Written by Louis Pelingen

Even with what they have composed thus far, there’s no denying that Halina — as an act that’s flourishing within folk pop accented with traditional kundiman-stylisms — has garnered them a net of attention throughout the years. It might have been years since songs like “Kwarto Waltz” were released, but even so, the sheer magnificence within their compositional heft and song-crafting flavor has stuck since then. It’s a rare quality that tends to shine brightly, and it has been quite a wait since they released a track back in 2021.

And, funny enough, “Kung Nandito Ka Lang”, signifies a return to Halina putting something together. Within the 6-minute runtime, Halina proves that despite the time that has passed through, they manage to compose a majestic piece of a song. Divino’s vocals encapture the yearning sweetness that he muses through his songwriting, an aspect that the melodies manage to reflect upon with wings soaring high. The drum patterns, guitar passages, and bass lines always flicker with a sense of grace and glee, providing a striking groove that leads up to the sweeping atmospherics that open up after the chorus bits. It’s a consistently charming melodic ascension that firmly gets into the highest peak of its final 3-minute instrumental progression, allowing the song to continue on its flight, never breaking away from its direction.

There is a sense of awareness of how much this song means to the act and the audience as well. A flight that signifies that Halina’s presence is still felt, where the qualities that made them special thus far have only advanced, creating more routes to where they will land in whatever album or EP they might be working on. While the landing will still be a distance ahead, Halina never forgets to let everyone know where they are and what they are doing: flying to whatever ascending heights they can transcend towards.

Support the art and the artist: