Written by Louis Pelingen The smoggy bleak streak that Mazerboy started with continues forth with ‘Midfielder’, the newest cut that he has put out two years after he released his 2nd EP. This continues his brand of post-punk tapestry, all with a driving groove section and Mazerboy’s solemn vocal cadence, but the overall sound is treated a bit differently this time around. There is an implementation of dense layers of reverb on Mazerboy’s vocals as well as the jangling guitar feedback that sinks the atmosphere deeper into something closer akin to dream pop, an implementation that could have worked well if not for the sudden swerve towards the back half of the song, where despite the surf rock riffings, the overall result felt like piling up another tune fragment that does not effectively coalesce with the first half’s potent melodic foundation. For what it is though, it is still a solid piece of post-punk dipping deeper into dream pop atmosphere and surf rock melodies underscoring Mazerboy’s usual tempered delivery and lyrical flavor. A refreshing expansion that still focuses on what made Mazerboy’s material work in the past from both compositions and textures alone. The gust of atmosphere might be a bit cloudy and heavy, yet never fazing Mazerboy’s stance at the center of it all. Support the art & the artist:
REVIEWS
TRACK REVIEW: A. Piloto – In Light
Written by Elijah P. 2024 is buckling up for a new generation of alternative rock: bedroom pop turned into grungier, noisier tangents that are partly inspired by the likes of Duster, blue smiley and Alex G. There’s sleaze and pomposity to the charming and ridiculously new fashioned crowd of indie scenesters and A. Piloto is the new kid on the block. Partly hailing from the internet and the underground of a Chinese restaurant, indie rock neophyte A. Piloto released “In Light” as a debut single for an “upcoming something…” on his official Soundcloud account at a random New Year’s afternoon. “In Light” exhibits a build up wherein volume densely rises into multitudes of frantic, screaming chords as the track progresses. A. Piloto’s vocals ramble in non-sequiters, almost yearning for an apocalyptic ending while a number of bright and loud wiry riffages distort the track even further, making the single all the more enticing and transcendental as it goes on. It saves itself from being one-noted and remains to be a work of its own in the noisier tangents of the local rock meta. Surprisingly there’s a lot of promise shown in “In Light” and in A. Piloto’s music as well. It really is a high time to put in the work for a lot of artists who embody the peculiar and the increasingly loud sides of the scene. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: SABINE – Selfish
Written by Elijah P. SABINE sounds like she’s going all in with a full tank of ideas; both at an emotional high and a musical journey standpoint, “Selfish” has traces of rock and pop leanings, almost going towards an experimental tangent with soaring vocals, a blaring synth and multiple guitar tracks. The casual ear may find this an overwhelming sonic experience but for some actual supporters and the artist themselves, this is an experience all worth the taking. Taking notes from their rock and pop heroines of yesterday, Galagnara’s vocal prowess takes center stage, acting as a driving force for the musical accompaniment to their introspective lyricism that takes place in their own protagonist’s mind. The 4-minute odyssey may be a drag as casual songwriting structure is concerned, but the sheer weight of the track crashing down to you may come off as either a rewarding experience or an unnecessary kick to the shins without any comforting ending. For the case of “Selfish”, the production is commendable as a step forward in polished bleeps and ringing distortion. However, it may be slightly overproduced and pushing to its actual limits that would overstay its welcome, rendering it slightly ineffective emotionally. On the other hand, the track has its fair share of breathing room for it to build up once again. Galagnara’s powerful presence does not overshadow the rest of the musicality as it tips at an upward direction, regardless of its flurry of emotional demon metaphors sitting throughout its lengthy structure. Overall, SABINE has the right amount of star power between her talented current batch of musicians in MINT College, but the argument would rather be framed as “Selfish” being a step forward to nurturing a better, more promising sonic palette for the institution’s musicians in the years to come. Support the art& the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: Illest Morena – Slow Burn
Written by Elijah P. Illest Morena has the entire archipelago on the grip of her nails. Starting out slow and calculated in singles like “LOML” and “Faded (Raw)”, both of which propelled her to pop stardom. Her material doesn’t simmer down, but rather the generous giving of heat continues to burn all towering r&b pop stars of yesterday. She constantly drops the heaters until there’s no one left to follow in her own game. Like all competition, she’s achieved past the notion of going big or going home. Illest Morena’s newest single “Slow Burn” is an example of a walking oxymoron. In the track there are lyrics immediately contradicting her own checklist in a bootycall: “He’s sweet, but a lil’ spicy”, “Gusto ko nang barombado, pero may takot sa diyos”. Additionally, the pacing just goes straight to the show. Illest Morena drives the track bouncing, hydraulic-like melodies and cadence, all for the listeners to want in a track that’s centered in honest desire. There’s a lot to pick more lyrically compared to her more melodic cuts, but that doesn’t mean it is to dismiss it entirely. This goes to show how much there’s slight variety in cherry picking the best of her output so far. Support the art & the artist:
EP REVIEW: Jikamarie – L0VER G!RL
Written by Elijah P. Jikamarie’s career in the music industry has reached another landmark. Ever since releasing a stellar debut single “Lutang” causing the internet to go head over heels during the lockdown. This immediately positions herself as a must-see act live, especially when Jika and company have opened for arena pop legends Coldplay for two-days straight. She’s also rolled out several singles that either shout the color green or show off the saucy, rhythmically rich vocal chops – it’s safe to say that it’s high time to release a full length release. But before that, “L0VER G!RL” has emerged from her arsenal. The release sounds and looks like a taste test. But the training wheels are off and it is time to showcase more of her genuine artistic side. For over the past 3 years, Jikamarie did what she could to make it to the top of the r&b food chain, emerging talents like Illest Morena, Denise Julia and Jason Dhakal all have their fair share of grace and fanbase. However, Jikamarie does it with a musical oomph and visual aesthetic cherry picked like it was a careful K-Pop reveal calendar. At the pace of these single releases in the past year, there’s momentum to all of this like it was cinema; themes of yearning in a garden of eden-type setting, giant butterflies walking across a hypnotic graveyard, what have yous. “L0VER G!RL” in particular is a debut that any r&b head wouldn’t miss. Or so they thought they would. “L0VER G1RL” starts off at a strong note with “gusto kita”, the vocal performance having its backseat. However, the following track “HINAHANAP-HANAP” was startling with its mixing inconsistency. This, in a way, slightly ruins the listening experience. Like a sore thumb sticking out of its colorful production – that’s trap-laden and dancehall inspired – tailored for Jika’s vocal finesse. At first, this was a listening experience error that would be easily brushed off by the casual listener, but this inconsistency has repeated twice by the back half of the EP, most noticeable in “lito” and “bawi na lang sa next life”. Whether or not this volume level clipping was intentional, it was hard to dismiss the talent Jika showed in this EP. It was less on experimentation and letting loose but it was more of reveling in the art of pop songwriting; the trap drums, the smooth, airy synths, and the tastefully harmonized vocals. Surely, the fundamentals were in full display but filler was sitting pretty in the midst of its soaring momentum. “L0VER G!RL” had its highs such as “DKSI” and “HINAHANAP-HANAP”, surprisingly zero lows, but the EP as a whole has its noticeably average writing loophole. There’s ease to her runs and curls but it’s hard to mask it all up when the structure has no strong staying power. It’s easy to escape the notion of being a lazy songwriter, but it’s troubling to go beyond being an afterthought, all the more a forgettable r&b musician in this day and age. And like all pop music, “L0VER G!RL” is best enjoyed in bite-sized pieces. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: MISTER MEYERS – We Are Stardusts
Written by Louis Pelingen MISTER MEYERS makes sure to put something out when the opportunity still strikes hot – that is to say, the wave of releases on January 1st that you can see piled on obscure Bandcamp features or the early RYM year charts. While he has been putting out music for the past few years – leaning a lot more on his bedroom pop niche – his last released single back in December 2023, ‘GOOD GOD PENELOPE’, shifts his style in a 180-degree direction where he doused his melodic vocals with effects amidst groove-centric indie rock. Now entering 2024, ‘We Are Stardust’ boils itself to deep-fried textures that go on a consistent hot streak, tossed and turned over with MISTER MEYERS’ tripped-out snarkiness as the beat twinkles and buzzes on the hazy atmosphere before it suddenly suffocates itself with a heavier glitchy backdrop that eventually ends the song. ‘We Are Stardusts’ with all of its soaked-up dense production and warbled melodies completes MISTER MEYERS’ 360-degree transition into his eclectic hip-hop dabbled hyperpop flair that overall sticks the landing where his creative firepower and experimentation just charges throughout this song. His attempt to create stardust has been wrapped in pretty flowers before, but right now, he makes them combust with flammable chemicals. Support the art & the artist:
EP REVIEW: vice* – syzygy
Written by Elijah P. Electronic artist and singer-songwriter vice* laces together the heartaches of emo-rap and the intricacies of glitch pop into a neatly tied debut EP. In a world where the Lil Peeps and Wicca Phase Spring Eternals have shifted into heavier and denser material, there exists a younger and fresh breed of producers hopping on the stepping stones of the aforementioned artists, and vice* is one of those fresh artists alley-ooping themselves to the grander playing field. In debut EP “syzygy”, the 6-track project constantly builds a world of its own; it finds itself deconstructed, intentionally self-destructing and implodes everywhere. But the end result is it finds a place to fall sprucely. The possibilities of this project falling under banal, predictable pacing and lyrics are slim. There’s potent pop writing to be found in “syzygy”; In “hit me!”, trance and math-rock chords find themselves in constant harmony with each other while “takeUdown” forces the shattering, glitchy, frying pan percussions to shine among the poppy hooks. “inner me” showcases a more straightforward, lesser noise in the forefront but capitalizing on melodic writing at the combat zone. If you think about it carefully, for the project to escape the monotony of emo-rap and its cliches, vice* opens a new window of possibility in terms of blending emotive vocals through explosive, maximalist production. vice* can range from distressing to level-headed delivery, the production does most of the talking. Prancing past the familiarity of what emo-pop and emo-rap did during the mid 2010s Soundcloud explosion, vice* knows how to structure a full-length release from its hyper highs to its emotionally-charged tamer back half. The first half of the project has found its comfort zone, linking together genre labels and ultimately liquifying those same labels, forging into something groundbreaking in the end. From front to back, vice* has a unit behind him that’s supported him from the very start, eventually creating a sonically rich project that can possibly stand the test of time. With vice* being in the 2020s, there’s a balance in the world of experimental pop and hip-hop. SUPPORT THE ART & THE ARTIST:
ALBUM REVIEW: GLASS – s/t
Written by Nikolai Dineros As 2023 comes to a close, GLASS, the silliest MAPEH rock band in town, kicks off 2024 with a new self-titled release chronicling the band’s 2-year-long songwriting journey from their 2021 EP release of the same – featuring three tracks from the album “Spice”, “Jones”, and “Buntot” – and a handful of new material, all loaded in a magazine of kinetic energy, dad jokes, millennial-passing shock value, and musical ammo. GLASS’ creative box is a confluence of blues, math rock, and post-hardcore templates, oftentimes shifting styles at unexpected turns and in sync with the band’s penchant for odd tempos and intricate rhythmic structures. The opener track “Octopus” does not try to hide this at all; a delicate intro teases the listener of the band’s tendencies to go off-kilter before going R&B-like as the verse kicks in and capping off the song in full virtuoso mode. It’s not always we get to hear these different styles blend as well as GLASS does with their songs. By the time you have finished “Octopus”, you will already have an idea of the kind of surprises GLASS has in store throughout the rest of the album, but in varying distributions of flair. For instance, “Obmerb” is a tad bit more conventional and Steely Dan-like than “Octopus” with a guitar solo more unassuming with less post-hardcore shenanigans. Tracks like “Ops” and “Buntot” embrace the blues a bit more than the others, a characteristic the local scene needs more of nowadays as artists and fans across genres have increasingly deviated from the allure of a style that once dominated the mid-2010s flavor-of-the-month genres in favor of a more ethereal sound that shoegaze presents. GLASS’ bubbly personality helps them in their compositions, and this playfulness complements the disjointedness of their tracks. But at times, it can also work to the detriment of the band. There’s a level of wit that the band employs in their songwriting that does not always land perfectly on the feet. There is this one song in the album, which I will not spoil to not ruin the experience for everyone coming into this record for the first time, that I would consider to be a perfectly acceptable song about a particular subject matter, but they kept running the same joke towards the end after it ran its course. Nothing too cringeworthy to pass on – just the kind of pure tito humor we all have a guilty pleasure for. GLASS has a treasure trove of innovative ideas, and they are not afraid of trying them all out. Most of these ideas work, a negligible few don’t. But at the core of it all, this free-spirited energy and shamelessness are traits we all ought to have, and GLASS came at a perfect time to set a year on such an exciting note. SUPPORT THE ART & THE ARTIST:
TRACK REVIEW: Arkyalina – readmymind
Written by Louis Pelingen The first couple of notes that start ‘readmymind’ will immediately sink you deep into arkyalina’s striking soundscape. A producer, multi-instrumentalist, and composer in his own right, there is already so much going on with Tavin Villanueva’s composition work, bringing in so many ideas to bear. arkyalina’s tight and impressive pop punk-esque vocal runs quickly snap within the chalky breakbeat grooves, the sweeping guitar solo, and the feverish reverb-smeared piano and strings backdrop, a combination of tonal flairs resonating even further through arkyalina’s production and Calix’s mixing and mastering assistance providing potent clarity and color to the punchy melodies. This track is a case of a captivating song that once you’ve heard it, you cannot help but give it more listens a dozen times later. An on-the-spot stand out where arkyalina’s broad display of musical flair manifests within ‘readmymind’, colliding so many ideas that cohesively work together into this alternative pop wonder. Branching out many roads ahead, only arkyalina himself knows where he wants to go next, keeping us on our toes about whatever admirable aplomb he might release in the future. Support the art & the artist:
TFL presents: THE 20 BEST FILIPINO RELEASES OF 2023
The year 2023 saw a lot of shifts happening: the rise of scene kids coming from the FYPs and For You pages of yore and the steadily rising of attendees in DIY underground shows all over. In Luzon, newer collectives were formed via embodying the gothic, emoviolence sensibilities of Metro Manila’s newer heavy music units. Over at the Visayas region, genres like hiphop and dream pop are the talk of the town, making both soundscapes and cultures sought for newer heights. And in Mindanao, their scene becomes more and more solidified in terms of dance music and various alternative genres that goes beyond the expectations of a regular Imperial Manila listener. From Luzon, Visayas to Mindanao, we present to you a yearly tradition that the editorial team would always prepare themselves for; Not just because it’s the task that’s daunting, but it’s the journey and the result of 11 months of scouring the internet and gigs for the best of Filipino music. Here it is, The 20 Filipino Releases of 2023. 