Tag: synth pop

  • ALBUM REVIEW: DAGA – Sexy Jay

    ALBUM REVIEW: DAGA – Sexy Jay

    Written by Noelle Alarcon

    Sexy Jay is a superhero of sorts; barber by day, and Filipino post-punk champion by night. ‘DAGA,’ his debut album, shows that he is the master when it comes to the act of being tongue-in-cheek. It’s 21 minutes of plain, everyday truths that Sexy Jay manages to bring to life with color and bursting synths that show his composing capabilities through unabashed quirk.

    While Sexy Jay’s past releases were quite disco-oriented and dreamier, this album is a brighter, more experimental turn in his discography. “Daga,” the opener track of the same name, sets the tone with low, punchy bass and 8-bit synthesizers. “Daga. Daga. Bubwit.” A punchy, vibrant instrumental drags along, interlacing these words with meaning. There’s cleverness in simplicity whenever Sexy Jay tries it on for size. Like many tracks on the album, his unique storytelling is an underrated strength.

    The songs in ‘DAGA’ vary in theme, yet they all find their beauty in placing simplicity at their very cores. “Singaw” has a minimalistic synth setup, but it shines when it’s complemented with the drum machine that ever so slightly misses a quarter of a bar or so a few times, and Sexy Jay’s wails and cries of “Ang hapdi mo!” that are like a local carnival barker’s yelps—think: the way Lux Interior of The Cramps sings.

    ‘DAGA,’ though uniquely Sexy Jay’s, is also a diary of the Filipino experience. Its most timely tracks involve “Pag-asa” and “Baha.” Everyday tragedies that are left by the system to be withstood through resilience roll off the artist’s tongue. “Marami nang naghihirap / ‘di niyo ba nakikita?” and “Baradong kanal / baradong imburnal” are sung in a dazed tone, in contrast to the upbeat pulses, which make for catchy reminders of reality. 

    There’s no question that ‘DAGA’ is an acquired taste. Others on social media fail to see it as an actual musical effort, but it’s as much of a record as the next one. Though undeniably unconventional, its postmodern take on alternative music is what produces most of its charm. By dousing itself in irony, the songs on ‘DAGA’ challenge what it truly means to create a song; its blatant disregard for convention conveys the act’s sense of creativity. With lyrics so impersonal yet personal at the same time, it’s like Sexy Jay brought back the deed of oral tradition—just in a way that’s more avant-garde. 

    Repetition is the hammer that nails the irony into the droning wall of sound that wraps around ‘DAGA.’ There are times, though, when the artistic device acts more like a mirror—like the similarities in the instrumentals, as well as the vocal mannerisms and cadence in “Philippines” and “Birthday ko.” Collectively, ‘DAGA’ possesses a strong auditory identity; but when the tracks are listened to individually, it’s like looking at a puzzle that’s not finished yet.

    ‘DAGA’ is an adventurous manner of utilizing music’s capabilities. It’s one of those albums that broaden your taste and open your mind once you finish listening to it. Though beautifully straightforward, it’s evident that there are years of curation and experimentation that led Sexy Jay to this point as an artist. The album cover may be made up of uniform curves and lines, but its contents are anything but orthodox.

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  • ALBUM REVIEW: NEW LORE – grief cake

    ALBUM REVIEW: NEW LORE – grief cake

    Written by Gabriel Bagahansol

    In late 2024, the band formerly known as No Lore released its final single under that name: a cover of Callalily’s 2006 classic “Magbalik” transformed into epic synthpop. Towards the end of the track, we hear frontwoman Tita Halaman deliver a rap verse on letting go of a troubled past and moving forward, adding an element of progression to a song of someone hopelessly saving what’s left of a dysfunctional relationship. By this point, No Lore was at a crossroads. Their music seemed tangled between the band’s roots as a guitar-based indiepop duo—and the organic but staid identity that comes with it—and a whole new lineup as a trio moving towards something else.

    With new creative impulses that appear to be at odds with the limiting nature of the band’s origins, letting go was something Tita Halaman, along with new members Kim and Carole, needed to do in order for them to fully embrace the ethos they now want to embody in their art. With a crashing crescendo that petered out into synth tones and beeps, No Lore was no more.

    Eight months later, after subsequently re-emerging as the electropop band NEW LORE, the three-piece would release their debut album ‘grief cake.’ Now operating from a clean slate, the members of NEW LORE paint glossy electropop soundscapes across this new batch of songs. The bright synths and saturated textures illuminate Tita Halaman’s straightforward and dynamic lyricism on navigating adulthood and its many tricks while drawing strength from the sincerity and frankness of one’s inner child.

    If the “Magbalik” cover was the death and burial of something that had run its course, the opening track “OH MATURITY” is the first step in rebuilding oneself. Free from the limited palette No Lore’s artistic identity afforded, the music bursts with a renewed sense of energy, as though a floodgate had been opened for a creative catharsis that is heard all throughout the album. That’s not to say there aren’t any growing pains, though: while Tita Halaman is eager to reflect on her past and become more optimistic and self-aware in her relationships, in the chorus, she laments the slow pace of these changes. On the breezy synthpop track “LOVING, HURTING,” Tita Halaman acknowledges that love can last in the belief that people can move past the mistakes they’ll inevitably make to each other. With the sound of a band that has immediately succeeded in working with their new sound, these two songs are a welcome introduction into the world of NEW LORE.

    NEW LORE’s embrace of electropop means they can now let the music add dimension to the stories they tell. On “DIRTY” and “GOODSIDES,” a pair of songs that tell contrasting views on trust and acceptance, the instrumentation is clear, dynamic, and colorful. This new approach helps us get a glimpse inside Tita Halaman’s mind as she tells these tales, particularly on “GOODSIDES,” where sweeping synths swell over an R&B beat that intensifies her wail of disappointment over someone she thought she knew well.

    Another example of the chemistry of words and sound that NEW LORE successfully blends throughout this album is “TRAFFIC,” where minor and major keys weave together as Tita Halaman sings about dancing to the radio with a lover while stuck in a traffic jam. Meanwhile, on the album highlight “WHO HURT U,” Tita Halaman’s words for an adversary are complemented by a dance punk groove that gives the song power, urgency, and fun. If the previous track sought an escape from lethargy, this one is the gas pedal push that’ll help you face your toughest moments headfirst with a sneering brave face.

    But the thread of life’s dualities continues to run through the album, and it culminates on the title track and album closer “GRIEF CAKE.” Here, Tita Halaman weeps for the end of a relationship she had fought so hard to keep alive. After trying to seek maturity, and now having gone through a bitter split, Tita Halaman has come to the realization that she is “just a kid,” making this one-half of a pair of songs — with the same key and tempo and all — that bookend this album.

    With ‘grief cake,’ the members of NEW LORE have given a nuanced take on growing into the many sides of adulthood, leaving no definitive answers when it comes to dealing with negativity, and instead calling on you to just have fun and never hold yourself back. It just makes sense why this album is named that way, and it also makes sense why the serious, sedate stylings of No Lore had to be forsaken for the urgent burst of freedom in NEW LORE. In early 2025, the band unveiled their new identity with “AMBITIOUS,” later the penultimate track on this album. It was the right way to kick off NEW LORE’s new story: its lyrics about shifting into new and exciting shapes, with an optimism punctuated by a sunny synthwave beat, is the ethos with which this remarkable re-debut was successfully built on. Reinvention shouldn’t have to come at the expense of your whimsy. In fact, it may just be the very thing that’ll get you there.

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  • TRACK REVIEW: sumther – forget

    TRACK REVIEW: sumther – forget

    Written by Elijah P.

    sumther’s latest track “forget” sounds like the best kind of house party—the one that spills from a cramped Tomas Morato club into school hallways and basketball courts, chasing sunrise with reckless abandon. Known for his intimate plugg experiments, the artist sheds his bedroom producer skin here, embracing a bigger, brasher sound that crackles with the energy of someone discovering their voice at just the right moment.

    Where his earlier Soundcloud loosies reveled in microgenre nuances, “forget” plays like a manifesto. sumther was trading pluggnb’s melancholy for a swaggering, synth-drenched anthem about moving on (but only after one last dance). The genius lies in its duality: it’s a breakup song disguised as a party starter, with lyrics that sting even as the 808s and the piano lines dare you not to move.

    The production expands his world beyond sub-bass corners. Snares and synths ricochet like sneakers on gym floors, melodies shimmer like spilled vodka under strobe lights, and sumther’s delivery—part-sung, part-rapped—carries the giddy exhaustion of someone who’s stayed up too late feeling everything at once. It’s a coming-of-age moment bottled in two-and-a-half minutes: proof that his knack for earworm hooks (that chorus lingers like next-day confetti in your hair) could propel him from niche favorite to undeniable mainstay.

    If this is sumther unchained, imagine what’s next.

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  • TRACK REVIEW: UDD – Run Deep

    TRACK REVIEW: UDD – Run Deep

    Written by Louis Pelingen

    After Armi Millare left UDD when that was announced back in 2021, the question now hangs in the air: what happens next for UDD? After 20 years as a band that mainly flocks in alternative rock with dabbles of electronica alongside Armi’s evocative vocals, this leaves the curious thought of where the band will go next. Will they keep moving forward with the usual formula intact? Or is there going to be a shift in their overall sound palette, shedding their past and evolving with a refreshing lens?

    The answer to that very question lies with “Run Deep,” the comeback single that’s now honing deeper into pure synth-pop majesty, firmly brushing past the alternative rock sound that used to be UDD’s sonic territory, and diving deeper into the newer direction of blistering electronics that replaces the heavy use of glossy synth patches on their previous material with a different kind of coat. Creating a chilling, smoky atmospheric touch on the whirring house beat, smearing over Paul Yap’s dazed vocals as he glacially muses through love that never seems to transpire. The set of elements placed within this song creates an effective tune and tone, courtesy of the production that lets these synthetic textures carry a lot of weight as well as the melodic construction that builds up these mulling melodies into satisfying peaks. 

    Overall, “Run Deep” is a chilling switch up to UDD’s formula that manages to stick the landing on the band’s next phase of operations. An exciting new chapter to where they will go over, running deeper into this electronic-tinged wonder that creates even more excitement than hesitation.

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  • TRCK REVIEW: girlcharmm – infatuation

    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.

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