Written by Julienne Loreto
In March, P-Pop girl group Baby Dolls released their debut EP ‘ZoomBaby Dolls’ under ABS-CBN Star Music. It hasn’t come up in any press releases, but the septet quietly dropped some of the year’s best rock songs, alongside electronic gems. To be fair, you can’t tell if you only know them from their viral single “Oohh Lala Baby.” The track has the same sugary, harmony-rich sound as MEI MEI’s “Telebong (Hello Po)” and “Alembong”; both girl groups brand themselves as novelty acts, though these songs in particular are heavily indebted to 1960s girl groups like The Marvelettes more than anything.
Although it’s fun to sing along to “Oohh Lala Baby,” the other tracks are more interesting. ‘ZoomBaby Dolls’ opens with “Clap Clap Clap Alright,” a delectable slice of electro-rock containing metal guitar riffs and chiptunes. A weak, twee topline, however, works against the killer production. Fortunately, the next song gets both the vocals and instrumentation right. “Ikembot Mo,” the EP’s first (and in a perfect world, biggest) single, is a mainstream pop act’s most faithful homage to surf rock in the 21st century so far. While the likes of Lana Del Rey (“The Greatest”) and Fall Out Boy (“Uma Thurman”) have incorporated surf elements in a few songs, none have committed to those twangy guitars and Beach Boys-style harmonies quite as much as the delightful “Ikembot Mo.” Instead of relying on its trendy house influences, “Kitang Kita” also keeps things exciting with hard electropop beats.
The closing track “Dulce Tirah Tirah” is a truly transformative take on Blanktape and Diorap’s 2007 song of the same name. The original was a feeble dance tune bogged down by its languid pace and shoddy audio engineering. With a much faster tempo and big, abrasive bass and synths, Baby Dolls’ cover comes closer to “hyperpop” than most of the drab songs that get marketed with the buzzword these days. In their hands, “Dulce” becomes a punk-inflected electroclash banger reminiscent of 3OH!3’s obnoxious but irresistible heyday hits.
Only time can tell if the campy, colorful group will continue such thrilling genre excursions in future releases, or if the popularity of “Oohh Lala Baby” will steer them firmly towards that soft and sweet doo-wop-ish sound. Nonetheless, with ‘ZoomBaby Dolls,’ producers Chris Martinez and Rox Santos have created one of the most sonically adventurous debut records in P-Pop history. Beyond the virality and chart success, it’s another massive accomplishment for Baby Dolls, who are certainly ones to watch.
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