Written by Louis Pelingen Constraints can be a demotivator towards an artist’s own journey towards creation, whether that be due to the limitations that they’ve struggled through either the environment that they’re in during a specific point of time, the collaborations with other creatives that need a specific amount of mutual understanding to follow through their output, or the sudden frustrations within one’s own capability as an artist. Because whether reasons that may be, the one thing that an artist wants as they grow older is to let go of the stirring process to create and allow that spontaneous liberties to flow through; allowing them to be at ease in every step of the creative process just to make something that still shows that they still got it. After 2 years of going through creative frustrations himself, Gabba Santiago of Instrumental post-rock and prog-rock band Deb & Gabba (FKA Tom’s Story) takes a different tact towards creating his solo debut album, where his process for collaboration and composition has a lot more free rein that allows for a lot of creative liberties. A kind of tact that treats the making of music more as an expression of Gabba’s own imaginative spirit with a lot of casual, back-and-forth exchanges with his collaborators as well as letting his creative mind do the talking when it’s time for him to make the melodies in this record. Letting spontaneous ideas bubble up rather than leaning into a calculated mode of music-making. It circulates all in ‘Recollections’ being an album that celebrates Gabba’s personal freeing joy in creating music as well as serving as a sonic diaristic journey towards his life experiences. And true to its name, the album does have a lot of blends in terms of tones, dynamics, and textures that lay into Gabba’s technical musicianship and the collaborations that helped along with the project. The Math Rock riffs and pulsating rhythms of ‘Overcurrent’ and ‘Puzzle’ swivel through the post-rock sensibilities, not breaking them apart as the added presence of synthesizers as well as Clara Benin’s vocals on a couple of songs makes a lot of those fiery guitar and drum patterns to be a lot more comforting and loose. The same thing goes for ‘Woodcraft’ with the Saxophone playing by Miguel Jimenez with its calming tone that eventually accompanies the soaring progressions in the latter half of the song, the buzzy synth tones that slide around Bea Lao’s shuffling drum work on ‘Linear’, and the frenetic drum patterns that drive around the low-key atmosphere of ‘Paradigm’. While the record presents a lot of calming soundscapes all throughout the record, Gabba also embraces a lot of progressive rock swerves that allow his joy to be immense in scope. The crashing drums and expressive guitar riffings of ‘Zoomies’ certainly do their work, especially with its brief 2-minute runtime. And the distorted guitar tones that are present on ‘Fury’ and ‘Coastline’ certainly end the record on a high note where the former song imbues the unwinding melodies with an erupting edge, all with crumbling riffs and sneering noise; the latter song sweeps the meditative melodies and mix with the echoing guitars letting out one more emotive charge just before it calms down in the end, the eventual calm after the storm. It certainly has a lot to offer given the amount of tones, collaborations, and textures that are sewn into this record and Gabba certainly had a lot of fun making this in the studio, but there are some issues that can either be distracting or underwhelming. On the former instance, it’s mostly towards the mixing of the record, where a lot of the drum and guitar fidelities can sound haphazard from track to track even if it makes sense due to the composed feel that this record is providing, but it can still be quite the frustration every time it pops up. And on the latter instance, there are certain experimentations on the additions of sound that could’ve been implemented into these songs a lot better, as some of the synth and vocal implementations are there for fleeting texture rather than adding a lot more to the melodies of these songs as well as the fuzzy drum machines that may add a different tone from the organic percussions laced throughout the record but can sound flimsy than it should be. The shorter interludes like ‘Goofy’ and ‘Layout’ don’t do much in the tracklist at all with their repeating motifs that only thin out in the end. ‘Fridge Magnets’, ‘Quiver’, and ‘Interim’ also have their weak spots, where the progressions that settle into that calming atmosphere don’t open up into intriguing transitions or switch-ups alongside texture over melody soundscapes make them sound unremarkable than the others. And then there is ‘Here Now’ where despite the presence of the keys and the electronica that tilt at the end of the song, it’s one of the instances where that lilting presence ends up being a bit more hamfisted as a result. Gabba’s solo debut is an effort that shows a lot of strengths as a result of him finding a freeing process of making music, sharing ideas with his collaborators in a much more casual manner, and letting the music be a celebration and an inspiration for himself and for others as well. It may be a collection of songs that have their high points and low points, though it also pretty much feels like reading through a diary where you’re able to see how that person is going through, joys and frustrations and all. While it is frustrating at a few spots due to the haphazard mix, meager sonic implementation, and bland melodies, to hear Gabba feeling a lot more joyous and explorative within the record through the amount of variety of sounds and styles does shine through a lot. A starting point for sure, “Recollections” is a record that’s led to its highs rather than lows. Support the art & the artist:
Author: Louis Pelingen
ALBUM REVIEW: Noa Mal – The Anatomy Of Emotional Hijacking
Written by Louis Pelingen Starting around 2019 and onwards, no one is putting in the amount of output that Noa Mal has churned out year after year. In other parts of the world, there are a lot of artists like Noa Mal wherein they’re getting a widespread reputation due to how many projects they can consistently release – think King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Viper, and the smattering of obscure electronic, folk, and black metal acts that have that artistic capacity to just brute force their way into a year with 3 or more projects done – looking into the local scene, there is no one like Noa Mal at this current moment. And despite carrying that sort of reputation might be interesting and outstanding to some, that can also be the kind of title that can get frustrating and lead to bigger expectations. Mostly because, with that brand of ‘quantity over quality’ release cycle being stretched over in the consecutive years, the worries surrounding sonic and thematic retreads; lack of surprises in the formula; and meager interest towards improvements across the board will come up more and can lead to going through that kind of discography to be daunting and may end up being less interesting when those boxes are ticked off. Now, after going through Noa Mal’s entire discography, the results can be a mixed blessing. While her brand of lo-fi grunge rock and slowcore comfort zone definitely mesh together easily – her gloomy topicality surrounding relationships and personal angst starts to get extremely thin due to her plain way of writing as well as persistent mixing and mastering issues that doesn’t allow the recordings to blend altogether – there are projects that do show her improving on the composition and production front. ‘Everything Is Science, Baby’ is a good starting point as it best represents Noa Mal’s sound across the board, which you can then follow up on her other 2022 released records like ‘My Corrupted Hard Drive’ that leans on the softer grunge and slowcore cuts and ‘Fear Fiction’ for some synth implementations that she’d eventually explore even further just this year with ‘Suspended Animation’. Going through with her tradition, ‘The Anatomy of Emotional Hijacking’ is her 3rd record that she released this 2023, just after the volume and banger heavy ‘Holy Hour’ and the synthetic drum and synth-inflected ‘Suspended Animation’. It continues to retain Noa Mal’s compositional strengths on the record, from the moody drenched ‘The Actress’ where Noa Mal’s prim vocal lines work well with the wavering guitar licks and percussion beats, the trudging indie rock of ‘Luci’ and ‘Deeply Tinted Glasses’ as the former staggers through due to the quicker flash of melodies alongside these carefree vocal lines and the latter coasts through grungier guitar lines that adds into the smoked out vibe of the track, the sunnier indie rock of ‘Dance For Me, Puppet!’ with the gliding vocal melodies amidst the stable fuzzy drums and brighter guitar lines, and the tempered acoustics of ‘Sepanx ka nanaman’ that brings an open space away from the numbness of the moment. As said before, with her writing surrounding numbing cycles of relationships and personal angst that has gotten stale that doesn’t give her a lot of favors at this point, the writing this time opens up Noa Mal’s writing scope as there are a couple of songs that provide more context towards the relationship that eventually fluctuates before it even started. The universal sorrow of ‘Luci’ that tackles the loss of everything and everyone as well as the social exhaustion of Noa Mal’s generation represented through Luci is an example of this that continues further with ‘Dance for me, Puppet!’ through the puppet metaphors as well as the glancing subtext of familial disappointment on certain tracks like ‘Intro: Hijacked’, ‘My Golden Town’, and ‘Sepanx Ka Nanaman’. These moments do add more to Noa Mal’s dulled-out relationship throughout the record like the tiring cycles of everyone showing her how to love on ‘The Actress’ which eventually colors how the numbness that she feels creates a different tone to the “love songs” of ‘The One Who Really…’ and ‘My Golden Town’. Songs may have this emotionally intimate tone to them, but given the context of social exhaustion from her peers and the personal dullness from all the cycling relationships, it’s now put into darker framing wherein Noa’s numbness has now bordered into irrationality, making the relationship an emotional hijacking that she eventually disposes away on ‘Sepanx Ka Nanaman’ and eventually succumbs to more layers of numbness that makes her feel free at the very end. Despite the strengths that Noa Mal has honed in on this record, the mixing of the record does get a bit uneven, more so the guitars and drums that do