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:
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DEMO REVIEW: cheeky things – demo
In the local DIY community today, Metro Manila outfit cheeky things arrived in the first quarter of 2023. Their URL story started with a Soundcloud page – a lone Duster parody – and a couple of noise pop covers. The five-piece follows suit to the IRL, championing a tweemo backdrop with the help of their indie guitar heroes in live shows. And for a band that has been teasing their WIPs ever since the release of their little “demo” two months ago — by the way, a Bicol tour is already set in stone at this point — one would expect at this stage that a full-on record should be ripe for the picking. But hey, we now have a three-track demo, and it is packed to the brim with loud, grungy guitars, high-tempo drums, and the dreamy sensibilities that are commonplace in any track. But while this project certainly has all the makings of an EP, it is still a personal dilemma to me whether or not to make heads or tails of it as it is — a demo — and base my judgment of it on what it is, what it could be, or what it could have been. For the uninitiated, this demo is a gateway. The seemingly compact demo is a sonically massive 3-track project to look out for. It is raw, absolutely balls-to-the-walls, and unapologetically alternative. I would even be remiss not to mention how the oversaturation of the shoegaze-twee-alt-rock fusion bands writ large has made it all the more difficult for cheeky Things to come through as their own, but the result of which made the success of this release all the more commendable, and eventually carved a niche that is proudly one of their own. For the listeners who have listened to their plethora of influences and sensibilities, fans of the garage sound are in for a treat: tracks like “korean blackout curtains 7ft (1 pc, not set)”, a noise-rock anthem that has cemented its place as a favorite amongst the Manila alternative crowd, is Mellon Collie down to a T, and has a phenomenal intro that will transport you back to a time when you first listened to Psycho Candy. The song’s outing also meant the first for the band to incorporate Tagalog in their lyrics, making it an easy sell for many. While “smashing” on the other hand, while not as talked about, features some of the best dynamics between each member. Whatever your thoughts on this release, this cheeky Things demo serves as a litmus test for both the artist and the listener. In its current state, whether finished or unfinished, you either get it or you don’t. And even if you do, there’s still a lot to unpack in its heavily loaded arsenal; it does not hinder itself from pushing the noise level past its threshold. And who knows, maybe we have not seen the last of these songs and if we’ll still be as (un)accepting of them as they are now once we’ve witnessed them in their final form. But enough speculation. As far as I’m concerned, I passed the litmus test. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: CATBOY JEEPNEY DRIVERS – MAYBE MITSKI
Written by Kara Angan Laguna and Pampanga-based electronic duo CAT BOY JEEPNEY DRIVERS bares their drum and bass chops in their latest song “MAYBE MITSKI.” “MAYBE MITSKI” notes a significant departure from their more synth pop debut “LOSER.” The pair trades their electronic synth riffs for a fast-paced and prominent percussion line—a trademark of the genre. While “LOSER” was jam-packed with a funky bass line, synth and electric guitar riffs, and multiple vocal lines to fill the track, “MAYBE MITSKI” proves that less is definitely more. While the track is short and sweet, clocking in at only two minutes and 33 seconds, the vocal melodies and harmonies keep the track interesting over a repetitive drum track, bass line, and riff. The duo’s No Rome influences shine significantly in the song. Their vocals are layered with autotune and reverb, complementing well with each other as the track progresses along. There’s always something new to pick up when listening to the song multiple times—the subtle “oh’s” that pan right, adlibs, and more details that make the song instantly catchy and memorable. While the lyrics aren’t exactly out-of-this-world or revolutionary, what makes the song stand out is how CAT BOY JEEPNEY DRIVERS are able to round out a song through their production. The duo’s flexibility with genres makes them an act to definitely watch out for—and I’m excited to see where they decide to dip their toes in next. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: PLAYERTWO – THAT’S MY BABY
Written by Louis Pelingen If there is one word that may perfectly describe PLAYERTWO’s artistic progression so far, it may have to be the word: flexible. From just a few singles that were put out last year, this 3-member boyband hailing from Davao comprised of Ivo Impreso, Wave P, and Luke April has already presented themselves adaptable and confident in leaning into genre-jumping from one song to another. The indie rock & bedroom pop genre flourish of ‘TALK STRAIGHT’ with a summery hook, compelling flows, and blurry guitar tones connect themselves with impressive results. ‘HDYF’ goes for a swerve, drilling down to Hardcore Hip-hop with rumbling low-ends and chalky beats as the members lean on the imposing side of their lyricism and dribbling flows with enough genuine snarl to make it work. So now, they have followed up with their latest release, ‘THAT’S MY BABY’ with another slight spin in style. A tight, sweeter pop cut where the band leans more on their slick, flirty side this time around. And leaning into it they did, embracing more vocal cooing and smoother flows that honestly owe a lot to the effortless and lightweight charm that a lot of K-pop boybands tend to showcase from time to time. For the band dabbling in this style, they’ve mostly delivered as there’s a lot of charismatic charm expressed from all members, making their flirtatiousness tiptoes more to admiring the woman that they see in the distance to feel more captivating and relaxing. If there is something that does distract from the vibes of the track, it has to be the instrumentation. Melodically, they do sound potent, especially with the grooves allowing the lightweight lovestruck charm to stick. However, the mixing and tone choices do come a little crushed up for the song to work all the way, with the bass sometimes crushing down the distorted guitar and the pristine keys. The texture of the drums comes off as chalky and thin that it sticks out like a sore thumb from the rather relaxed textures of the other instruments and could’ve switched to a different drum texture to compliment the rest of the instrumentation. As a third song showcasing the band’s free-spirited talents, it reaches quality territory. Each member brings out a charm that adds another dimensionality to them as a band and while this song (alongside their other past releases) does show the influences that they’re taking from, they still execute those ideas with good results. For a band where every genre-jumping attempt from each track release comes with pretty good results, their flexibility and compatibility as a band are something to behold. Listen to the artist: