PURE BLISS NO WORRIES is the second album released by Bling, a Filipino-American band based in Los Angeles. Irony is an ever-present theme throughout this 26-minute record. The grainy noise gradually builds up together like an anxious thought, unlike what the album title suggests. Another irony is that “build-up” never reaches an apex. The tracks feel like they are itching to be listened to on a train ride – only that the train ride could be destined for a train wreck. It’s one of those albums that you listen to as background music while attempting to do something productive, but unlike the productive mind, I worry that PURE BLISS NO WORRIES doesn’t add anything new to the table. Compared to their debut album titled “fuck”, Jinro Yo and Lianna Gutierrez’s vocals seem much campier and arguably more lucid in their sophomore record. The drums by Nick Castillo carry each track with fluidity and match well with the strum of Jaed Noleal’s guitar. If only the rest of the album used the sonic experience that was applied on the third track, ix3Chocolaté, we could have hopped on a bedroom rock road trip that either went down the “core memory” lane or the “headbang like no one is watching” route. Nevertheless, each instrument and modulation used in this record are easily malleable to make longer tracks like Patiently Waiting a memorable listening experience. I hope to hear something more similar in their future work so their sound appears to smooth out the grainy noise. The aesthetic choices of Bling’s attempt at a blissful theme such as the Angel Numbers present in the track length (Say Hi 2 Forever is 2:22, Nowhere… is 1:11, and RiskOne is 3:33) solidly create a mist of bliss. My question is, will that mist diffuse quickly? Support the art & the artist:
Tag: Slacker Rock
EP REVIEW: LORY – Cramped
Written by Elijah P. Terno Recording’s wunderkind Lory has stepped out of his comfort zone from being a lone bedroom pop producer from Parañaque to becoming a full blown three-piece with added layers in the mix. In his latest EP “Cramped”, you get to see Mikee Mendoza becoming more lethargic-sounding, scooping all the gruff and making his surroundings a bit louder, albeit a bit rougher than usual. He’s grown to unlike the pop fluff and embrace much of the textures. It’s almost getting there, it just needs a little stir in the pot. In other words, Lory and his friends just need a little bit of spoiled choices in soundscapes rather than choose to spoil the party entirely in reflection of past material. “Cramped” is treated as a sampler to Mikee’s next endeavors for his solo project rather than a bookend to his phase of city pop. Moving on to greater and bigger soundscapes rather than staying in the four corners of his room, you have tracks like “Huli Na Ba Kayo”, “Di Siguro” and “The Sun” embracing all the noise and continuously experimenting what he can do as a musician. Is the EP an “achievement” of sorts? Listeners would doubt its pop resonance and bright textures and would possibly question its length, but “Cramped” is more of an intentional practice of sorts. In “Slow Down”, you’ll be surprised by how this sounds like it should stay from the previous EP. Confidence is what is lacking in Mikee’s presence and maybe a bit of a looser and more liberating use of vocal filters to make Mikee’s voice shine as well as his lead guitars. But as his deadpan delivery persists in the latter half of the EP, the voice becomes a grower in a sense where Mikee’s voice does shine if you look at it in a more uncharismatic-charismatic lens. LORY’s “Cramped” has its ups and downs but to the project’s benefit, the reception is enough to not dismiss the project entirely for the lack of trying and enthusiasm being brought. There are guitar lines and synths being put to good use and maybe “Cramped” is seen better as Mikee’s ground zero compared to what the debut project was at the dawn of the post-lockdown last year. Support the art and the artist: