Written by Aly Maaño From his pop-rock roots as Abcd’s frontman, Darwin Dela Rosa embodies a different persona in his solo project, dear fr1end. In his debut single, “VOICEMAILS.” Darwin explores the midwest emo and pop punk territory, with heartbreak and longing as its main themes. It begins with a recorded phone conversation between two people who are evidently on the brink of ending their relationship. In between denial and bargaining, a jangly guitar intro can be heard, capturing that signature Midwest emo sound akin to the twinkly guitar elements of math rock. This forms the precedent of the song’s whole storyline: a person caught in the throes of a breakup, and is still holding on. As the verse explodes with a full swing of instruments, Darwin’s anguish-riddled voice perfectly reflects the protagonist’s emotional state. The track continues on a faster tempo, shifting more to the pop punk side with strong, prominent drums that break into clean, jangly riff solos at the right moment. At this point, the narrator continues to send voicemails to his ex-partner as a way to comfort himself rather than an attempt to bring her back. As if to mirror his sorrow, the song deviates once more to a slower pace, accentuating its cycling guitar parts and melodies. Having gone through all the stages of grief, the song collapses into a chilling guitar solo until the beep of an unanswered phone fades into silence. In its entirety, “VOICEMAILS” is the type of music you play on your car while driving to the only 7-11 in your rural town at 2 a.m. The lyrics aren’t gut-wrenching, but bleak enough for any listener to reminisce about that one failed relationship (or situationship). The song’s lack of a chorus doesn’t make it less catchy or memorable; it highlights Darwin’s ability to tell a consistent narrative from start to finish. Like a long-distance pen pal, one may wonder what other heartfelt stories dear fr1end will share through his music. SUPPORT THE ART AND THE ARTIST:
Tag: Midwest Emo
TRACK REVIEW: Sintasan – Sin In October
Written by Louis Pelingen Among the sea of up-and-coming bands slipping across blends of gentle and effervescent murmurs of Dream Pop and Shoegaze, and the thorny and magnified observations of Post-Punk and Emo, Sintasan wriggles on the latter side, bringing another niche along the way. Popping up since early December of last year, this quintet immediately skates into the throes of Midwest Emo and Post-Punk with their staggered emotions that will reel on brittle screams on one section and whimpering singing on the other. Since their debut single last year, they have been aiming their sights towards fleshing out their scopes as they keep working on their debut project this year, new songs showcasing new variations that still come off adjacent to their own ethos that has been consistent to date. Like a machine roaring and fuming as it crashes at full capacity, “Sin In October” processes its post-heartbreak situation with a flood of pain pouring through. The melodic fervor of the frenetic drum work and guitar playing nestles the vocals that knead between heartfelt singing and gnashing screaming, multiplying the feelings of a broken-down protagonist reflecting upon a crumbled relationship, wishing to be better for their ex-partner and wanting forgiveness for the hurt that they’ve stung to them. The reflection is then mirrored within the cooldown moment of the track that pulses through at the end of the song, that immense yearning now converted into intense turmoil, screaming to wish that they can retain the love with that past partner. As the year closes into the midyear, so is Sintasan as they head towards completing their debut project that will be released on the horizon sooner rather than later. While it is evident from their past singles that they are building blocks towards sculpting and refining their sonic dynamics and compositional structures, “Sin In October” is the track that they’ve made with the most polish so far, able to echo the raw, undeterred plea to be forgiven from the sins that were dealt months ago. Support the art & the artist: