Assorted rock sounds

Good By Sunday by 6Cyclemind. I am sure that kids will still be singing 6Cyclemind’s Sige as an expression of encouragement for many more years to come. But that is not the band’s only hit. There are also Sandalan, Biglaan, Aaminin, Kasalanan and Magsasaya that prove that the group’s popularity this past decade was no fluke. It was really great going for everybody until frontman Ney Dimaculangan decided to give up singing for good.

Hardly missing a beat, drummer Tutti Caringal took over the singing chores. The gigs kept on coming and soon a new album was in the works. Titled Good By Sunday, the CD containing 11 new songs has been released. It brings to spotlight the new band line-up of Tutti on vocals; Rye Sarmiento and Herbert Hernandez, guitars; Bob Canamo, bass; and Vic Aquino, drums. And it introduces the new sound of 6Cyclemind.

Good By Sunday is a breaking-free collection. All the songs could have been 6Cyclemind’s but the music rocks harder than usual. Is this the result of Ney’s departure? Maybe. Or perhaps, having been mired in the same sound for a long time has caused these guys to throw pop caution to the winds and rock with all their might. Well, not that hard really but fans will still be surprised. The melodies are clear-cut. The arrangements work well. The themes are more mature and this might just be the band’s best work to date.

Sampayan at Plantsa is cute. Basta Ako has swagger. And Pangako sounds like a hit. Other cuts are Bola, Image Lang ‘yon, Good By Sunday, Contrabida, Lunod, Sumabay Ka Lang, ‘Wag Kang Mawawala and Huwag Na.

Dalawang Mukha Ng Pagibig by Ebe Dancel. Has Ebe gone solo? That was the question asked by people at the PICC during the finals of the Philippine Pop Music Festival. This is because Ebe stepped up to sing Toto Sorioso’s Tayo Tayo Lang without Sugarfree. Ebe was lead vocalist for the band for over 10 years, during which the band had hits like Hari Ng Sablay, Kwarto, Tulog Na and Mariposa. But he has now launched his solo career with the Philpop gig, where his song came in second and with a new album.

Ebe wrote all the songs and also produced the entirety of Dalawang Mukha Ng Pag-ibig. That is what the CD literally is, dalawa ang mukha. The special edition now available is made up of two discs but with the same song line-up. One has Ebe doing all the cuts with a band, just like what he might have done with Sugarfree. The other one has all the songs arranged in a light acoustic mood and shows off his soulful vocals. It is an interesting commercial concept that should please the Pinoys’ preference for soft ballads.

The songs are in Ebe’s usual style with pretty melodies and themes that ordinary folks can relate to. Muli is the first single out but Hanggang Sa Dulo is turning out to be more popular given its use in a TV series. There are also Isang Probinsyano Sa Maynila, Luha, Maligalig, Paalam Kahapon, Lapit, Ikaw Ang Aking Tahanan Huwag Na Tayong Mag-away and what I think is the best one of all, Wag Kang Mag-alala.

Find My Way To You by Cathy Go. Like Ebe, Cathy was an interpreter of one of the finalists in the Philpop Music Festival. She did Negastar, a composition by Mike Villegas. It was only natural that she would be tapped to sing the song. Negastar needs a rocker chick and no one fills that requirement nowadays better than Cathy. Besides, as I found out when I opened her CD, Mike along with folk music star Bayang Barrios was the producer of Cathy’s album for the Mayumi label.

Cathy started out as a child actress. Her biggest role was in the movie Ang Alamat Ng Lawin that starred Fernando Poe Jr. She preferred singing to acting though and spent several years as frontman for the band Sopiz. Find My Way To You marks her bid for solo stardom. It has been quite a while since we have had a pretty girl rocker around. Local females seem to prefer being either R&B divas or acoustic princesses, so the rock niche should be Cathy’s for the taking.

The album is made up of bluesy rockers all composed by Mike. The first single is Ayaw Na Kung Ayaw. The other cuts are Ngayong Gabi, Hanggang Ngayon, This Circle, Cupid, Ating Lang Ito, Start Kissing, Let Me Put My Arms Around You, Alon, Sana Bumalik, Bangungot and the title cut, which should make a good follow-up single.