CALIX, Crash and Burn
Like its title Crash and Burn, rapper Calix’s new EP is propelled by music and ideas in motion. Its first two tracks banner pure pop and RnB energy in the service of words that occasionally lean towards hedonism and party celebration like there’s no tomorrow. Come the third and fourth canto, the progressive rapper takes a U-turn from what in interviews he describes as “cutesy pop shit” to deal with bigger populist albeit left-of-center issues in the national consciousness. In “Some of ‘Ya, Pt. 2,” he sneers “Tuta ng mala-kolonyal, tuta ng imperyalismo ang rosas na tutubo sa puntod n’yo.” The penultimate “K.A.C.” is in praise of guns “na pwede bang paputukin sa mga corrupt at abusado?” Calix may be offering a sneak preview of the culture/political clash that bedevils today’s millennials.
POW, Quote unquote
Pinoy rock comes in cycles of boom and bust and in a music scene that reveres copycats, it’s tough to offer game-changing ideas in a genre dependent on local content as well as audience appreciation. Granted that freshman OPM rockers Pow have little to show that’s original but hey, you have to admire the execution and the artistry with which they overcome cultural barriers as well as physical lockdown to produce new music.
Their ersatz titled EP starts relaxed as most modest ventures go. Then things pick up upon the arrival of the dance-punk influenced “Things,” then on to the energetic rev up of “Summer” and finally, to the slow-fast-faster dash powering “Yearly.” There’s a glimmer of hope for homegrown Pinoy rock just yet.
MAU MAU, Untitled
On digital music platforms such as bandcamp, Mau Mau has released at least 10 tracks in the past two months, all of them sounding the same. Take it from his/her self-description: Shit, Perv, Pink, Nude, & Noise, The available tracks are distinctive in terms of the noise part and the picture of a woman in various stages of undress, the cover featured here being the most suggestive. Noise is almost consistent across every track i.e. imagine the roar made by a hundred screeching metal bats while leaving a cave at sundown. You can surely skip the noise and simply enjoy the prurient promise behind the featured maiden.
OVLOV, Buds
Beautiful aggression is an apt sneak preview of the racket the four-piece heavy band Ovlov make. They’ve set up tent at some sort of crossroads where ‘90s shoegaze meets atmospheric metal. The harmonies slipping between peaks of thundering metal are mesmerizing while the hooks can be comparable to those in a pop song that’s been written by a certain Bob Mould. You get the attractive melodic rock of “Eat More” as well as the almost jazzy styling of “Wishing Well,” the likely constraint to less than fearless listeners being the awesome sonic volume that leads to every track’s best moments. Rest assured though, there’s no danger of getting tinnitus.
ADELE, 30
Six years after her last album, Adele, one of the artistic sensations of the new millennium, remains a moving musical force, one possessed of a voice that’s part Celine Dion and part Nina Simone. Not 30 seconds into her latest record and she’s already baring her innermost thoughts layer by layer soundtracked by vintage orchestral jazz. Best of the heart-tugging lot are the Internet gazillion hit “I Drink Wine,” the gospel tinged “My Little Love,” the RnB kiss-off “Woman Like Me” and the mournful opener “Strangers by Nature” with this chilling line: “I will take flowers to the cemetery of my heart.”
METALLICA, The Metallica Blacklist
Now, now, Metallica bashers, keep those knives sheathed. This is a covers album released last year in celebration of the 30th anniversary of release of the Black album, Metallica’s mainstreaming of thrash metal way back when.
For this Blacklist, the band enlisted 53 various acts to render Metallica originals like “Enter Sandman,” “The Unforgiven” and “Wherever I May Roam” in their own unique light spread across four CDs. Not all are primed for heaviness but to these ears, Jason Isbell and the 400 Watts do a wonderful Blasters remake of “Sad But True,” Off! give “Holier Than Thou” a hardcore punk treatment, solo Dave Gahan reprises mothership Depeche Mode in “Nothing Else Matters” and Weezer inserts their trademark Buddy Holly stamp on the quintessential “Enter Sandman.” And get this, the videos that accompany each cover are simply mind-boggling. Go, check the whole thing out!
Most of the albums reviewed are available on digital music platforms especially bandcamp.