Written by Louis Pelingen In our local electronic dance scene, it is always wonderful to hear a lot more hardcore EDM music in today’s day and age. Where the raves will stomp the ground till it gets crushed to bits as the DJs don’t pull their punches and pushes the limits of EDM with deafening volumes, gut-wrenching drum and synth textures, and rhythms that will make everyone dance like they’re fast-forwarding in 2x speed. These hardcore rave scenes will not be for everyone as there are others who might just prefer dancing to the grooves rather than ballistically setting the dance floor on fire, but it’s a necessary part of dance rave culture nonetheless. After all, they can be spaces that can be gratifying and energetic to engage in, and hardcore EDM rave spaces certainly do not disappoint. When it comes to DJ HEADACHEMAXIMUM’s hardcore EDM leanings in this 4 track demo release, they sure put out a good set of them. DAMNATION DEMO was released under @SLANDERTRAX , a label that focuses on putting out hardcore EDM projects. While this was the first one put out under the label, it is a good and exciting release that puts both DJ HEADACHEMAXIMUM and the SLANDER TRAX label with exciting anticipation on what they will put out in the future as this demo project has some good tracks on them. While straightforward and simple to wrap your head around, there are enough variations and switches on each track that makes them pop out in their own way. ‘CALL ME’ starts off with the kick drum and rave synths in a well-measured rhythm, just before the squelching synths come in and create a chaotic sonic display. ‘IBUPROFEN’ proceeds with its looping synths, pulsating kick drum, and glassy hi-hat progressions that get more energetic when the screeching synth tones come into the fray. The last two tracks end the project that dips its hardcore foundations with softer synths. ‘PERPETUAL BREAK’ amidst the shuffling percussion rhythms comes to the blissful synthesizer that tip-toes through the track, and ‘REMORSEFUL SEPPUKU’ immerses all of its runtime with multiple change-ups from the rubbery synths, blocky percussion, and stable bass and hi-hat drums. What this demo project showcased is a good foundation of Hardcore EDM that has enough variation in synth tones and progressions. It might be considered standard in the genre, but at the end of the day, there’s a good quality in each of the tracks that if played in a hardcore rave gig, it will definitely put enough people in a state where they will whirl themselves around the area. Not mindblowing or anything, but it’s good enough for what it needs to do. Support the art & the artist: https://slandertrax.bandcamp.com/album/damnation-demo-2022-stax-001
Tag: Louis Pelingen
ALBUM REVIEW: Ruru – Glorious Miscellanea
Written by Louis Pelingen It has been two years since Ruru put out her 3rd EP, ‘The Odds,’ a short project that finds her inching toward jazzier blends in her melodies while retaining her lo-fi bedroom pop sensibilities and distant, fractured musings on the relationships that she describes in her writing. More so, it felt like her debut album was on the wings of being done, only possibly hampered by the pandemic interjecting every musician’s plans to release their records, delaying their supposed release dates for the next two years. And it was the case for Ruru herself, spending most of her 2020 and 2021 trying to finish her debut record that’s hanging by, which only increases the curiosity of what strands of sound and themes she will branch out next. Because as much as her brand of fuzzy bedroom pop combined with themes surrounding relationships and the personal reflection that comes with it is appreciative, it can start to feel a little stale once this palette has been repeated. And for Ruru’s debut record, she sure has switched that palette in a significant way. If ‘The Odds’ is the teaser for something new in Ruru’s growth, then ‘Glorious Miscallanea’ is embracing that growth. Said growth is shown in all aspects of this record. The instrumentation has been expanded further, bringing in more touches from the violins and woodwinds to help complement the organic texture of the guitars, drums, and synths. The polished production helps out the instrumentation and vocals give that needed fuzzy warmth that has been in Ruru’s pocket in her past EPs. The melodies and tunes have gotten more glee and energy to them now that Ruru has embraced more jazz and funk tunes in her sound, oddly reminiscent of acts like Dijon, Remi Wolf, and Japanese Breakfast. Ruru’s vocals have gotten more presence, allowing her softer vocal timbre to glide through the airy compositions pretty well. And the lyricism does step up as well, and while it still touches upon familiar melancholy, that melancholy is more internal this time. Focusing more on personal struggles throughout the scattershot moments in life and the numbness, disconnect, and frustrations that come with it. While it may not compose an arc that comes through, it does fit the meaning of the album title, where the collection of these small and mundane miscellaneous moments in life creates an emotional tension that takes time to process and reflect upon. Due to these improvements, the songs have so much spirit to them that it makes you want to return to their sweetness even more. ‘Chewing Gum’ with its jaunty grooves and woodwinds, ‘Strange World’ with its starry-eyed watery synths, ‘WYWD’ with its blissful tone from the reverbed guitars, glittery synths, and especially from Ruru’s hypnotic use of her falsetto, ‘Eyes of a Blue Dog’ with its soothing tune from the horns and the watery guitars, ‘It Matters Until It Doesn’t’ with these jaunty funk and jazz melodies from the woodwinds, guitars, and drums, ‘Jigsaw’ with the glitchier melodies from the percussion and sound effects that climaxes to Ruru’s mystical vocal harmonies at the end, ‘Serious’ with its summery and blurry cascades of guitars, and ‘Non-satisfaction’ wonderfully closing off the record with a lot of sweeping synths, guitar passages, and vocal overdubs. Even with the thin texture of the strings and some of the synths that can be distracting in some songs, and the fact that the momentum can slip away from the back half, those issues are still compensated with just how fleshed out these tunes are. While songs like ‘Moonbeam’ and ‘Snoozers’ don’t stand out as much as the rest of the songs, there are moments that still make them decent songs in their own right, with ‘Moonbeam’ coasting through those moody strings and ‘Snoozers’ using its brief runtime to showcase the wavy synths that are used majestically. Ruru’s debut album manifests a different splash of textures and colors in her already vivid world. Polished production that brings out the clarity of the vocals and instruments, Jazzy and Funky compositions along with additional instrumentation that provides sweetness and warmth to the melodies and performances, and songwriting that explores the scattershot moments in life and the whirlwind of emotions that comes with it. It’s a project that picks up pieces of memories and makes a collage out of them, a collage that is majestically put together. It’s a glorious miscellanea indeed, and it may hint at what else Ruru will create from these pieces in the future. Support the art & the artist:
ALBUM REVIEW: Cowboy Country Club – Signs You’re Getting Older
Written by Louis Pelingen Country music is the genre that has received some weird looks from a lot of people due to its traditionalist thematics and usual country twang that may put the listeners into a narrow perspective of the sound unless they dig into the scene itself. It can intersect itself with different genres such as folk, hip-hop, and rock which can expand the style of this genre effectively. And while a lot of the themes relate to an older audience, they can still resonate with the younger audience provided that the tunes, instrumentation, and songwriting can elevate themselves to grab them. The fact that some of the country artists today represent the People of Color and the Queer community that is creating outstanding country records that tell their own stories shows that the genre is evolving with time. In the Philippines, It’s a genre that you may not hear that often in the bustling cities but you can hear more of them once you’re in the provinces, specifically in the mountainsides. The genre does overlap with the Philippine folk scene where the themes of traditional values as well as methodical melodic compositions slip through from time to time. There is one band that does try to explore the genre in interesting ways, and that band is Cowboy Country Club. As the name suggests, they’re essentially a 3-man band that dabbles in folk and alt-country. Their debut record in 2017 showcased an interesting balancing point, where the front half dabbles in animal collective-esque folk landscapes filled with sharp synths, eccentric vocal takes, and guitar textures that ramble and spike across the songs, wherein the rest focuses closer on rollicking country melodies that still keeps the eccentric synth choices. It’s a debut album that has interesting compositional and production choices which do lead to some conflicting issues, where the vocals bring volume but not enough charisma, the synth work that can get garishly annoying quickly, and the sudden split between freak folk and alt-country tracks implies whether or not the band wants to indulge in its freak folk compositions or the alt-country compositions. 5 years after that record, Cowboy Country Club has answered that lingering question with their newest album, ‘Signs You’re Getting Older’. As the title suggests, it’s a record that shows the band maturing not just as musicians, but also as explorers in the country genre that they’re prominently showcasing in this album. This sign can be seen in the presentation of the sound of the record, where the synths and eccentric vocal plays of their debut are pushed away and give way to the intimate and stomping country styles that the band is riding on. While not expansive and risky in sound as their debut, it’s more consistent and more polished. There are issues that are both new and old, the vocals can still have their overpowering moments that focus more on volume rather than tone, some synth textures used still do not fit with the rest of the instrumentation, and there are instances where melodies could’ve used more punch and wonderful transitions, especially in some of the guitars and drums. Issues mentioned beforehand do show up on a couple of songs, but it’s pretty present on ‘Chances Go By’ where the overpowering vocals and unfitting synths that are both sharp and farty just make the song pretty difficult to get through. For a record that focuses on the trek of getting older and the aspirations of trudging forward amidst all odds, the band manages to stick the landing, giving a wonderful array of tracks that touch upon different country sub-genres while also improving on their vocals, melodies, and production work. ‘I Am The Only One’ showcases the country twang and rock smolder playing in different worlds that coalesce in an explosive finish, ‘Dyson Sphere’ goes into Honky-Tonk with the shuffling grooves, ‘Immaculate’ takes off with an upbeat tone from the vocals and the glimmering tone of the guitars, ‘King Sheep’ goes for a Nashville Sound style where the acoustic guitar twang and shuffling bass and drums are complemented nicely with the sweeping strings, ‘Lie Awake’ with its rumbling guitar melodies amidst an understated tone of the vocals, and ‘Squirrel On The Line’ that goes into Neotraditional Country may as well be their best song to date with the spare piano, pleasant guitar strums, and the additional strings and synths help out complement one of the best choruses they’ve put together in a while. Songs like ‘Truckin’ and ‘The Devil Will Always Be Watching’ are decent enough songs due to the country-rock smolder on the former and the impactful hook on the latter, but they don’t stand along the rest of the tracks besides those qualities. While this record does not exactly showcase any creative risks in the country scene that they are pulling from, the maturity, consistency, and improvement from their debut record to this record are enough to acknowledge the journey and the growth that comes from it. There might be disappointment towards the band for not going deeper into the freak-folk eccentrics, but there’s also an audience for leaning into country music that tends a bit more intimate and a little bit older. I suggest giving this a shot, for there might be songs that may resonate with you. And if it does, it may show the signs of growth you’ve had over the years, and it will make you go back to these songs for the rest of your lives. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: Sunday Stallone – Saving Face
Written by Louis Pelingen From a distance, there is something fascinating about Sunday Stallone. They’re a 5 man band that was formed in 2018, mostly putting out covers from a few years back. Those covers showcase their musical influences, from DIIV and their dreamy brand of indie rock to Yung Lean and his hypnotic brand of cloud rap and hypnagogic pop. Additionally, their Spotify profile mentions their merge of genres such as shoegaze, IDM, and ambient. The influences and genre meshes mentioned prior do knot together with how they put up those covers, hazy textures with washed-out aesthetics to create a vibe that will leave you floating, especially with how the songs are paced to glaze and echo through the mix. Once you get closer to their debut single, there is a risk that the band pulls through with its wall of sound from the guitars and drums that coast through misty synth patches that elevates even further in the chorus sections. This kind of mixing and maximalist production touches do work well with the intended theme of the song, pushing through times of frustrations and yearning to move forward despite it. However, once you get the scope of this single, it’s just unfortunate that the rest of the song just ends up being limp. As much as the risk from the band trying to make a stunning debut single is appreciative with its maximalist approach, if maximalism is being pushed here, there needs to be robust melodies and effective performances to carry that maximalism to a potent degree because this just does not have both of these factors. Besides the chorus with its decent maximalist swell, the verse melodies on the instrumental and vocal sides need a bit more crunch and flair to them to act as necessary building blocks to the chorus. Give the drums some engaging rhythms, the guitar and bass some diverse licks, and the keyboard some glistening presence that will make the verse melodies feel rich and buoyant. And when it comes to the performance, even with the backing vocals that show up from time to time do add to the yearning of the song, the vocalists on the first and second verse just lack the tone to sell it. And with the vocal melodies on both verses sounding stiff and bland, their performances just drift further away, feeling one note and numb as a result. Despite all of those criticisms, there is still work to be done. While this maximalist approach in the genre-fused music landscape has been made before, Sunday Stallone has the texture and spark to fill in the gaps in that maximalist niche. But the lack of fulfilling melodies, transitions, and performances crumble the maximalist mix and textures to the ground. It’s a notable debut single from the band that may be flawed all around, the chorus does save face from this single completely falling apart. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: neytan & Areli – FAR
Written by Louis Pelingen For Neytan’s current space in the local music scene, his handle comes off a bit straightforward for the most part. Well-composed tunes nestle nicely in indie rock and indie pop (bedroom pop if you want to lean on the marketing savvy trends), gentle and polished grooves and instrumental textures, and an amateur yet controlled vocal timbre and simple yet affectionate lyrical pastiches — all of which makes for a relaxed and meditative soundtrack for teenagers and young adults dealing with lovey-dovey yearnings. That’s mostly a compliment because the scenes for these kinds of straightforward, lovely twee offerings have their place in everybody’s playlist. If the artist wants to evolve in this sound, that’s good, but if they don’t want to evolve in that sound and proceed to do different experiments instead, then that’s good too. So it’s nice to hear that Neytan decides to do both on his new single featuring Areli, FAR. It starts off with a brisk and poppy start from the instrumentation with the cycling drum loops and spare guitar licks that are not far from Neytan’s origin point, but the quicker tempo gives a different sheen and immediate turnaround from his released work thus far. It brings out Neytan’s vocals a flicker that he hasn’t shown off before, and with this brand of homespun and colorful instrumentation and production that captures a similar vibe from the likes of Brakence, Brockhampton, and Dijon. It’s a sonic palette that really works for him. Of course, Neytan and Areli bring those comparisons more accurate with the melodies and harmonies that keep aiming higher, like fireworks that keep themselves ablaze from start to finish. This sense of urgency is pushed even further with Neytan’s emotional and captivating yearning for connections with people that are far away from him and Areli’s desperation to keep a friendship intact from a relationship that’s about to break apart with sentiments that are executed really well all throughout. The mixing, however, does not bring enough fullness and color to the instrumentation and vocals that would give this song a lot of benefits, especially with the glance to the mentioned artists that have these sticky, indie genre-fused songs that are elevated with a proper mix. But at the end of the day, when the tune is just so magnetic and Neytan and Areli bring a lot of expressive yearnings atop a sound palette that is executed pretty well, it goes to show that their needs for that momentous connection echo far enough for us to relate and hold on to that same desire in our fleeting, but enrapturing lives. Support the art & the artist:
MIXTAPE REVIEW: Daine – Quantum Jumping
Written by Louis Pelingen When it comes to emo music, you will hear the elements evolve in today’s music. Where the angst and emotional turmoil grasped more bombast and grit, especially towards the hooks blasting off at farther distances and the instrumentation bringing all its firepower and elevating the writing that stretches the pissed-off characteristics to greater heights. Whether those elements slip through genres of indie and mainstream pop, rock, and genre-infusion spaces, it makes the songs themselves feel more punchy and easy to get into with those emo stylisms especially when sites like TikTok can get into these kinds of songs pretty quickly. And when it comes to Daine, a Filipino-Australian musician who has worked with certain artists like Dylan Brady of 100 Gecs and Oli Skyes, she meshes her influence of rock and metal with hyperpop and hip hop. It was only a matter of time before she would showcase how she would take this genre-fused take to emo, given that most of the songs were written around 2016. And after putting out singles for the past two years, she has finally put out her debut mixtape, ‘Quantum Jumping’. Genre-fused emo music mostly stands out if the melodies, instrumentation, and vocals stand out to make the emo-tinged tones work even more. Unfortunately, dozens of listens to this mixtape left me wishing that some of the elements are improved upon. Because for the most part, the lyrics of Daine’s past personal stories of growing up, either dealing with her very first personal breakup, social isolation, or mental illness do make up for some solid writing, especially when it’s framed as nostalgic and how it showcases Daine finally celebrating her triumphs which makes sense because most of these songs are written around 2016 and the mixtape is literally entitled ‘Quantum Jumping’. It clearly shows that this is an ode to her younger self who was still struggling with a lot of things back then and finally breaking through it as her embrace of emo music allows her to push past it and be the person that she is now, and I personally liked that sentiment. But when it comes to the music itself, there are just a lot of tough decisions that do not elevate the writing, specifically the melodies, the production, and Daine as a performer. As a performer, Daine still has room to grow as her delivery doesn’t bring more tension when she tries to express her angst or convincing charisma when she tries to be a bit more mellow. It doesn’t help that the production feels overstuffed with texture and not enough melodic tone as the trap percussion does not add to anything, the blurry textures and inconsistent drum and vocal mixes only make the tracks feel oversaturated and overshadow the guitars, and the vocal filter on Daine’s vocals only makes her sound so brittle on a lot of these tracks. But the bigger issue is the melodies, where the hooks end up sounding mild and stiff, and the lack of tempo variation and distinction between chorus and verse melodies on a lot of these just makes the mixtape feel a lot longer as a result. It’s the reason why the mixtape starts off on a weak note, with ‘cemetery dreams’ being the worst song to start the mixtape with the limp melodies and trap percussion that may have been imported from an amateur made pop song in the 2010s and this sadly continues with songs like ‘weekends’, ‘black and blue’, and ‘IDC’ even if Daine’s contrast between her deeper vocals and shouts are appreciated. But going past that, the mixtape does end up with a decent back half, with ‘glitter’ just having that guitar strums amidst minimal trap loops, ‘comes and goes’ being the best song as the production finally ebbs back with the oversaturation and allowing the mix to breathe with the drum machine textures fitting so much better amidst Daine’s heartfelt performance, and ‘new ground’ ending the mixtape on a nice note with the quicker tempo, punchy instrumentation especially with that guitar, and Daine’s assured vocals. To end this off, this oddly reminds me of Charli Adam’s debut record last year also has some genre-fused emo touches and personal reflection of their past and celebration of the present. While Charli Adam could’ve amped up her vocal chops on some of the songs in the record, it’s compensated with melodies that have some oomph to them as well as production that allow the mixes to breathe and let loose when needed. And I personally think that that’s what is holding me back with Daine’s mixtape, where the overblown production, stiff melodies, and lack of vocal charisma and tension just do not elevate with the writing that feels reflective and relatable to those who have struggled with their personal demons in the past. While Daine has grown from her past, and this mixtape does showcase her growth, it does not represent her best output at this very moment. For the time being, this might resonate with those who have been scrolling into the punk side of TikTok and Twitter. And for Daine, this jump is a good effort, but she can definitely leap into better strides in the future. Support the art & the artist:
ALBUM REVIEW: Massiah – Lahi
Written by Louis Pelingen Ever since its creation, Careless Music Manila has been in a state of constant growth as it became independent in 2019, allowing the signed artists creative freedom when it comes to their visual and musical aesthetics. While the last two years have restricted these artists to tour around the world, it did allow them to focus on their musical projects that will push their careers through the door even more. This year, one of the artists in that label has put out their debut record and that is ‘Lahi’ by Massiah. To put it simply, it is a breezy and tropical record that centers on Massiah’s half-Filipino, half-Ghanaian heritage as well as his success in recent years. While it showcases Massiah’s talent and skill on the door, it doesn’t exactly showcase what makes him stand out. But before I discuss my personal nitpicks on this record, I would love to point out the positive aspects of this record. For