Written by Louis Pelingen The artistic bond that Neytan and Areli have made ever since ‘FAR’ has flourished into something ecstatic beyond compare. When they first put that song out in the spotlight, their musical chemistry gels in an instant as their melodies echo their sonic influences such as Brockhampton and No Rome, and the ruffled yet effectively tuneful production has enough to captivate not just the listener but perhaps even themselves. This pairing of their interlocking interests and styles eventually paves the way for this duo to make their own boyband under the delightful name: Cat Boy Jeepney Drivers. Under their long-awaited debut mixtape, DIARY NG POGI, there is something in the presentation alone that speaks about the duo and the interests that made them click together. Their fascination and appreciation for the 2010s mainstream and local pop culture, the intrinsically silly Pinoy references and exuberant experiences that they carry along through their songwriting and performances, and even their sense of musical wonder that is not just creative, but in a way does reminisce on how homespun a lot of the local music scene that was popping over in youtube back in the early 2010s. Where despite the limitations that those acts have to face, they still manage to push past that as they insert as much charm into their songs whenever possible. Of course, these inspired characteristics do plop over to the musical side as well, where both Neytan and Areli chain together their respective knack for sampling and melodic composition to create a delightful blend of incredibly enjoyable pop and R&B songs within this mixtape. The joyous bounce of “LOSER” just puts an instant grin from ear to ear due to the swiveling samples and rumbling grooves swirling around the effortless vocal melodies, “UNSINT A MESSAGE” that’s comprised of manipulated samples and shuffling beat carries the layers of vocal harmonies to soar and allow the cheeky yet sincere sentiments to succeed, “MARSHMALLOW HATDOG” with its near 4-minute runtime full of harmonic layers picks up more melodic swells alongside pileups of strings and distorted percussions that closes the mixtape to a grand finale, and their cover of Justin Bieber’s “BOYFRIEND” adds upon a certain menace on the track’s sense of cool through the hammering percussion and blown out vocal pickups that lets the song to become instantaneously glorious as a result. Even if the breakbeat samples on “POP CULTURE” and especially ”MAYBE MITSKI” didn’t have the same creative treatment as the other songs, the vocal melodic runs placed upon the quicker pace of these songs are still sharp enough to work within the structure of the mixtape. Defined by their past local and international sonic influences alongside their own experiences that mold the silly yet sincere moments in these cuts, Cat Boy Jeepney Drivers are willing to not just take notes on past glories but appreciate them by embracing a sense of wonder and charm into their song-crafting process. As a result of their adventurous brand of pop, DIARY NG POGI unleashes multitudes of ecstatic, creative, and excellent set of pop songs from a duo that lives and breathes pop culture. Overall creating a colorful and charming diary that definitely needs a next installment, for there is so much greatness on display. Support the art & the artist:
Tag: Mixtape Review
MIXTAPE REVIEW: O $IDE MAFIA – O COAST
Written by Elijah P. The breaking news is what generates speculation and tension. We as terminally online human beings couldn’t resist the verification through live media. Normally one’s curiosity peaks at an all-time high when it’s game time. But a 3-minute “Freestyle” OMV and several provocative IG stories by a Malate-based trio were able to break the internet all over the hip-hop community; confirming that they are unfuckwithable. And that group turned out to be one of the most in-demand rap trios called O $ide Mafia. It wasn’t just game time for their members, namely Gee, Cashman, and Madman. It was game time for their entire district. After releasing bangers throughout the periods of lockdown in the country such as “Kinikilocs”, “Tokyo Drift”, “Yeah Hoe!” and their most recent hard hitter “Go Getta”, the trio have tested their haters by constantly releasing and proving themselves that they are hungry 24/7. Right around the corner are neighboring cities such as Pasay, Makati, and Quezon City. The group has reached a point where their hits have landed a collaboration with Laguna group Villa Mob, miles away than the usual 20-meter next-door kinship. Alongside the underground publicity O $ide Mafia was able to receive within the several months leading to their come up, their latest 5-track mixtape “O COAST” had a lot to say with regards to their current stature in the game, specifically for their de facto head honcho Cashman. Filled with verses that relate to their recent experience with the excess that comes with fame, gigs, and the urge to make content, Gee, Madman, and Cashman are equipped with the best resources at their disposal. “O COAST” to my surprise, is a tame project compared to their standalone singles. This doesn’t include the singles that were already out in the open in the past two years of their laborious string of releases. However, “Go Getta” is an easy contender for the best hook game of the year, wherein Cashman slides through every bar as if it were their DMs; “AMIGO” featured all three verses from the members, quietly scheme seamlessly in every syllable. “NO NET SHIT” is composed of one-liners that pinpoint the way of life as a hustler and effective code-switching. The darker edges of their sonic palette lurk around the production throughout the project. “Cold” is the operative word used by their producers Gee Exclsv and 808 Cash respectively, where their beats are led by simple nursery pianos plugins, and buzzing bass, and Gee’s unhinged flows are the highlight of each track, especially in tracks like “Go Getta” and “Cake”. But most of the pros in this mixtape aren’t really outweighing the issues in terms of consistency and overlapping themes of “O COAST”. O $ide Mafia have arguably emptied their tanks in terms of writing memorable hooks. Where we got loosies that aren’t included in the mixtape, we’re able to hear newer but minus the refreshing material. The listener got only a couple of smoky, calmer verses that rarely peak in each track. There’s rarely tension nor momentum built in any of these tracks, even though it’s embodied as a “mixtape”, you’d expect some sort of impulse of cohesion, but rather the mixtape felt slightly disjointed in terms of how slightly indifferent the other tracks sound production-wise. Overall, O $ide Mafia has showcased the new batch of tracks with an ample amount of promise and charisma. Cashman had the vocal presence, Gee had the production whiz and confidence, and Madman had precision and personality. This is enough to show that a mixtape like “O COAST” is a training ground for the relatively young group. 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:
MIXTAPE REVIEW: Kennedy Music – From The Top Bunk
The last time we’ve talked about Raushaus, they released their artist showcase last year. Those cuts showed a lot of potential in terms of style clashing and adopting the new styles of the western rap hemisphere. We chose to go inside the RausHaus, and looking inside those vibrant rooms we have a bunch of young lads making songs at the upper part of their bunk beds. The lads in question: Kennedy, a group of young up-and-comers. Recently, they’re on the uptrend in their circles for their newest mixtape titled “From The Top Bunk”. Out in the street, they run around with free verses while basking in the sun, waiting for the day to pass as their breezy choruses echo past the light posts. Their frequent frolicking in the ‘Best Boyband Since One Direction’ block may be at their arm’s reach. However, Kennedy liberating demeanor in ‘From The Top Bunk’ may have worn out their own welcome. Template after template, Kennedy’s group dynamics are executed with impressive results but the afterthoughts linger to a replay of the Saturation trilogy after a first listen or two. The lead single “m.i.a” is brimming with flows that are reminiscent in 99 Neighbor tracks and the nimblest verses before hitting the second half. Although, the singy-songy bridges aren’t on par with the skilled flows. The first two tracks, “s.y.m” and “tekken 6”, are nothing but style borrowing from one verse after the other. With every detail in the production paying good homage to BH’s producer team, the shelf life of these store-bought copycats expose the group’s longevity. With these influences being worn on their sleeves like a tight jumpsuit, groups like Kennedy are disillusioned with the cursed chemistry in boybands today that are prone to being impermanent footprints of a current generation. Similar to how Westlife was to Backstreet Boys or how Greta Van Fleet is to Led Zeppelin. These influences come at a cost and their identity as a group is at stake. Kennedy makes little to no distinction in being a boyband in the 2020s. However, their cloning doesn’t distort their songcraft entirely. There’s actual merit behind the blue makeup, faux puberty, and youthful stills. Whilst replicating the structure of the aforementioned boyband, tracks like “espana” and “always” actually pack a couple punches in both their hook writing and bar spitting. The former showed the group’s actual skill in multisyllabic and flow practices while the latter naturally flows so well with the hook, even the guitar lines complement the singing. Overall, ‘From the Top Bunk’ shows a lot of promise in the group. But that promise won’t be on a chokehold when the boys realize that they can be greater than their predecessors. This EP is a testament for their future releases, hopefully becoming forerunners of a generation that is about to be written in the midst of a lockdown. SUPPORT THE ART & THE ARTIST: