Written by Elijah P. After almost 5 years since their last album “Before The Babies”, alternative-rock 7-piece Cheats talk about everything that’s past after their sophomore album; everything that’s past the lockdown, and everything that’s past the grieving process in their latest album titled “Houseplants”. Housing over 12 tracks and running over at 49 minutes, it took a while for the band to let the songs they’ve written for this album to sit and simmer. Let alone some songs were written when their members were facing turbulent times of their lives, even pre-pandemic.  If their debut was a honeymoon period … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Cheats – Houseplants

Written by Elijah P. Some music journalists claimed “First Edition God Complex” to be a first glance at a “hyperpop” or deconstructed version of pop in the context of the Philippine music scene. Meanwhile, producer and singer-songwriter Tome. describe themselves vaguely to be “pop”.  Maybe as a form of guessing for music writers or listeners just to create this sense of curiosity. And as the ears try not to deceive the listener, their debut album falls under the r&b and glitch pop canon. This album exhibits experimental production and sensual r&b that goes far beyond their usual sonic spectrum. But … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: tome. – First Edition God Complex

Written by Louis Pelingen  A year after their debut single, Half/Figurd locks in their brand of indie pop, nestling into their jangle and twee side ever since. It may sound familiar to those who are in the know of this style, but the cleaner bliss in their charming instrumentation, pleasant vocal delivery, and twee relationship writings work nonetheless, even if there is a thought where their style may run itself thin. Gemini (Gemini) is a test for this. This song sinks its emotions somewhere else, zooming to a child and her conflicting relationship with her mother as her abandonment leaves … Continue reading TRACK REVIEW: Half/Figurd – Gemini (Gemini)

Written by Louis Pelingen  Traces of what may happen to UDD and Armi Millare in the future are set in stone. Stepping away from the band felt like a timely decision to make for Armi – one that has lingered over her as reflections poured her during the still times of the pandemic. Her interview with NME a few months after announcing her separation from the band explains why.  Doing too many tours over the past 17 years took a toll on her health as well as personal, sometimes existential details that intensified her worries about herself as she matured … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Armi Millare – Take Me

Written by Elijah P.  Catanduanes is a scenic town, full of vibrant shorelines, tranquil surroundings, and peaceful towns. You have natural talents coming from the small towns and cities, like in Virac – a 76,000+ population where they’ve had a history with several datus and colonized areas, giving the island character besides its idyllic beaches. However, there’s a sense of vibrance provided by their own homegrown talent, Mei Teves. By way of San Juan, Teves brands themselves as a simple school student, waiting for the campus crush to arrive before the bell rings and the human psyche brought by the … Continue reading EP REVIEW: Mei Teves – /’hidn/

Written by Elijah P.  There are albums that collect singles, and compile every banger made by a band for the rest of their career. And there are albums that are built by the brains of musicians that are far better than their past material, way beyond that they are just artists inevitably shelved in online streaming platform playlists forever. Enter Blaster Silonga, the 23-year old composer of their own works that are as complex even if their solo career has spanned less than a decade. In “My Kosmik Island Disk”, the debut album of solo artist Blaster Silonga, there seems … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Blaster Silonga – My Kosmik Island Disk 

Written by Elijah P.  Deep within this giant cauldron of trends that is the For You Page, a Paranaque-based 1-man project called Sean Archer trends all over the cyberspace of APPPPC music book newsfeeds and Tiktok. His debut single “Mamaya … Continue reading TRACK REVIEW: Sean Archer – Mamaya Na

Written by Eliijah P. You don’t get tight alternative rock anywhere, not much in Biliran, East Visayas, no. In fact, Naval-based singer-songwriter Emelette exists to prove all Manila-centric critics wrong. “Brave” is an indicator that unsophisticated, semi-gritty, lightly sung indie rock can work when the performances are tightly performed. Everywhere you go, you get heavy stalwarts like Taken By Cars showcase their wall-breaking kicks and emotive vocals and bedtime television’s slowcore-inspired passages, Emelette is cut from the same cloth but she’s shown more heart than brawn compared to her predecessors.  Released back in August of this year and a music … Continue reading TRACK REVIEW: Emelette – Brave

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 … Continue reading MIXTAPE REVIEW: O $IDE MAFIA – O COAST

Written by Louis Pelingen  The past 2 decades have seen a growing interest in artists using mostly instrumental motifs to archive downtime and the events that emerge in them. Strains of ambient music have touched upon these musings for quite some time now, but the emergence of certain electronic subgenres has done much more to delve deeper into this. Subgenres such as vaporwave and drone have explored musings of time, memory, and stasis of eras that have been forgotten and are clearing up the lens to find some appreciation for those stagnant, vintage stages of time.  ‘That, alongside ambient music … Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Polyphonic Vision – Sudden Pictures