one, the production is consistent for the entire runtime as afrobeat and trap beats are weaved throughout, supported only by chilly synth tones, chiming piano textures, and enough low-end presence that acts as a solid groove foundation for a lot of the tracks. And for how tropical this album is, it does make sense that Massiah tries to be loose and chill with his vocals to convey different tensions on most of the songs. And when the production and melodies are at their polished results, we get songs like ‘Frequency’ with its magnetic melodies and charming performance from Massiah and ‘Stay With Me’ thanks to the woozy synths and synth horns, low-key vocals that are elevated with multitracking and backing vocals that are nested at the best timing. However, there are multiple pushbacks in the production that don’t work well. While I loved ‘Paid for It’ due to the Spanish guitar chords playing amidst the trap rattles, the vocal mixing gets haphazard as it shifts to the back of the mix quite often and is not helped by the bass that swamps Messiah out of the picture. ‘Island City’ is also a mixed bag as well as it provides an interesting drill-esque beat that is coming from the sputtering trap drums and low-end presence, but it gets odd as the track suddenly transitions in slowed and pitched down effects which only makes the back half of the song to end in a jarring way. The production on the other tracks are mostly fine, ‘Higher’ with its hypnotic synth presence amidst solid trap and low-end grooves, the stable tropical afrobeat presence on ‘High off Life’, ‘First Time’, and ‘Tourist Chick’ with the latter having some horn accompaniments, and the sparse synths and bass presence on ‘Silhouette’. While some tracks could’ve used more of the guitar and brass instruments utilized in the album, I think my biggest issue here is the writing, the melodies and flows, and some missed opportunities that Massiah could’ve done in the record. While Massiah is a solid enough performer that showcases different sides in his vocal range, there are tendencies where he wears some influences on his sleeves when he raps and sings, especially from the likes of Amine, Drake, and Ty Dolla $ign. It’s also a missed opportunity for Massiah to have more interplay with his guest features especially when he is trying to different things in the record. He could at least try to play off with Because on ‘Island City’ and provide vocal harmonies with Fern. Official and Cavill on ‘Silhouette’. And while there is some vocal interplay in ‘High off Life’, there could’ve more opportunities for interesting vocal dynamics in the song. When it comes to the writing, I do get and understand the thematics of success and fleeting love that is in the record, but Massiah could’ve done more here. While the flexing is not really in the record, the constant mentions of the hustle and hard work just got stale and Massiah could’ve branched out in this topic, possibly towards introspection and how that success really means for him and those that he truly cares about. And then there are the love songs, which felt a bit flirty on the first track only to derail into unappealing tangents in the next couple of tracks. Massiah tried to sell that loose tropical vibe in the writing and production with his vocals, but it still doesn’t compensate for the bland and uninteresting songwriting and the melodies that can be stiff and derivative. Massiah’s brand of tropical afrobeat is fine and dandy, but treating this as a victory lap on his debut album may demand some folks more attention on what else he can do next after that hustle. Personally, it is a flawed record, especially with the influences wearing on Massiah’s sleeves, the production that stumbles on certain songs, and the writing that just doesn’t showcase his unique flair and ends up being one-dimensional as a result of it. While I applaud him for reaching that success and celebrating it on this record, I’m going to pay close attention to what else he can do in his future releases. Because now that he has showcased his victory lap, he will need to do more than just hustle bragging to sustain that audience. Support the art & the artist:
EP REVIEW: Chimera Mix – My Pet Rat
Written by Louis Pelingen Sometimes, musicians can get very productive, which can result in them putting out multiple records or EPs that contain distinct or experimental ideas, both in the production and composition side. This gets frequent in the modern underground scene, where their work ethic, lack of label presence, or even just having an ear for creating melodic structures out of the gate allows them to put out music in a ballistic state of mind. In these cases, it is interesting to see how their musical output remains consistent across the board and how their growth keeps sustaining with every record they put out, especially with that kind of musical force they belt out. Introducing Chimera Mix, the musical side project of 17-year old Patorikku who hails from Paranaque, who also goes under the YouTube channel moniker under the Patorikku name that focuses on eerie creepypasta-esque videos dipped with a VHS aesthetic that’s pretty much the trend these days. His musical output under Chimera Mix is downright impressive, to say the least. While it does encounter the issue of being bloated, the fact that he has 9 records under his belt blitzing through indie rock, psychedelic pop, hypnagogic pop, and even hard rock with creative melodic and instrumental tendencies he can pull out in thin air is just remarkable. And on this EP that was released last month, Chimera Mix wastes no time concocting 4 tracks that dabble in his usual hypnagogic and psychedelic pop weirdness which ends up being a fascinating peak in his career so far. ‘Prelude’ introduces the listener to soothing atmospherics that breaks down with these hypnotizing synth, drum, and guitar melodies just before it slows down and eventually concludes into these relaxing vocal harmonies. ‘My Pet Rat’ is a jaunty cut that contrasts the downbeat lyrics of the protagonist’s guilt of his dead rat as the instrumentation shuffles and progresses into a pure frenzy, especially the piano work and the brass instrument thrown into the chaos. ‘Tommy’ provides similar melodic and vocal zaniness as the last track paired with existential, dark lyrics and some Beatles worship in the mix coming from the guitar solo and the piano work. It ends off with ‘215 – 300 Version’, a song that was in his 2019 record, Pliocene. It retains the original dream-like aesthetic from that record with the fleeting synthesizers that develop even further, paired with a surreal and bleak lyricism that ends the EP on a mysterious note thematically, but on a satisfying note musically. While Chimera Mix has afforded to create fascinating melodic and instrumental twists and turns in his past records, ‘My Pet Rat’ EP has shown his musicianship at a state of refinement that continues to impress me, even with the creative strides that he has showcased on his past albums. He’s a trickster with dozens of tricks up his sleeves. And with this EP, he’s someone you might want to pay attention to in the future, for you’ll never know what kinds of exciting magic he’ll put out next. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: SHNTI – Fuck it (im in love again)
Written by Louis Pelingen Even if this year’s Valentine’s day has passed, LIAB Studios‘ SHNTI shows that the declaration of love isn’t limited to that date. Like goodie goodie, this is a reworked version of the same song that was put out on her SoundCloud page a year ago. SHNTI described this as a new era for her music, which I do agree with. This reworked version shows the mixing of the keys and the vocals balanced out as there are now inclusions of bass and violins besides the glossy keys and simple drum beat to add to the melodic foundation and charming feel to the song in courtesy of Calix’s contribution as a producer. SHNTI’s rapping and singing have improved ever since, showing more control, confidence, and charisma that makes her musings of newfound love feel charming and believable. And unlike the Soundcloud version of the song, this version really goes all out with the strings, bass, harmonized vocals, and handclaps that conclude the song where that love becomes more blissful and exciting to grasp. While my nitpick would be the chorus that could’ve been developed a bit further, that’s just minor. It’s a simple, quaint love song that SHNTI breezes through with enough expressive charisma paired with balanced and necessary production choices from Calix that make it so damn charming and blissful. Support the art & the artist:
TRACK REVIEW: dia maté – FANTASY
Written by Louis Pelingen Island Records Philippines‘ Dia Mate lets you into her musings on her newest song, “Fantasy”. Her voice shows her passion and her struggle as she trudges through a relationship that she wants to keep alive despite the vulnerability that is shown in the lyrics. The sparse beats, hazy effects, and somber guitar licks help set the tone of this slow-moving ballad. It’s a song that presents her fantasy towards the relationship that she wants to keep alive, but it’s not exactly fully realized. It can be alluring for the most part, but that fantasy can get smothered as the percussion and hazy effects cover up the gentle guitar passages that provide an intimate layer to the overall tone of the song. The gorgeous pre-chorus transition to a simple yet brittle chorus makes Dia Mate’s yearning sentiments sound slap-dashed and a bit sloppy as a result. But still, Dia Mate carries through the song with her impassioned vocals and lyricism. It’s the production and melodic slip-ups that pull back her fantasy from resonating ever stronger. Support the art & the artist: