Written by Rory Marshall Addy Pantig heeds the listener with one thing: a warning. “Sandstorm” is an admonition explored through metaphor, showcasing the pitfalls of lost time, delivered through soulful blues rock, and with this being her debut single, it’s as gutsy as it is dramatic. Sandstorm paints a picture of gravitas and intensity, each […]
REVIEWS
TRACK REVIEW: Kumare Harvey – VILLAIN
Written by Louis Pelingen After years of hosting in queer circles as well as frequently featuring on certain songs across other artists’ projects, Kumare Harvey’s debut single, ‘VILLAIN,’ is nothing short of astute. Across the neptunes-esque beat with burly guitars adding edge to his bars, Kumare Harvey lets everyone know first and foremost that he’s […]
ALBUM REVIEW: Hev Abi – Maduming Timog
Written by Gabriel Bagahansol Around this time two years ago, Hev Abi had control of half of the top 10 spots in Billboard’s Philippines Songs chart. After emerging as a sleeper hit towards the end of 2023, he received commercial success and critical acclaim as a baby-faced lover boy with a playful charm and a […]
ALBUM REVIEW: We Are Imaginary – s/t
Written by Lex Celera For the most part, We Are Imaginary has played along the ballpark of noise pop, shoegaze, and jangly lo-fi when it comes to their sound. Each of their last four albums plays with the formula in different ways – a reflection of the band’s changing members. Early on, sometime before the […]
ALBUM REVIEW: To Love Everything Ever Again – A Post-Overdose Confession
Written by Louis Pelingen One main element that tends to surround religious music is its focus on devotion, where praises will be written and sung as a means to allow God’s blessings to reach within the human spirit–a characteristic that becomes a purposeful motif. Generally focused on that universal feeling of letting the holy grace […]
ALBUM REVIEW: marcel – marcel
Written by Gabriel Bagahansol When you live through cold weather all the time, you’re always going to find ways to make the warmth you get linger within you. That’s why it makes sense that some of the artists we turn to for moody expressions of emotions, be it through words or music, come all the […]
SABAW SESSIONS: Shanne Dandan
Shanne Dandan Holds No Pedestal for Love Written by Faye Allego Shanne Dandan is for lovers. When talking to her, it feels like you’ve known her forever; almost like a seatmate you never stopped talking to in elementary school and would eventually share school lunches with. In the age of yearning and finding love on […]
ALBUM REVIEW: Parti. – High Action
Written by Adrian Jade Francisco Anchored in experimental math rock, parti.’s debut album ‘High Action’ is the equivalent of a cat chasing a laser pointer—you never quite catch what comes next. Across its 43 minute runtime, it thrives on a buffet of instrumental twists and turns. There’s a kind of beauty in disorder that presents […]
TRACK REVIEW: Past Forward – Hell
Written by Nikolai Dineros Identifying Laguna-based hardcore punk from its heavily populated pack of contemporaries is like sensing a food’s quality from afar with just the olfactory. Following up on the band’s electrifying, long-awaited ‘Streetwise’ EP, ‘Hell’ checks every box of the Laguna hardcore handbook. Drawing from the deep roots of the region’s hardcore punk […]
ALBUM REVIEW: PRAY – THANKGOD4ALLDIS$WAG
Written by Elijah P. PRAY is one of those Manila rap outliers who know how to play the game from the very beginning. On his debut project ‘THANKGOD4ALLDIS$WAG,’ he walks in already dressed for the role: “gangway” street styling, flex-first instincts, and a slightly pitched-up delivery that turns his nasal cadence into its own signature. […]