peak on the mix. While this issue does permeate on her 1st 2023 record, ‘Holy Hour’, it is at least consistent in terms of how loud it can be that does get compensated with punchy grunge melodies just flooding through and through, while ‘The Anatomy of Emotional Hijacking’ takes those grunge melodies with a sunny like flair that does need more balance on the mix. And despite her writing that does work a lot more in this record, it did stumble on ‘Angel of Romantic Death’ with the plainspoken metaphors that may show Noa Mal’s agency but just ends up being clunky as a result. But overall, ‘The Anatomy of Emotional Hijacking’ might not feel special in Noa Mal’s ever-growing discography at first glance even if the composition still does come off as developed, the writing and emotional throughline on the relationship Noa Mal is presenting here offers a different layer and side of her style and framing thus far. A lot more tangled and is paired with an extra set of context around it that does broaden Noa Mal’s skill as a writer given her plain style of writing hasn’t stuck out much in her past records. It’s very
TRACK REVIEW: FEIFEI – MINATO
Written by Louis Pelingen Back in June of this year, FEIFEI returned back in the scene with a three-track single called ‘YUM’ that included two pluggnb cuts and a Jersey Club remix of one of those songs courtesy of Showtime Official Club’s production. Those cuts, alongside the Jersey Club remix of ‘let her cook’ center a lot towards social media aesthetics on the romance and honing into the bubbling Jersey Club and UK Garage adjacent soundscape that has gotten really active this year, with ‘discord pag-ibig’ hones in on the discord slangs that are used for lovey-dovey interactions and the ‘let her cook’ jersey club remix from Showtime Official Club leaving a mark of interest for FEIFEI on her sound moving forward. Three months later, FEIFEI eventually embraced both the UK Garage dance-pop beat and the colorful internet-laden flirtations on ‘MINATO’, a combination of aesthetics that leads to a ridiculously sticky single put together really well due to the quicker percussions, buzzing and swirling cocoons of synths, and ridiculously catchy melodies from FEIFEI which wiggles around the beat yet still manages to be composed and tuneful all the same. All of those elements paired with the lovey-dovey romance that comes off as colorful and silly due to how it sprinkles a dash of delusion as well as the internet-driven flair on the writing end up overall endearing. Endearing in a way that’s gonna make you cheer for someone to get with their crush while also gently making fun of that person for the harmless delusion they’ve put upon themselves. Not that it is bad to be in those situations, of course, but FEIFEI sure knows how to make it look fun and honest all throughout. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: Denise Julia – NVMD
Written by Elijah P. Denise Julia is part of the Tiktok algorithm renaissance – wherein a surge of ‘sounds’ spread around in different prompts, elevating the song to a different ‘vibe’ throughout its online charting success – or for short, “NVMD” has transcended to becoming more of a disposable brand than it is a bookmark to Julia’s career. From an emotional standpoint, it’s passive at one and “ride or die” at the next. This is Julia’s lyrical prowess not at her fullest. It’s disappointingly average and it remains as if it doesn’t surpass her contemporaries. From its face value, “NVMD” doesn’t force its listeners to do anything or maybe prompt her audiences to receive anything that’s worthwhile. It’s your standard r&b track that barely crosses the point, with no bite and all bark. Denise Julia, like her previous singles, barely brings anything to the table. Her artistry brings less nuance from both lyrical and sonic standpoints. These are generic descriptions through and through, but there’s nothing else to point out how the letter ‘M’ in “NVMD” stands for “Mid”. SUPPORT THE ART & THE ARTIST:
TRACK REVIEW: Svvell. – Woozy
Written by Elijah P. Cagayan De Oro City’s Svvell are fresh off their comeback performances after a two-year-long pandemic-induced hum. For their latest single “Woozy”, it’s nothing too short of the mid-2010’s leather jacket-produced riffages and borderline accent aping. But that isn’t Svvell’s goal yet. “What’s in it for you and me” the lead singer and guitarist Yoo Han sings as he proceeds to entice the listener with their Brit-pop savvy inflections. There’s more to it than the band’s vocal stylings and “chill” look than meets the eye. “Woozy” tends to be more swaying and serenading than the usual sonic void of their usual shoegaze influences. The step in this direction is more linear than their past releases, much more robust and sentimental, more consistently arranged than thrown and stuck to the wall and see what sticks. In true classic Brit-pop fashion, the Lilystars Records signees have managed to stick to their roots pre-Clem Clastro rite of passage. “Woozy” is not “oddly” charming, it’s charming to the fullest without ever forcing it to be. Svvell might as well be one of the label’s true up-and-comers, a journey that will carry on not only for Metro Manila listeners but for their cohorts who’ve made amazing noise in CDO as well. Support the art & the artist:
EP REVIEW: As Silent As The Forest – Tranquility
Words by Elijah P. Founded in 2015, progressive rock-slash-math rock trio As Silent As The Forest have personalized their arsenal into something more vigorous compared to holding-hands-in-the-air, tree-hugging milquetoast math rock bands out there. For a band that’s premised behind tree stumps, inserting atmospheric passages about the wilderness and the likes, ASATH have more what others bargained for in their latest EP titled “Tranquility”. As the title suggests, there’s more to peaceful riffages and swells than most advocates assume. In tracks like “Young Blood”, the band embodies indiemo sentimentality all the while armoring themselves with heavier lead tunings, deeper bass lines and masterful drumwork. The kick-off track “Unsaid” and its opening lines imply a fearless attitude, far from standing beyond the precipice of math rock’s cliches. There’s an even balance of calls for mercy and emotive vocal deliveries, making it border between a post-hardcore and math rock project. Rarely a divisive choice of thematic sound can come across as consistent but ASATH have done it in a way where they’ve told a story while simultaneously packing a catchy chorus or two. However, in the grand scheme of things, “Tranquility” can become lopsided by its contrasting tracks and almost identical song structures. As much as there are odd timing and tunings made in the record, the record can quite become tedious in continuous listening sessions, that’s if the listener doesn’t pay too attention to its devilish and sonically inherited details. The title track attempted to deviate from the tracklisting before it by adding an intense double kick drum – which in retrospect barely acts as a motif that helps elevate the track’s themes. By the last track titled “Dark Days”, the EP has turned itself into a full on post-hardcore record with guitars tuned lower compared to other tracks. That is where the project starts to fall flat on its head. As Silent As The Forest’s first ever EP stands on its own, but it barely stands out as a one-of-a-kind record that defines the movement. “Tranquility” has some highs when they’re paid close attention. The project has its lows when listened to as a wholly math rock record. Support the art & the artist:
EP REVIEW: Chimera Mix – My Pet Rat
Written by Louis Pelingen Sometimes, musicians can get very productive, which can result in them putting out multiple records or EPs that contain distinct or experimental ideas, both in the production and composition side. This gets frequent in the modern underground scene, where their work ethic, lack of label presence, or even just having an ear for creating melodic structures out of the gate allows them to put out music in a ballistic state of mind. In these cases, it is interesting to see how their musical output remains consistent across the board and how their growth keeps sustaining with every record they put out, especially with that kind of musical force they belt out. Introducing Chimera Mix, the musical side project of 17-year old Patorikku who hails from Paranaque, who also goes under the YouTube channel moniker under the Patorikku name that focuses on eerie creepypasta-esque videos dipped with a VHS aesthetic that’s pretty much the trend these days. His musical output under Chimera Mix is downright impressive, to say the least. While it does encounter the issue of being bloated, the fact that he has 9 records under his belt blitzing through indie rock, psychedelic pop, hypnagogic pop, and even hard rock with creative melodic and instrumental tendencies he can pull out in thin air is just remarkable. And on this EP that was released last month, Chimera Mix wastes no time concocting 4 tracks that dabble in his usual hypnagogic and psychedelic pop weirdness which ends up being a fascinating peak in his career so far. ‘Prelude’ introduces the listener to soothing atmospherics that breaks down with these hypnotizing synth, drum, and guitar melodies just before it slows down and eventually concludes into these relaxing vocal harmonies. ‘My Pet Rat’ is a jaunty cut that contrasts the downbeat lyrics of the protagonist’s guilt of his dead rat as the instrumentation shuffles and progresses into a pure frenzy, especially the piano work and the brass instrument thrown into the chaos. ‘Tommy’ provides similar melodic and vocal zaniness as the last track paired with existential, dark lyrics and some Beatles worship in the mix coming from the guitar solo and the piano work. It ends off with ‘215 – 300 Version’, a song that was in his 2019 record, Pliocene. It retains the original dream-like aesthetic from that record with the fleeting synthesizers that develop even further, paired with a surreal and bleak lyricism that ends the EP on a mysterious note thematically, but on a satisfying note musically. While Chimera Mix has afforded to create fascinating melodic and instrumental twists and turns in his past records, ‘My Pet Rat’ EP has shown his musicianship at a state of refinement that continues to impress me, even with the creative strides that he has showcased on his past albums. He’s a trickster with dozens of tricks up his sleeves. And with this EP, he’s someone you might want to pay attention to in the future, for you’ll never know what kinds of exciting magic he’ll put out next. Support the art & the artist: