so he did it by releasing his debut self-titled album under the label; The result of which was turned upside down. The 9-track album is all duds. No variation, no complimentary sonic palette whatsoever. It’s a slog to listen to, not even your favorite performative rock band that got banned from a festival couldn’t reach the level of disappointment this album has. The self-titled album starts off with “Study First”, gated reverb from the drums greets the listener in ear-grating fashion. “Bahala Na” is followed up right away but the smash single doesn’t go hard enough to justify the outdated sound Kenaniah equipped by the time of the songs being written and recorded. Heck, even mentioning all the songs in this album feels like a waste of a single burning phrase if it was commissioned per word. The album and its songs just scream “not ready”. But we all know that Kenaniah took this sound choice a step further, bringing back the sound of 2016 in zombifying effects and beating the production and writing techniques like a dead horse. This demo quality of an album is an insult to a major label that could afford solid mixing and mastering, wherein the album already feels and sounds like it’s a highschool project: it’s raw and unfinished, nothing left to chew or bite on remarkably. This self-titled debut album would rather put a caveat of “fatigue” because of how drawn out the structures are, making the album almost impossible to distinguish if it was dissected in a “music review” format. If this is what the future of Cueshe or Adie dreamed of seeing, then the word “OPM” might be already doomed by the time they first stepped into the scene. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: RB Slatt – Pahna
Written by Elijah P. RB Slatt is part of the vanguard of young r&b/electronic/rap producers blowing things out of the water with their string of singles and remix that are influenced by several internet genres from the 2020s. Lambasted by the mainstream hip hop community for their looks and execution, RB Slatt could care less about the comments who can’t contribute to the discussion that is their constant envelope-pushing production and approach to rap. Akin to the likes of brakence, underscores an glaive, RB is making a lane of their own effortlessly with Northgang cohorts like LIL JVibe and Eros Rhodes; both of which who are in equal levels of rap skill but not as close to the production circuit bending charm that RB has under his belt. Being a remix of autumn!’s “one way”, the excuse of this lacking of originality only scratches the surface of the “discourse”. The real question that listeners should ask is “Is it any better than the original?” The answer: leaps better than the original, fortunately. Bootlegs can only be bootlegs if it doesn’t surpass the real thing, but this is a special case – “Pahna” easily topples the quality of “one way” for the better. The melodic ambition of RB is tons way more presentable compared to the former’s slacker, mumble rap melodies that could pass off as background music. “Pahna” is the viral hit not one hip-hop listener asked for but it is the bonafide post-lockdown internet hit that everyone needs to hear.
TRCK REVIEW: ASIDE BOONDOCK ft. JustRaw – SOUFSIDE*
Written by Louis Pelingen This up-and-coming hip-hop collective hailing from Argao, Cebu is one to keep a close look on. Turning everybody’s heads this year with “Smoke Naka?” and its boom-bap production, loopy choruses, and slick flows, it’s easy to find yourself vibing to their hazy brand of hip-hop. These attributes lend true once again on “SOUFSIDE*”, JustRaw lending another eclectic boom-bap beat and loopy chorus lines to allow the smoky flows of each member to settle in, delivering their bars like passing a blunt to one another and giving a quick puff out of it. Nyjah’s flow exudes a bouncy swagger; Tunshion’s vocal flips are filled with a hysterical tone; Jeff Tussy’s brings off sober energy to his verse; JM Ence’s flows are brief, delivered with a lax attitude; Massa Michi pulls off dithering syllabic flows in his bars; and JustRaw’s inflections in his verse and chorus are sharp and snappy. “SOUFSIDE*” is an addition to the addicting and hazy vibe that ASIDE BOONDOCK is building up with tight melodies and hypnotic boom-bap production. A smoky trip that the collective is inviting you to join and bounce along to the vibe, with the Odd Future influence used to capture your attention through a loose atmosphere, straightforward lyrical flair, and slippery flows alongside it. While the collective is clearly in the initial stages in terms of sculpting their lyrical and sonic style, their ability to invite the listener to their breezy, smoked-out vibe in the southside is a vibe worth relaxing into. Support the art & the artist:
ALBUM REVIEW: Kelady – BABAE
