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:
Tag: Jikamarie
TRACK REVIEW: Jikamarie – “Kailangan ko ng….”
Written by Elijah P. Angelica Ponce aka Jikamarie took the Tiktok world by storm when she released her debut single “Lutang” — a synth-y r&b track that encapsulates our feelings that are in an absent-minded state — where it drew in colossal streaming numbers, a bunch of niche micro celebrities lip syncing to the song, and eventually made her land in a label deal with Warner Music during the last quarter of 2021. The track itself was a smash-hit for its infectious hooks, borderline-fantastical production, and leading synths that make a callback to electropop phases of K-Pop production styles in the mid 2010s. “Lutang” persisted throughout the rest of 2021 and marks a promising career for both Jika and her sibling-slash-executive producer Kenneth, establishing an early Billie-Finneas chemistry later on as she prepares herself in a post-pandemic world in 2022. Several months after the viral rollout of “Lutang” and countless other features across the industry board, it seemed like Jikamarie was about to reach the peak of her career as a singer-songwriter already. Mostly relying on Tiktok snippets and excessive remixes of “Lutang”, the debut single was about to reach its quota and it was high time for Jikamarie to churn out a new single before time runs out. “Kailangan ko ng” is a brand new single released days after the Valentine’s rush. It featured odd Korg-y bass lines, a cinematic chorus, and a weird, out-of-place bridge injected right smack dab in the middle of the single. To prove one’s artistic longevity is a challenge artists struggle shortly after they’ve hit their Smells Like Teen Spirit moment. But to Jikamarie’s benefit, “Kailangan ko ng” still stays true to her earnestness and drive, however, the end result has embodied the literal definition of a half-baked product. Being a one hit wonder surely is a curse, it’s a slump that’s taken for granted by many, and Jikamarie has experienced her first stumble in her latest single; The choruses have overstayed its welcome, a promising subject matter that’s interrupted by an odd choice in tone by the bridge, and a song structure that’s slightly identical from her past two singles — which are “bawi ako sa next life” and “Lutang” respectively. There are a lot more cons that outweigh its pros, to which it doesn’t completely apply to Jikamarie’s detriment entirely and surely “Kailangan ko ng” and its themes was able to conjure up a relatable feeling. But as far as repeated listens are concerned, Jikamarie’s “Kailangan ko ng” fails to be on par with the quality of her previous singles. SUPPORT THE ART & THE ARTIST: