Written by Louis Pelingen The streak of rhodessa’s refinement as a musician has only persisted since breaking through in 2023, with “Kisame” allowing her presence to shine in broad daylight. She continues to hone in on the well of OPM pop rock she only delivered with more exciting gusto, with the 2023 track “sa’yong sa’yo lang ako” and her 2024 EP ‘kiss’ becoming the main showcases of her artistic throughlines developing further and further. And with the recent release of “nananabik,” rhodessa continues to stitch her creative growth, sticking to her yearning songwriting formula that may be wearing its welcome, but still delivers the necessary punch in the overall composition. Carving an emphasis on saturated guitar riffs and a stable percussion section that offers enough support to her pleasant vocal delivery. With her overall changes in sound and style well documented over 6 years of consistent single releases, it now poses a challenge for rhodessa moving forward, especially in how she will branch out her songwriting into deeper, more interesting ventures. To yearn on the surface may be fun, but sinking deeper into it may require her to tilt to a different angle, just so that she can fully grasp an emotionally wider experience. Support the art and the artist:
Tag: Indie Pop
TRACK REVIEW: Off to Neverland! – Boombox
The saturation of pop rock music feels like it has already reached a familiar endpoint. At this point, you would expect that specific bubble economy of guitar licks and post-Matty Healy vocal inflections to evolve, right? Well, Off to Neverland’s latest single “Boombox” doubles down into that space without pushing the envelope. With flourishing synthesizers, vocal runs, rhythm guitars layered over tight drum patterns, and a guitar solo that oddly sits right before the chorus, the band sticks closely to a formula that’s been circulating since the late 2010s. The track sways confidently within that lane, even if it doesn’t necessarily challenge the methods of pop. Lines like “Come on down / Get the door for me” echo a kind of polished, throwback pogi rock energy that depends heavily on nostalgia to land. There’s a lot of promise here, but not much in the way of seeking reinvention. Even the idea of the “boombox” as a central image leans more into a familiar romantic gesture than something reworked for the present. A boombox is eventually rendered useless. Time to drag yourself back in the present. SUPPORT THE ART AND THE ARTIST:
TRACK REVIEW: ok bouquet – Internet
Written by Noelle Alarcon ok bouquet is a quartet hailing from Quezon City, proclaiming themselves as “Cubao’s finest pretty bois [sic].” Their debut track, “Internet,” oozes with punchy energy and lighthearted longing that begins to gnaw at the heart if you start to think about it too much. Truly, the three minutes and 54 seconds of their musings are the perfect soundtrack to strolling around Cubao with someone who makes you feel a little too giddy. The track is hinged on jangly, power pop-based guitars that are fueled and moved forward by snare-heavy, open-handed drum beats. There’s a post-pandemic, Gen Z lilt to the roughness of late 1990s indie rock it’s emulating that’s been recreated and taken time and time again; ok bouquet show great proficiency in reflecting their influences and their specific flavor. But perhaps this mastery gets a little too on the nose, at times, the track is uncertain whether it will stay in the territory of simulacrum or novelty. In the current internet atmosphere that’s laden with references to “manic pixie dream girls” and being mysteriously eccentric at Cubao Expo, it seems like the four-piece managed to capture this exact landscape through sound—whether it be the wisps of cigarette smoke curling into the night or crazy hair colors dotting the horizon. This includes the vulnerability that lies in the core of these performances of identity: “But can I truly fit in your world?” sings their vocalist, Dan Monreal. Sure, it’s a one-sided track from the perspective of the boy, and perhaps a bit too self-indulgent at times. However, it is redeemed by the naïveté and hunger for connection that stamp this song with traces of nostalgia. It’s fun, vibrant, and refreshingly cathartic to be dizzied by infatuation this intense. The band has a wider horizon to spread their wings into once they trace their next steps from this point of youthful decadence. SUPPORT THE ART AND THE ARTIST:
TRACK REVIEW: NEW LORE – SUBSTACK GIRL
Written by Faye Allego Once known as No Lore (and no, not because they lacked one), members and visual artists Tita Halaman, Kim Escalona, and Carole Lantican begun crafting their audio framework that gained recognition for entry at the 36th AWIT awards and then reintroduced themselves as NEW LORE in late 2024 where they amped up their vibrancy and utilised every facet of multimedia to showcase their art — especially upon the release of their debut album, Grief Cake. In their latest 2026 single, “Substack Girl,” the tools to a catchy post-breakup song are definitely there; the muffled instrumentals in the first twelve seconds immediately place the listener into a flashback-esque soundscape and looming afterthoughts during the “scheming” period of a breakup. However, lyrics that circle around that question of “do you still…?” land steep, surface-level, and flat. The song fixates on specific habits that have even been harmfully labelled as “performative” such as going to gigs, reading obscure literature, digging through ukayans; “And are you still A gig goer? Art fair lover? Film enjoyer? Thrift store lover Vinyl seeker? Poetry reader? Soul Admirer Joybaiter?” it begs the question: is this just a checklist of interests turned into buzzwords? Though it’s light-hearted, it’s also reductionist toward real parts of someone’s identity. To reiterate, sonically, the track does almost everything right. It is indeed catchy, cleanly mastered, and even performs well in relaxing. To add, listening to this track in low-stress environments is surely fun and enjoyable; it can even be what’s now called reaching a “flow state.” Even the music video for “Substack Girl” is quite mellow. It’s the three-piece switching seats for the duration of the track, symbolizing the tranquillity found in the curiosity that the lyrics attempt to highlight. Of course, people wonder about their exes even through a rose-colored lens or through vibrant colors similar to that of PVC film– the song is very real when it comes to breakup talk, as the listener, it prompts wandering and questioning whether or not an ex thinks about their former lover… but at the same time, as the colors mix and turn grey after a few rounds of listening to the track… does it matter if an ex is thinking about us while reading poetry or flipping through vinyl? “Substack Girl” is a feel-good track, and New Lore’s discography is certainly one to keep an eye out for. Though they are not the first to utilize the commodification of personality and art to garner interest, they should refrain from that notion if they want to maintain relevance; like breakups, negative attitudes towards identity must learn to eventually fade away. Perhaps New Lore has breakup songs mastered– may they view introspection through art more in depth next time. Support the art and the artist:
SOUNDS OF THE SEA: Soft Things (Myanmar)
Within the largest city of Myanmar, Yangon, lie small yet meaningful bands like Soft Things, who are waving the flag towards the dream pop and shoegaze flourishes that echo across the city. Formed back in 2023, this tight-knit band is composed of guitarists Kaung Khant Htun and Nyi Ye Htut, bassist Kaung SI Thu, drummer Thu Ta Aung, and vocalist Thet Htar Zin. Young fledglings finding their groove within the yearning spirit of the sounds they’re pulling from. They sparked a flash last year with their debut EP, ‘Warm Blue Sea,’ a stirring wave of dream pop that washes over. It acts as a starting point that defines their spirit, a characteristic best represented on the first track of the song, ‘Asleep, Awake’. Punchy drums and serene pedal effects reinforce the tension that Thet writes on record. Looking into a lilting love that is either fleeting or everlasting. This overall spirit carries through from song to song. ‘Zoo’ very much casts a lot of Cocteau Twins’ soundscape, especially how the guitars phase out in the mix alongside Thet’s vocal backdrops scattering all over the song. ‘I am not the one for you’ tests out its writing intrigues, letting glossy keys cascade over the protagonist’s affections with the women he’s loved in the past. The closer track, ‘Cherry Cola,’ delves into synthpop bits as buzzing synth pads trickle all over the song. It recalls and reflects upon the saccharine moments that can end up so bitter, like an unforgettable aftertaste Of course, as heard through Thet’s delivery, the brute forces his vocal limits to a flinching degree on ‘I Remember You’, they wear their passion in their sleeves and embrace all its ups and downs as much as possible. Soft Things know that the world is in a rough shape at the moment, so they may as well hold onto those soft moments from the very beginning, and let it glow as they continue their path, charging their spirits to a much tender future.
EP REVIEW: Fleeca Atmos – Keepin’ Up
Written by Adrian Jade Francisco Reuben Gonzales’ debut project ‘Keepin’ Up’ arrives somewhere between vintage pop nostalgia and the blow-burn sprawl of post-rock. A long-held memory, suspended in a grain of film—pale, worn, and hazy, where Fleeca Atmos invites you to step out of the noise of the present. Throughout the EP, analog textures, guitars, and synths conjure the ghost of a sun-faded era of pop. Rather than settling for mere retro-worship, Fleeca Atmos pulls at the edge of the sound—widening the frame to let the production breathe. The opening track, “Delorean Drives by the Old Compound,” is a poignant exploration of grief that manifests as a literal desire to outrun the clock, a fantasy of driving back to “Fairview” to bargain for what was lost. ‘Keepin’ Up’ finds its resolution in “Hermeto Hum,” after isolation through the descriptions of ‘life in space’ in “Moon’s Dust.” By going through the past, the void, and the present, the EP goes full circle, where Fleeca Atmos once begged to ‘change time’ to avoid pain, he realizes the only path he has is to change himself (“If I can change then I am free”). Gonzales writes in fragments and images, using repeated lines to act as emotional landmarks rather than a straightforward narrative. Ultimately, ‘Keepin Up’ functions as a sonic exhaling of the soul. Fleeca Atmos has crafted a debut that is both an ending and arrival. The EP proves that while we cannot drive back to the memories we’ve lost, we can find a profound, sun-drenched freedom in finally choosing to move forward. SUPPORT THE ART & THE ARTIST:
TRACK REVIEW: Asian Panganay – Disconnection Notice
Written by JK Caray Asian Panganay’s debut single, ‘Disconnection Notice, ‘ talks about Filipino family dynamics in an intimate, sobering way, centering on the panganay’s perspectives. As their band name suggests, Asian Panganay is an all-asian, all-Panganay, all-girls quintet. This common attribute allows them to have the personal edge that pops out of their debut single. Right off the bat, ‘Disconnection Notice’ starts strong and hollow, even vacant, though not in a bad way. A drum beat dragging itself on and simple riffs being fed through delay pedals give a sense of motion without the drive that actually brings it to life. This gives the song more dimensions in how it tackles the subject matter. The line “I don’t have anything to say/You never hear me anyway” distills all those years of neglect, accompanied by vocals that draw the line between ache and exhaustion. In a way, it acts as a parallel to the times when eldest daughters are expected to keep carrying on, even as fatigue eats them inside. For such a bold entry, the song has already generated a brand that audiences can look forward to. This can either be a pro or a con, depending on whether the band leans into it or decides to switch it up for their upcoming releases. For now, releasing ‘Disconnection Notice’ as their debut single was a necessary move to solidify the band’s striking presence in the current scene. Now that they’ve given a voice to the unheard heroes of a Filipino family, where will Asian Panganay steer the ship next? SUPPORT THE ART AND THE ARTIST:
ALBUM REVIEW: Darla Biana – Iridescent
Written by Noelle Alarcon House music is always a danceable delight; an air of familiarity is constantly present in the candy-colored soundscapes. It just invites your body to move and let the bouncing vibrations thud through your veins and lead you to the dance floor. A rapid attack on all your senses at once, the genre is a vessel for enthusiasm, accented by the occasional syncopated beats and punchy synths. Darla Biana’s debut passion project, ‘Iridescent,’ flickers between the realm of house and the adjacent classifications its wide panorama encompasses; described as the artist’s challenge to herself, created in just three months, it’s an ambitious, headfirst dive into the creativity a deck and a few beats can afford. There’s a template to the genre Biana pursues throughout the album, which makes her vision easy to audibly sketch out–like the minutiae pleasures of driving across cubed, 3D streets in video games from the early aughts or even the trance-inducing techno horns that are emitted from the complex insides of holographic CDs. ‘Iridescent’ is frank and straight to the point, with Biana’s invitations for romance coated in the relaxed lilt of her voice. The record doesn’t need a million ways, nor words, to express self-confidence and infatuation; Biana merely uses the music to punctuate what she means and to begin her sentences. In “Love You Down,” she says it like she means it–she will love you down. Plain and simple. The relaxed harmonies that follow the utterance of her promise and the four-on-the-floor beats are enough signs of the commitment she offers to the table. In accordance with commitment, it’s praiseworthy to note this album’s commitment to pushing Biana’s incredibly specific vibe. There are two interludes in its 33-minute runtime: “Make You Mine,” an appetizing opening that kicks off the album with hypnotizing vocals and pulsing D&B percussion, and “One Day,” a similar, 58-second break that signifies the transition of the album’s subject matter from falling in love to being in love with yourself. For a debut project, ‘Iridescent’ is like a designer’s first sketch that’s come to life–a piece that knows which elements to take from the avant-garde, and what its limitations can bring to life instead of restricting. However, there are instances when the production overpowers Biana’s vocal color, leaving her vocals floating, wandering across the track instead of becoming one with the music. There’s an admirable devotion to staying musically cohesive, yet it could have touched on the adjacent possibilities of exploring dance aside from sticking to similar beats. You can never go wrong with the glitzy, bouncy glamour of house–it just so happens that as versatile as the genre is, it’s also one that needs to embrace its malleability and constantly be kept up with. Darla Biana shows in her debut that she can–she just needs that extra boost, that liveliness brought upon by variety to continue. ‘Iridescent’ is house, definitely–but it’s a “house” that’s a little more lived in, a bunch of tracks to dance in your bedroom to. Support the art and the artist:
EP REVIEW: Cream Flower – Orbital Wound
Written by Faye Allego There’s a certain adrenaline rush that emanates from the psyche whenever one is en route; it’s a rush that can capture anxiety, urgency, or even the sense of ‘gigil.’ Cream Flower’s ‘Orbital Wound’ EP is exactly what should be queued during moments of movement, whether it’s commuting, traveling, or simply walking down a footbridge. On their third EP release, Celina Viray and Jam Lasin step into a wider sonic terrain, loosening their grip on shoegaze familiarity to explore something louder, stranger, and more expansive. They blend riot grrrl rage with explosive urban paranoia, crafting songs that feel perpetually in motion and perfectly suited for city wandering. Even amid the chaos and noise, the duo injects an unexpected motif: if a stray cat crosses your path, this EP insists you bring it to the vet. The first three tracks form ‘Orbital Wound’’s most immediate stretch, buoyed by an upbeat momentum and Viray’s vocal effects that sound like it’s being broadcast through an airport PA system. “Cat Distribution System” and “Fever Dream” have a distant, metallic, and half-instructional tinge to them. The choice of turning the voice into the form of a public announcement rather than a private confession shows a sense of urgency that isn’t found in the typical dreampop soliloquy. The sense of radio transmission becomes even sharper on the second track, “Dahas,” where radio static and intergalactic textures are lured in, giving the impression that the band is trying to communicate across impossible distances. The song is displayed like a broadcast meant for extraterrestrials, only to reveal itself as a message addressed directly to us as the listener. The lyrics cut through the noise to confront the realities, inconsistencies, and outright outlandish absurdities of the Philippine zeitgeist under the government’s rule. It initially sounds alien, but the repetitions gradually sound something more familiar: uncomfortable truths hidden within signal distortion. Chillingly, the EP turns subtle and dreamy with its fourth track, “Orbs.” There, Viray and Lasin introduce acoustics that were absent from the beginning tracks, and lyrically, they tap into more introspective lyrics. In “Orbs”, Viray warps time and perspective as she describes being “engulfed in a fever dream.” The lyrics suggest a fractured sense of self, as if the speaker is watching their own thoughts from a distance and turning into never-before-seen shapes and geometric patterns. What’s interesting is that the last track of the album, “A Violent Cry”, beheads all forms of stillness from the previous track, and the listener is put right back in that state of adrenaline that was introduced in “Cat Distribution System”. It’s loud in every sense of the word, but not flashy or indulgent, where it becomes an earache. By the time the EP moves beyond its opening run, it’s clear that ‘Orbital Wound’ is both an experiment in sounds and a tool in communication through noise, humor, and paranoia. The urge of wanting to hear more after the last track is ever-present, but in the meantime, aggressively slamming the repeat button will suffice. Support the art and the artist:
ALBUM REVIEW: aunt robert – Goodbyes Forever
Written by Rory Marshall The mind can get so jumbled up that even our own thoughts can be unintelligible to us. What we’re left with is a confusing cacophony of emotion and dissonant ideas, but somehow, aunt robert was able to take theirs and masterfully craft it into music in their new indietronica / indie pop hybrid album ‘Goodbyes Forever.’ We’ve seen EPs and singles from them over the years, but this is their first full-length album. ‘Goodbyes Forever’ takes a brave leap into vulnerability, budging open doors to the mind usually kept shut in order to cope with overwhelming feelings. Spanning across 10 tracks, each song delves deep into specific yet relatable emotions. From isolation and pining, to girlhood and resentment towards a past lover, each song dedicates itself to these specific feelings. It comes across that the album is a hodgepodge of different sentiments, but how better would it be to describe the chaos that the mind can be sometimes? The theme of mishmashed emotions is also mirrored through the selection of musical genres present in the album. aunt robert has taken this as an opportunity to diversify their sound, branching out to different genres to better illustrate their songs’ message while still holding on to the indie-rock style that fans fell in love with in the first place. This can be seen as early as the first track of the project, “Frount Robert” an upbeat, poptechno-esque track tinged with longing. It’s their classic aunt robert sound accompanied by synths and vocal effects. The album progresses smoothly, with the next couple of tracks leaning towards indie-rock, including the tracks “Mad” and “Please Say It” which were released as singles last year and have now found a home in the album. It’s such a cohesive arrangement of songs that when the album takes a stylistic turn in “Keepsake”, you realize you’re already at the midpoint of the album. With “Keepsake”, the band slows down the pace of the album and takes on a more intimate, reminiscent approach. Utilising an acoustic and atmospheric sound, aunt robert looks back on a past relationship with its promises unkept and answers to questions left unsaid, all the while still wishing them the best. It’s a beautiful, succinct track that deserves to be highlighted. The second half of the album showcases the experimentation that aunt robert endeavored, with most of the tracks leaning heavily towards that poptechno tinge we’ve seen in the opening track. The drum machines and synths create such a vibrant atmosphere. The production on these tracks proves to be excellent – they have a lot of elements mashed up with each other without sounding busy. It’s discordant in the most lovely way. As seen in tracks like “Blue” and “I’ll Go Wherever You Wanna Go”. As the album comes to a close, it ends with a hopeful note in “Hoarse (I’ll Get up Like I Always Do)”. The song devolves into high gain crunch towards the end with aunt robert’s voice ringing throughout the breakdown singing the lyrics like “I’ll get up like I always do” and “And I care like I always do. Nothing bad but it’s nothing new” It’s reminiscent of the consoling we sometimes do to ourselves in times of distress, reminding ourselves that we are capable of getting back up no matter what tries to convince us otherwise. ‘Goodbyes Forever’ is an apt name for the album. The whole project was a way to say the unsaid to whoever needed to hear it, so all that’s left is to bid farewell. Its closure and catharsis spread across 10 songs. aunt robert has done these genres before in smaller projects, but in ‘Goodbyes Forever,’ it seems they really dug their nails into it and honed their unique sound, making us excited to see how they develop their arsenal of styles in the future. SUPPORT THE ART AND THE ARTIST: goodbyes forever by aunt robert