Written by Louis Pelingen Constraints can be a demotivator towards an artist’s own journey towards creation, whether that be due to the limitations that they’ve struggled through either the environment that they’re in during a specific point of time, the collaborations with other creatives that need a specific amount of mutual understanding to follow through their output, or the sudden frustrations within one’s own capability as an artist. Because whether reasons that may be, the one thing that an artist wants as they grow older is to let go of the stirring process to create and allow that spontaneous liberties to flow through; allowing them to be at ease in every step of the creative process just to make something that still shows that they still got it. After 2 years of going through creative frustrations himself, Gabba Santiago of Instrumental post-rock and prog-rock band Deb & Gabba (FKA Tom’s Story) takes a different tact towards creating his solo debut album, where his process for collaboration and composition has a lot more free rein that allows for a lot of creative liberties. A kind of tact that treats the making of music more as an expression of Gabba’s own imaginative spirit with a lot of casual, back-and-forth exchanges with his collaborators as well as letting his creative mind do the talking when it’s time for him to make the melodies in this record. Letting spontaneous ideas bubble up rather than leaning into a calculated mode of music-making. It circulates all in ‘Recollections’ being an album that celebrates Gabba’s personal freeing joy in creating music as well as serving as a sonic diaristic journey towards his life experiences. And true to its name, the album does have a lot of blends in terms of tones, dynamics, and textures that lay into Gabba’s technical musicianship and the collaborations that helped along with the project. The Math Rock riffs and pulsating rhythms of ‘Overcurrent’ and ‘Puzzle’ swivel through the post-rock sensibilities, not breaking them apart as the added presence of synthesizers as well as Clara Benin’s vocals on a couple of songs makes a lot of those fiery guitar and drum patterns to be a lot more comforting and loose. The same thing goes for ‘Woodcraft’ with the Saxophone playing by Miguel Jimenez with its calming tone that eventually accompanies the soaring progressions in the latter half of the song, the buzzy synth tones that slide around Bea Lao’s shuffling drum work on ‘Linear’, and the frenetic drum patterns that drive around the low-key atmosphere of ‘Paradigm’. While the record presents a lot of calming soundscapes all throughout the record, Gabba also embraces a lot of progressive rock swerves that allow his joy to be immense in scope. The crashing drums and expressive guitar riffings of ‘Zoomies’ certainly do their work, especially with its brief 2-minute runtime. And the distorted guitar tones that are present on ‘Fury’ and ‘Coastline’ certainly end the record on a high note where the former song imbues the unwinding melodies with an erupting edge, all with crumbling riffs and sneering noise; the latter song sweeps the meditative melodies and mix with the echoing guitars letting out one more emotive charge just before it calms down in the end, the eventual calm after the storm. It certainly has a lot to offer given the amount of tones, collaborations, and textures that are sewn into this record and Gabba certainly had a lot of fun making this in the studio, but there are some issues that can either be distracting or underwhelming. On the former instance, it’s mostly towards the mixing of the record, where a lot of the drum and guitar fidelities can sound haphazard from track to track even if it makes sense due to the composed feel that this record is providing, but it can still be quite the frustration every time it pops up. And on the latter instance, there are certain experimentations on the additions of sound that could’ve been implemented into these songs a lot better, as some of the synth and vocal implementations are there for fleeting texture rather than adding a lot more to the melodies of these songs as well as the fuzzy drum machines that may add a different tone from the organic percussions laced throughout the record but can sound flimsy than it should be. The shorter interludes like ‘Goofy’ and ‘Layout’ don’t do much in the tracklist at all with their repeating motifs that only thin out in the end. ‘Fridge Magnets’, ‘Quiver’, and ‘Interim’ also have their weak spots, where the progressions that settle into that calming atmosphere don’t open up into intriguing transitions or switch-ups alongside texture over melody soundscapes make them sound unremarkable than the others. And then there is ‘Here Now’ where despite the presence of the keys and the electronica that tilt at the end of the song, it’s one of the instances where that lilting presence ends up being a bit more hamfisted as a result. Gabba’s solo debut is an effort that shows a lot of strengths as a result of him finding a freeing process of making music, sharing ideas with his collaborators in a much more casual manner, and letting the music be a celebration and an inspiration for himself and for others as well. It may be a collection of songs that have their high points and low points, though it also pretty much feels like reading through a diary where you’re able to see how that person is going through, joys and frustrations and all. While it is frustrating at a few spots due to the haphazard mix, meager sonic implementation, and bland melodies, to hear Gabba feeling a lot more joyous and explorative within the record through the amount of variety of sounds and styles does shine through a lot. A starting point for sure, “Recollections” is a record that’s led to its highs rather than lows. Support the art & the artist:
Tag: Louis Pelingen
ALBUM REVIEW: Noa Mal – The Anatomy Of Emotional Hijacking
Written by Louis Pelingen Starting around 2019 and onwards, no one is putting in the amount of output that Noa Mal has churned out year after year. In other parts of the world, there are a lot of artists like Noa Mal wherein they’re getting a widespread reputation due to how many projects they can consistently release – think King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Viper, and the smattering of obscure electronic, folk, and black metal acts that have that artistic capacity to just brute force their way into a year with 3 or more projects done – looking into the local scene, there is no one like Noa Mal at this current moment. And despite carrying that sort of reputation might be interesting and outstanding to some, that can also be the kind of title that can get frustrating and lead to bigger expectations. Mostly because, with that brand of ‘quantity over quality’ release cycle being stretched over in the consecutive years, the worries surrounding sonic and thematic retreads; lack of surprises in the formula; and meager interest towards improvements across the board will come up more and can lead to going through that kind of discography to be daunting and may end up being less interesting when those boxes are ticked off. Now, after going through Noa Mal’s entire discography, the results can be a mixed blessing. While her brand of lo-fi grunge rock and slowcore comfort zone definitely mesh together easily – her gloomy topicality surrounding relationships and personal angst starts to get extremely thin due to her plain way of writing as well as persistent mixing and mastering issues that doesn’t allow the recordings to blend altogether – there are projects that do show her improving on the composition and production front. ‘Everything Is Science, Baby’ is a good starting point as it best represents Noa Mal’s sound across the board, which you can then follow up on her other 2022 released records like ‘My Corrupted Hard Drive’ that leans on the softer grunge and slowcore cuts and ‘Fear Fiction’ for some synth implementations that she’d eventually explore even further just this year with ‘Suspended Animation’. Going through with her tradition, ‘The Anatomy of Emotional Hijacking’ is her 3rd record that she released this 2023, just after the volume and banger heavy ‘Holy Hour’ and the synthetic drum and synth-inflected ‘Suspended Animation’. It continues to retain Noa Mal’s compositional strengths on the record, from the moody drenched ‘The Actress’ where Noa Mal’s prim vocal lines work well with the wavering guitar licks and percussion beats, the trudging indie rock of ‘Luci’ and ‘Deeply Tinted Glasses’ as the former staggers through due to the quicker flash of melodies alongside these carefree vocal lines and the latter coasts through grungier guitar lines that adds into the smoked out vibe of the track, the sunnier indie rock of ‘Dance For Me, Puppet!’ with the gliding vocal melodies amidst the stable fuzzy drums and brighter guitar lines, and the tempered acoustics of ‘Sepanx ka nanaman’ that brings an open space away from the numbness of the moment. As said before, with her writing surrounding numbing cycles of relationships and personal angst that has gotten stale that doesn’t give her a lot of favors at this point, the writing this time opens up Noa Mal’s writing scope as there are a couple of songs that provide more context towards the relationship that eventually fluctuates before it even started. The universal sorrow of ‘Luci’ that tackles the loss of everything and everyone as well as the social exhaustion of Noa Mal’s generation represented through Luci is an example of this that continues further with ‘Dance for me, Puppet!’ through the puppet metaphors as well as the glancing subtext of familial disappointment on certain tracks like ‘Intro: Hijacked’, ‘My Golden Town’, and ‘Sepanx Ka Nanaman’. These moments do add more to Noa Mal’s dulled-out relationship throughout the record like the tiring cycles of everyone showing her how to love on ‘The Actress’ which eventually colors how the numbness that she feels creates a different tone to the “love songs” of ‘The One Who Really…’ and ‘My Golden Town’. Songs may have this emotionally intimate tone to them, but given the context of social exhaustion from her peers and the personal dullness from all the cycling relationships, it’s now put into darker framing wherein Noa’s numbness has now bordered into irrationality, making the relationship an emotional hijacking that she eventually disposes away on ‘Sepanx Ka Nanaman’ and eventually succumbs to more layers of numbness that makes her feel free at the very end. Despite the strengths that Noa Mal has honed in on this record, the mixing of the record does get a bit uneven, more so the guitars and drums that do peak on the mix. While this issue does permeate on her 1st 2023 record, ‘Holy Hour’, it is at least consistent in terms of how loud it can be that does get compensated with punchy grunge melodies just flooding through and through, while ‘The Anatomy of Emotional Hijacking’ takes those grunge melodies with a sunny like flair that does need more balance on the mix. And despite her writing that does work a lot more in this record, it did stumble on ‘Angel of Romantic Death’ with the plainspoken metaphors that may show Noa Mal’s agency but just ends up being clunky as a result. But overall, ‘The Anatomy of Emotional Hijacking’ might not feel special in Noa Mal’s ever-growing discography at first glance even if the composition still does come off as developed, the writing and emotional throughline on the relationship Noa Mal is presenting here offers a different layer and side of her style and framing thus far. A lot more tangled and is paired with an extra set of context around it that does broaden Noa Mal’s skill as a writer given her plain style of writing hasn’t stuck out much in her past records. It’s very
TRACK REVIEW: FEIFEI – MINATO
Written by Louis Pelingen Back in June of this year, FEIFEI returned back in the scene with a three-track single called ‘YUM’ that included two pluggnb cuts and a Jersey Club remix of one of those songs courtesy of Showtime Official Club’s production. Those cuts, alongside the Jersey Club remix of ‘let her cook’ center a lot towards social media aesthetics on the romance and honing into the bubbling Jersey Club and UK Garage adjacent soundscape that has gotten really active this year, with ‘discord pag-ibig’ hones in on the discord slangs that are used for lovey-dovey interactions and the ‘let her cook’ jersey club remix from Showtime Official Club leaving a mark of interest for FEIFEI on her sound moving forward. Three months later, FEIFEI eventually embraced both the UK Garage dance-pop beat and the colorful internet-laden flirtations on ‘MINATO’, a combination of aesthetics that leads to a ridiculously sticky single put together really well due to the quicker percussions, buzzing and swirling cocoons of synths, and ridiculously catchy melodies from FEIFEI which wiggles around the beat yet still manages to be composed and tuneful all the same. All of those elements paired with the lovey-dovey romance that comes off as colorful and silly due to how it sprinkles a dash of delusion as well as the internet-driven flair on the writing end up overall endearing. Endearing in a way that’s gonna make you cheer for someone to get with their crush while also gently making fun of that person for the harmless delusion they’ve put upon themselves. Not that it is bad to be in those situations, of course, but FEIFEI sure knows how to make it look fun and honest all throughout. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: RONAN – INSOMNIA ft. Shuichi
Written by Louis Pelingen For those who are not aware, before his Kailan cover was put out, Raccoon Eyed Ronan debuted on SoundCloud with ‘INSOMNIA’, a mostly decent R&B cut that was underpowered due to the rough production and mixing & mastering elements. However, after the Kailan cover did get a lot of buzz around the indie circles – which has led to Raccoon Eyed Ronan now working under Twin Plaza Recordings – he eventually touched up this song with Shuichi helping along. And surprise to nobody, it’s essentially an improved version thanks to the hypnotic production with all of its psychedelic atmosphere from the synths and horns paired with the impeccable mastering allowing the course grooves to swell and then explode wondrously at the end. And for a song that’s about holding on to a relationship and asking with genuine care if there is a possibility of fixing said relationship, both Raccoon Eyed Ronan and Shuichi delivered exponentially where Ronan’s somber yet heartfelt vocals contrast well with Shuichi’s desperate expressiveness that works with how the instrumentation spills forth after his verse. There are a lot of welcome additions to this new version of ‘INSOMNIA’ that puts Raccoon Eyed Ronan as an artist to look forward to. Since now that he is under Twin Plaza Recordings, there is so much potential waiting to be seen here that it’s exciting to guess wherever he will go from here, especially with his brand of R&B that he can present with potent sincerity and layered melodic and production taste. For the time being, this track and the Kailan cover stand strong for what spark he’s yet to unleash, a spark that will keep us wide awake in the near future. SUPPORT THE ART & THE ARTIST:
TRCK REVIEW: girlcharmm – infatuation
Written by Louis Pelingen The ongoing output of this dream pop sapphic band girlcharmm aims to deliver letters for the heartbroken group of sapphic lovers in the Philippines. Their second single, ‘infatuation’, is a letter for those who yearn for that desired love, only to unveil the heartbreak within as the process of recovering soon comes after. It’s a message that’s delivered with a direct and conflicting scope, where Darl Alba’s sweet vocals are surrounded by Anna Gella’s layers of fuzzy drum machines and layers of synths both blaring and floating as well as Kaya Katigbak’s chunky guitar riffs flooding in. There is intent in that hemmed-in production as the melodies keep rambling around the instrumentation in a free-flowing way – clearly purposeful in order to encapsulate that exhausting thought process of that sad realization that is way too sudden for a lot of sapphic individuals to eventually figure out on their own. As much as a lot of the elements from the melodies and the production clearly hit home what the track is going for, it also makes it tough to get back into due to the rambling motion of the melodies and the feverish fog of the production. It doesn’t take away from the track’s quality, however, as it never shies away from revealing how tiring the process of going through that bitter phase of infatuation is. Clearly, what’s important to take note of here is that girlcharmm delivers what needs to be delivered, embracing sapphic relationships in the local music scene that will resonate a lot with a sapphic audience that has their broken hearts still in healing. Support the art & the artist:
TRCK REVIEW: Edacity – comethru4u
Written by Louis Pelingen Edacity’s gradual shift towards hyperpop this year has lent him more potential for something to work with in the future. While the past cuts he pushed out in recent times still find him wading through the bubbly soundscape of hyperpop, ‘comethru4u’ puts his lovesick vibe splash through a flashy hook, glimmering synth notes swirling around buzzy beats, and Edacity’s vocal carrying a heartfelt delivery that works nicely within this short song. It ends on an upward slope, where the added blasting percussion and pitchy multitracking allow the overall tune to pop at the right moment. It’s a track that at least found a neat, but not incredible landing for Edacity going further into this sound as he works on his upcoming project. Where even Edacity delivers what he needs to do in order to make this brief song go off, thanks to the balanced mixing and the sweet atmosphere composed well; the hollow percussion textures and the sticky albeit dull melodies hold back the track from creating a bigger impact. The overall tune may create a nice splash, but with the curiosity to experiment and tweak his style, Edacity could make something that can stand out even more. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: Antemundane – A Throbbing Unbearable Thing
Written by Louis Pelingen Reality is often filled with environments and situations that are always changing and adapting, leading to crises that confuse and frustrate everyone. Antemundane, the solo project of Ivan Brosas from The Strangeness, steps into this lead single feeling the exhaustion of reality itself. A gentle slice of alt-country with nods to easy-listening vintage pop is a rather elusive one. Entering the scene with this bubbly, psychedelic synth before it tempers itself with these solemn synths, quaint piano progressions, and shuffling drum and bass groove helps carry Antemundane’s own tiring trudge about reality as he starts questioning his memory and his own existence alongside it. The pacing of the melody and how it weaves around the calming instrumentation is just right to allow the short, yet poetic songwriting to linger, especially when the track ends with the horns slipping through the forefront. It is a curious one, to say the least. While not exactly remarkable – where Antemundane’s delivery could’ve used a bit more flexibility on expressing this theme and the song overall feels like it opens up a lot of questions surrounding what the album will be about and might hit better in the context of the record – there is a lot to look forward here based on the minimal poetry and the gentle instrumentation that it presents. It may be a piece of a bigger puzzle for the time being, but it’s one where it’s intriguing to see where it opens up eventually. Support the art & the artist:
ALBUM REVIEW: The Purest Blue – All is True
Written by Louis Pelingen The past we have left behind manifests through still memories that have comforted us through the paths of growing up. The small bike that was used to roam around the neighborhood, the color blue that reminds us of comfort puffing in the skies, the dollhouse that embraces the imagination of a child, and the gentle warmth that gathers when we see our parents and loved ones in front of us. And even when those moments pass through us, it doesn’t mean that there is no opportunity to find comfort in them when we do get older. For Pauline Rana and her musical project The Purest Blue, that sentiment is a truth that we need to remind ourselves all the time. In the aptly titled debut project, ‘All is True’, the smallest and tightest of packages bring a lot to the table. There is a lot of tenderness and sweetness on this very record, where the production from both Pauline Rana and Sobs & Subsonic Eye member Jared Lim allows a lot of the instrumental textures to be crisp and splashy, allowing the melodies to glisten and soar, and make that return of past memories with a deeper appreciation from our present selves to really hit home. The glinting waves of synths that opens up ‘Stationary Bike’ as it sweeps through the bustling acoustics and Pauline’s cooing vocals is quite the breezy ride to start the record, which then proceeds to simmering shoegaze on ‘Blackie’ with the crystalline hiss from the guitars, the percussive breakbeats of ‘The Truth is Blue’ and ‘Carnation Pink’ that gives a lot of energy from the buzzy synth, organ keys, and lo-fi acoustic run of the former track and the sunny pop tune of the latter track, the undulating atmospherics of ‘Small House’ with the layers of melodies brushing up to the end, and the rather straightforward dream-pop soundscape of ‘Tenderness and Purity’ with the driving bass lines, soothing vocal melodies, and shuffling drums just before the soundscape breathes and moves close to the front of the mix. The only hiccup this record has is the synthetic warble of ‘That’s Us’, where even if it does fit with what the song is going for due to the swaying details of time, the synthetic vocal production doesn’t really mesh that well with the dreamy melodies and instrumentation. While this record takes that saccharine quality burst for the bright moments to shine, it doesn’t shy away from going through the grief that Pauline feels as she returns back to those memories, especially the ones that involve her past self and her father. She rolls through that grief on ‘Blackie’ and ‘The Truth is Blue’, where despite trying to find a sense of comfort on the opening track, she finds herself feeling a sting thinking through the loss she felt from past memories, overall making her feel blue, a color signified for sadness and loneliness. But that color also stands for comfort as well. In ‘Small House’ and onwards, those memories of the people and pets that she really missed from her childhood are still there with her, teaching her how to love herself and find the comfort she needs in her present self. To realize that what we feel like is missing is there somewhere in past memories, acting as truths that validate a positivity that we have to keep on providing not just to ourselves, but to everyone that we always meet and interact with. Overall, ‘All is True’ is a reflective record where the splashy quality not only resides with the colorful production and melodies from Pauline Rana and Jared Lim on the array of prismatic dream pop, alternative pop, and shoegaze, but also with the sense of finding one’s own joy from returning to the transitory space of memories even if having to find that joy also means simmering through the sadness that shakes us before. If you ever find yourself feeling like something is amiss within yourself, don’t be afraid to open the door of a past space, you might find the truth you’ll need to move forward. Support the art & the artist:
TRCK REVIEW: ASIDE BOONDOCK ft. JustRaw – SOUFSIDE*
Written by Louis Pelingen This up-and-coming hip-hop collective hailing from Argao, Cebu is one to keep a close look on. Turning everybody’s heads this year with “Smoke Naka?” and its boom-bap production, loopy choruses, and slick flows, it’s easy to find yourself vibing to their hazy brand of hip-hop. These attributes lend true once again on “SOUFSIDE*”, JustRaw lending another eclectic boom-bap beat and loopy chorus lines to allow the smoky flows of each member to settle in, delivering their bars like passing a blunt to one another and giving a quick puff out of it. Nyjah’s flow exudes a bouncy swagger; Tunshion’s vocal flips are filled with a hysterical tone; Jeff Tussy’s brings off sober energy to his verse; JM Ence’s flows are brief, delivered with a lax attitude; Massa Michi pulls off dithering syllabic flows in his bars; and JustRaw’s inflections in his verse and chorus are sharp and snappy. “SOUFSIDE*” is an addition to the addicting and hazy vibe that ASIDE BOONDOCK is building up with tight melodies and hypnotic boom-bap production. A smoky trip that the collective is inviting you to join and bounce along to the vibe, with the Odd Future influence used to capture your attention through a loose atmosphere, straightforward lyrical flair, and slippery flows alongside it. While the collective is clearly in the initial stages in terms of sculpting their lyrical and sonic style, their ability to invite the listener to their breezy, smoked-out vibe in the southside is a vibe worth relaxing into. Support the art & the artist:
ALBUM REVIEW: Kelady – BABAE
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: