Getting your Kjwan on

It’s a question for the ages, or perhaps just for the Pinoy Music Scene: Whither goest thou, Marc Abaya? The former Sandwich singer who has staked a name (and image) for himself as a VJ as well as lead singer of heavier band Kjwan, has answered that question, at least for the time being, with his band’s second CD release on EMI, 2StepMarv.

The 12-track sophomore effort is pretty slick, and pretty heavy at times, but it also adds a whole bunch of new flavas to the mix, which may appeal to those who might have thought of Kjwan as too one-note, too hard-ass metal.

In fact, these guys can play like muthas, which is good news. Drummer J-Hoon Balbuena circles intricately around the riff, syncopating and slamming when necessary. Bassist Kelly Mangahas exudes warmth and thrash in equal measure. The guitar tandem of Joel Corpus and Boogie Romero (Dude, are these names for real?) provides ample beds of blast over which Abaya exercises his throat and occasional throatiness.

One question that has puzzled me is why Abaya decided to put down his axe. He was once a crucial metal gear in the Sandwich guitar fest; I know he loves guitars.

But here, he makes do with the classic Alice Cooper Band line-up: two guitars trading slick jabs, backing up his vocalizing. The answer may be that Abaya has worked harder to distinguish himself as a singer, plying that ache in his voice to good effect on the R ’n B-flavored Can’t Do That. (This would be part of the "new flavas" I mentioned earlier.)

Could also be that two guitars are enough. There comes a point, even in a good thrash band, when the density of atonality makes it hard to, um, enjoy the music.

Dynamics – hard, soft, shadings – was what made Zeppelin great, better than the rest, after all.

2StepMarv avoids the metal clichés (for the most part) by embracing new sonic territory. A new jazziness enters the scene on You Didn’t Know. The tune is all over the map, but in a good way. After the scratch riffs give way to circular drum patterns, and Abaya croons "Watch me do my voodoo – hoodoo – that you know I do so well," some mellow ninth chords that would not sound out of place on a Steely Dan album give way to thrash-and-grind riffs taking us into some explosive soloing. It’s one of my favorite tracks.

The nice thing about 2StepMarv is, like its title, you don’t know what direction Kjwan is going to shift to next. Some fancy footwork provides a late-night vibe to Focus, which shifts (unnecessarily, to my ears) into metal territory after about four minutes.

Shai starts out as a mid-tempo ballad and ascends Riff Mountain in waltz time after several minutes, only to descend into subtle reggae rhythms by the end.

With all songs credited to Kjwan, it’s hard to tell who wrote what on 2StepMarv. I detect an unfortunate Placebo influence on the opener, Invitation, though much of the rest, vocal-wise at least, bears the indelible Marc Abaya stamp.

One Look, in fact, may be the closest thing to a commercial single for this band. It’s got an irresistible P.M. Dawn groove (a statement that may elicit death threats from the band members – sorry).

But – as though to remind us that Kjwan is, after all, "heavy" – they follow this with the bass-thudding Pinutra. There’s something schizophrenic about this band, which wears its best-loved music on its collective sleeve: there’s jazz, rap, hip-hop and lots of metal in the stew. On this second album, they’ve gotten closer to finding the right balance of these elements. But more than half the tracks lurch into familiar thud territory after a verse or two, as though to appease those fans who might think they’re gettin’ all "lite jazz" on y’ all.

Guitars are a crucial part of Kjwan’s sound, and these guys have fun with their instruments. Some too-familiar pedal sounds start to pop up in several songs – like that Mu-Tron "talkbox" effect most associated with Pink Floyd’s Pigs and Peter Frampton coming alive back in ’76. Wah-wah pedals provide some screaming room during 2StepMarv and You Didn’t Know.

The searing ascending runs on the title track remind one of Jane’s Addiction at their peak powers.

Meanwhile, the album-closing hidden track (that, to me, shall forever remain hidden) is a home-recorded rap Thank You, which, though lacking any musical development, does reveal some plush chords in the mix.

This leads to a 25-second reprise of the street-carnival drums that close the title track.

Better still is Slow Shutter, the smooth ballad that closes the album on a more, um, committed note.