20. Lil JVibe – WHOLE LOTTA LUVSHIT Simply put, ‘WHOLE LOTTA LUVSHIT’ is the pop-rap EP that immediately puts Lil JVibe into this current space of inventive local hip hop. From Gem Records Production’s assist in balancing out the 4 tracks’ layered drill and jersey club beats, oodles of pop sample choices that are stitched amazingly well, and Lil JVibe’s ability to keenly blitz through these immense soundscapes is a big testament to his skill as an artist. ‘WHOLE LOTTA LUVSHIT’ is a bold, untethered, and sincere EP that’s just the beginning of Lil JVibe’s ambitious potential as an artist, one that all of us should pay serious attention to. -Louis Pelingen 19. Panjia – all the colors that make you!!! In the year 2023, you have a ton of shoegaze acts that can easily pass off as imitators of someone and something given the time and algorithm to figure it all out. Staying true to its title, this debut EP “all the colors that make you!!!” is a primer of what you need to know about Panjia; youthful angst in front of computer screen, yearning in a language fitted for the hell week tortured student and loaded with nu-gaze terminology. The solo project surprisingly brings tasteful riffage-writing and overall promise in the young crop of heavy gazers out there locally. It’s Zoomer Shoegaze Bingo and the first recipient of such game is none other than Panjia. -Elijah P. 18. Punebre – Ang Nasa Dako Paroon ‘Ang Nasa Dako Paroon’ is a compelling testament to the raw essence of old-school death metal. With influences echoing ‘90s death metal, Punebre skillfully intertwines a foreboding atmosphere, relentless energy, and concise, impactful lyrics in highlight tracks like ‘Itim.’ The result is a sound that pays homage to the horror genre, revitalized for a new era, with slight nods to Filipino horror filmology, urban mythology, and folk mythology—‘Balete Overdrive’ and ‘Shaken and Rattled’ come to mind. However, Punebre’s most exciting feat that further amplifies excitement for their music is their inventive approach to PR. I vividly recall ordering a copy of their demo CD, which included tracks from ‘Ang Nasa Dako Paroon’, and to my surprise, the package included a meticulously crafted autopsy report. I have since kept that piece of paper and plan to have it framed on my wall. Though I still feel tremendous regret for missing out on their limited release of blood-soaked Punebre shirts earlier this year, there’s always a reason to be excited for Punebre. -Nikolai Dineros Emo and punk band Irrevocable further show their ability to make face melting songs in this new release. They talk more about family influences and touching tributes while letting the songs breathe more resulting in a more engaging and expanded dynamic sound that doesn’t overstay its welcome – in fact, making the listener want more. -Janlor Encarnacion The aging process offers a different perspective even to veteran bands of the music scene. Oh, Flamingo! takes a look at timeless topics such as love and loss but with the added perception of being able to look back. Coupled with the use of our native language, the band is able to process emotions in a more connected way while still being distinctly Flamingo-y. -Janlor Encarnacion Toots’ debut depicts an expertly crafted adventure into self-discovery. The earnest vocals display a tenderness that contrasts with the loud-soft contrast of each song – showing a wild journey both lyricism and soundscape. This is an indie-rock/folk EP that deserves multiple listens. -Janlor Encarnacion Davao alternative rock and shoegaze crossover outfit Precal Dropouts have indeed traveled far and wide in their long awaited debut EP. The charmed life of Gavin, Jan Mark, Ben, Neilcon and Dee has been incredibly eventful. Singing about their gardens, dinosaurs and tidal waves, their sentimentality has reached from the Manila shores to the third floor of Suazo in their hometown. The project is a welcome gift for all new and old fans of the genre, servicing the classic tropes and new offerings of its sonic choices. Wherever you go, there’s a journey worth taking and that is listening to “Little One, Travel Far”. -Elijah P. Budots World is a compilation consisting of the dance genre “budots” in its different mutations, variations and traditional production style performed by different producers all over the country. It was an effort to unite all producers locally and thankfully Manila Community Radio were able to make the pioneering producer DJ LOVE’s dreams come true in this project. “Budots World” has a diverse selection and interpretations, resulting into 100 percent organic and pouring in 200 percent bust-a-groove energy. This is a mix that you shouldn’t pass on. -Elijah P. DJ Love presents BUDOTS WORLD: Bawal Umiwas sa Sayawan! by Manila Community Radio There are two different listening experiences to Promote Violence’s “Joyful”: one is hearing multiple synth screeches and feedback resulting into a cathartic release; The other is a story of how religious Fundamentalist approaches can break a