Written by Louis Pelingen In the first track, “Diaspora,” Kelady’s grandmother emphasizes the connections within the family. The track “We could separate but for me no separation I don’t like… If we separate we are dead already no more.” further imparts that message passed down from grandmother to grandchild. It’s a message that comes applicable to dozens of people and the diasporas that they belong to, embracing the heritages and identities of different cultures. For some, it may take a while to immerse themselves in the heritage of their homeland, but that heritage will always be there with them as they grow older. Never separated, always rooted in their daily lives. For Kelady, she pulls together her debut record BABAE as an ode to the diasporic community that she grew up in, tying it down with varied soundscapes and deliveries. Whether that be an interlocking acoustic cover of Bato Sa Buhangin by Cinderella and Lovers Rock by Sade on ‘Bato Sa Buhangin / Lovers Rock’ floating through Kelady’s graceful singing, embracing her natural brown complexion on ‘Papaya (Remix)’ through a bass-heavy dance beat, embedding kulintang gongs on ‘Funnie’ and ‘Clutch’ within fractured beats and fervent rap flows, and even singing and rapping in Tagalog on multiple songs of the album, it is Kelady’s way to further immerse herself with her Filipino roots. More importantly, the record embraces the close familial bonds with her mother and grandmother, allowing their feminine presence to guide her own feminine spirit in its vulnerable and confident stride. That bond and spirit are always found in the record, encapsulated clearly through the interludes with Kelady’s grandmother vocalizing her brief thoughts and the acoustic songs like ‘Anak (Child of my Heart)’, “Baby Blue,” and ‘Sunrise’ that showcases her mother’s care on her presented through Kelady’s lilting vocals. It extends even further as Kelady embraces that feminine spirit through the processes of love and loss. On one hand, she vocalizes her confidence in “Keh Lah Di” and “Like Me” that’s filled with effortless intonations and bouncy, tropical grooves. But on the other hand, she also vocalizes the focus on healing past the relationship turmoils that open up on songs like “Funnie” and “Kulog” through the soothing acoustics tracks that back end the album, specifically “Babae” and “Sunrise”. In concept, Kelady weaves together these narratives embracing her diasporic identity as a Filipina-American artist and the close bonds she has with her mother and grandmother with a sonic presentation that’s varied and open, allowing Kelady to paint that picture where both themes are heard with care and detail as she leaps towards soul, r&b, and hip-hop. However, in execution, the album ends up cracking on the seams. Filled with ideas that may connect together, but a lot of elements that unfortunately distract from the record’s overall vision. Within the 21 tracks that total the 42-minute runtime of the record, there are a lot of rigid textures, underwhelming melodies, and clumsy performances that hamper a lot of the songs that already run short, to begin with. Songs like “Barkada” and “Kulog” for all of their bombast show those weaknesses upfront, from the thin-sounding synths and drums, dull melodic lines and choruses, and Kelady’s flows and monotone delivery that doesn’t consistently sound as sharp. While the songs that lean on breezy tones are a comfy fit for Kelady’s potent singing given the more developed melodies to boot despite the aforementioned rigid textures, leaning on her upper register tends to be pitchy and lacks the tightness that she’s yet to refine upon as a singer. Overall, BABAE is a project that does involve a lot of care towards the narratives that Kelady wants to pull through, given that this debut LP took 4 years to be made. From some angles, you can see how the message works when she embraces her diasporic identity and familiar feminine presence pulsing through developed melodies and warmer textures that allow Kelady’s voice to calmly wave through. But as much as she expands beyond that, the record unearths its limits and its weaknesses. Flimsy and stiff beats, limp melodies through short song lengths, and Kelady’s low points as a singer and rapper overall flood the peaceful garden of heartwarming odes of her diasporic identity and femininity with vines that could’ve been trimmed away. Despite the low points that hold this record down, Kelady has put her heart and soul into this record, and hopefully, she proceeds with a future project that allows her spirit to truly bloom. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: Toneejay – Parang Magic
Written by Elijah P. Since 2021, solo singer-songwriter Toneejay has gone through different phases: beginning in the trip-hop lockdown apocalypse of a debut concept album Odyssey and a woeful slowcore-folk of Kasama Kita. Now the Pasig-based artist has switched gears in “Parang Magic” – a loosie based on leather jackets, fun green screen shenanigans, and meaty instrumentals that mix either the Phoebe’s “Kyoto” or The Strokes’ “Reptilia.” But neither tracks mentioned are a reboot. Instead, this is Toneejay’s very own world of having fun, and we’re just living in it. In this day and age of making a love song, you need to have faith by your side. That’s already a given, but what lacks most love songs today is a tight instrumental to solidify your sonic strength whilst summoning old habits of lovestruck lyricism. This goes hand in hand with some bands, but Toneejay seemed to make things work with subtly code-switching and driving bass lines along trademark falsettos throughout “Parang Magic”. Coming from solemn pieces of music in past material to upping the tempo in moshpit mode, Toneejay’s temporary departure in sound is a sign of growth; the quieter guitar parts from yesteryear have found its way through the distortion pedal, a slider, and heavy snare drums, sticking the landing evenly with the jolly tone Toneejay embarks after making the sonic leap. Overall, “Parang Magic” works wonders even in its most skeletal parts, the track still works even without the potent instrumental. I guess it works like actual magic. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: Showtime Official Club – 🎀 𝒮𝐻🍩𝒲𝒯𝐼𝑀𝐸 💮𝐹𝐹𝐼𝒞𝐼𝒜𝐿 𝒞𝐿𝒰𝐵 𝑀𝐼𝒳 ᑭᗩᒪIGOY-ᒪIGOY ᖇEᗰI᙭ TIK TOK VIRAL 2023 !! 💕😊
Written by Louis Pelingen In the Philippines, noontime variety shows capture the attention of the general public. For the past few decades, every household looks forward to shows like Eat Bulaga and It’s Showtime for a few hours of joy. These shows have become mainstays in our entertainment consumption, observing different segments featuring games, contests, and acts of kindness that are all too familiar but at the same somehow different from the last. It’s like pulling something out of a box filled with chocolates, not knowing what we will get. With It’s Showtime still going strong for 13 years, no wonder that the fond memories of its past stand strong up to this day. Showtime Official Club, a collective comprised of 6 DJs (DJ MharkTzyOnTheBeatTV, DJ vicegandako143, DJ NASH_AGUAS, DJ fHunny_One1, DJ PusongBato04, and DJ XanderCoins) embraces those memories through their various club dance mixes that have surfaced since last year. It’s a way to not just bond over the moments but also appreciate how much they mean to them, the local communities that they’re a part of, and the dance music that brings life to each worthwhile occasion. This “Paligoy-ligoy” remix is not just a mini-mix between 4 of the DJs or a nice entryway for anyone who’s new to this collective, but it’s also a love letter where each DJ write their musical paragraph on Nadine Lustre’s “Paligoy-ligoy” that serves as the paper for their clingy, impassioned sides. DJ PusongBato04 opens this mini-mix with a shy demeanor, inputting frantic guitar samples that swivel around the pulsing club beat. He musters his courage after that drum break with the pounding beats all the way through, presenting that courage fully exposed for everyone to hear. DJ vicegandako143 follows suit with a subtler grasp of the tones, adding glacial synth pads sparkling around the beat. He prioritizes those subtle details as a build-up for the beat to spark bright like fireworks. DJ NASH_AGUAS keeps his part short yet concise, effectively going all out with explosive drum n bass rhythms. It never slows down as he embraces that confident passion under the 40-second duration of his composition. Then DJ MharkTzyOnTheBeatTV ground things down as he concludes the mini-mix, harking it back to the budots sound with the squawking rhythm and the maximalist synth touches. It emphasizes the love of the things we adored from the past that will be given to someone else, a continuous exchange that will become timeless. This Paligoy-Ligoy remix from Showtime Official Club continues their path of appreciating golden memories that these DJs find clear and enamored in stasis. Accompanying it with a cohesive mini-mix that nevertheless reveals how the 4 DJs involved in the remix compose their paragraphs with their own colorful approach while still allowing that bouncy budots rhythm to thump its heart out. After all, to appreciate something means clinging to that love that you have, never letting go no matter what. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: Japanese Surplus – unceremoniously
Written by Elijah P. Soundcloud in 2023 is rich in material to the point that solo artists are still celebrated to this day, whether it would be a bedroom musician making random notes on a toy piano to the nearest black metal project found in your local barangay. And one of them that shares the local spotlight is up-and-coming singer-songwriter, Japanese Surplus. In their latest track titled “unceremoniously”, there’s a lingering feeling from the fuzzy reception of “lovespring” to the recurrence of themes in the latest track. The artist’s warm voice shines brighter than the lackadaisical guitar chords and beatbox, acting as a hybrid of Aly Cabral’s vocal runs and Jasmine Rodger’s (bôa) melody-making. Albeit the uncommon comparisons, there’s fair treatment of potential waiting to come out at any given time. And Japanese Surplus is one of the writers to watch out for today in the current province-wide crop of singer-songwriters. SUPPORT THE ART & THE ARTIST:
TRACK REVIEW: raccoon eyed ronan – kailan(cover)_05♥01♥23
Written by Louis Pelingen & Elijah P. In the Philippines, the 2000s is a decade filled with early technological booms with the Nokia phones and the internet; y2k fashion smacked on the pop glinting magazines, commercials, and internet forums; the trends that keep the 2000s kids enlightened from the likes of watching anime, playing pogs with their friends outside, or even blowing air in Gameboy cartridges and hoping they work once they’re inserted to the game device. The prominent acoustic folk-pop and pop rock that took its upward swing in the 2000s may find its stems rooted tightly in that decade, but those growing up in that era as I do, may not remember the hits and the classics that folks born in the 90s have more resonance growing up. Perhaps, this is a normal occurrence as not everyone will find themselves immediately enraptured in the standouts that culminated in the decade they’re born in. But with time comes the appreciation of the past as people have their own way of preserving those cultural moments, sampling those songs into new mixes, covering them with a different kind of sonic and stylistic flair, or even just finding more discussions of those old projects in varying forms of internet shareability. There’s nostalgia for causes like promoting a product that evokes the feeling of the past and there’s nostalgia that would act as an open window to potential futures. Fast forward to the now. Through Pikunin sampling Up Dharma Down’s Tadhana spliced into a low-key affectionate Jersey club track, Showtime Official Club’s mixes that intertwine the 2000s & 2010s local mainstream & homespun cuts into new dimensions of colorful dance tracks, and local music pages showcasing Kitchie Nadal on their charts which lead to me listening to other adjacent acts like Imago or Itchyworms. It’s safe to say that even if I may not remember what was going on much with local opm music in the 2000s, it still finds its way decades later for people who missed out to find a different kind of resonance while at the same time broadening possibilities of influence for the next generation to come. To extend further, raccoon eyed ronan appraises and tweaks his own cover of MYMP’s “Kailan.” In MYMP’s original source, you can hear the spare grace of Chin Alcantara’s acoustic guitar and the soothing silk presence of Juris Fernandez. It’s a song filled with a shy push-and-pull, restrained towards the romance at bay, like a slow-burn romantic telenovela premiering in the 2000s. But raccoon eyed ronan is one that never seems to step into that restraint, in fact, he’s willing to at least push a little further but just enough to not break away the quaintness of the song. His crooning voice imbues a solemn tone, stirring the lyrics with a heap of smoke; the instrumentation, limiting itself to echoing feedback, raw guitar recordings, and spare drum machines lend a simmering atmosphere to the song as they shamble apart on the chorus and linger on the back half of the song. It coats the song with a different kind of flair, where instead of the original’s meekness that sticks true to adjacent folk pop cuts of its time, raccoon eyed ronan’s cover is rather melancholic and dreamy. Sticking true to the original’s quaint romantics, but still goes for broke enough to sound bigger. It’s rare to find a cover that makes me reflect upon the faded memories I’ve had in the 2000s, but raccoon eyed ronan’s cover of MYMP’s “Kailan” with his own instrumental twists and sonic shifts just cuts through in a way that I did not expect. It pokes through the overall soft structure that made MYMP’s “Kailan” a standout in its heyday, but raccoon eyed ronan makes sure not to actually break it apart, just chip through the form in brief, but effectively emotive bits. I may have missed the music that ruled the 2000s, but that doesn’t mean there are no opportunities to make me find a new appreciation of that scene. And with this song, it’s a refreshing gem that will make you adore not just the already stunning original, but also the refreshing elements of this cover. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: kyleaux ft. Never Paco – angel
Written by Elijah P. Makati’s prodigies kyleaux and Never Paco rep the 25hearts banner in a hazy collaborative track titled “angel”. After being filtered in webcams and IG love stories, the duo worked on a track that envisions a purple house show with smoke machines and contemporary r&b—dousing in cloudy production and vocal layers that thicken the atmosphere 2 times more than the usual love song. “angel” balances between euphoric tag team verses and helium-like delivery to evoke an effective cloud 9 experience for the listener outside of the typical cloudrap tracks of today. There are more than ounces of potential in every bit of harmonization – and autotune is already out of the question for a catchy track like this. kyleaux kicked off the track like it was a sweet date at a gas station while Never Paco bookended it with ebullient synths fading in the distance. “angel” is a career-making move for both young rappers in the scene and there’s much to discover while the two are beginning to hit it big soon. Support the art & the artist: