Sponge Cola offers two versions of heartbreak in new song Kelly

MANILA, Philippines — In the last quarter of last year, Sponge Cola added Kelly (Scorpio) to its growing collection of songs that continues to define the alt-rock band’s music. Recently, the Original Pilipino Music (OPM) established group released Kelly (Sagittarius), described as “the response to Kelly (Scorpio).”

Yes, the two Kelly releases are about “the complexities of heartbreak,” according to information given to this paper. They are one and the same, but with differences. One of which is the title. The first is known as “Scorpio,” while the other is dubbed “Sagittarius.”

When one listens to them one after another, the two tracks form a one-of-a-kind musical bundle and experience.

“The two songs, it’s basically the same song, pero different approach lang (but each with a different approach),” said Sponge Cola vocalist and guitarist Yael Yuzon in a virtual one-on-one with The STAR. The band also features artists such as Gosh Dilay on bass, Tedmark Cruz (drums), and Armo Armovit (lead guitar). “(It’s the) same text, same lyrics… yung instruments ibang-iba (but the instruments used for every song were different).”

Common knowledge informs one that instruments possess certain sound qualities that give the overall music a particular personality or a specific tone. They somehow set the mood or feeling and tell the emotion being explored in any kind of musical piece.

“You know how kapag may ka-message ka na person (you know when you’re messaging a person but not face-to-face),” Yael implicitly suggested on how one looks at the two versions of Kelly.

“Let’s say your message is ‘Kita-kits bukas (let’s see each other tomorrow). Then, you put a period. Ang dating nun ay parang galit ba ‘to, ‘Kita-kits BUKAS,’ pero naglagay lang naman siya ng period, pero kasi may different types of tone (the recipient of the message may think that the sender is angry).

“Sometimes when you see a text and it depends on the context, kung ano yung sinasabi nung actual message (what the actual message says depends on the context).” So, it’s the same thing when one capitalizes certain words or sets a part of the message in italics. Such writing style may draw a different meaning or interpretation from person to person.

With that, each version of Kelly presents a different mood and perspective. It is also similar to when a song is sung by a man or a woman.

“One is very quiet, and one is very guitar-driven (and) noisy because sometimes the same text can be parang a defeated kind of tone na parang I’ve given up, while the other tone is I’m still angry, and it still hurts. So, I’m still intense,” shared Yael. “So, ganun siya, but it’s the same lyrics, same length, but, like, one is noisy and one is quiet. One is angry, and one is a bit more solemn.”

So, listeners are treated to some kind of duality, as Yael put it. “Same text but different sides of the same song, yung ang nangyayari.”

Asked if they’ve done a song before similar to Kelly, Yael said, “I think we’ve done something similar, but ito kasi parang mas artistic siguro yung direction (but this time, it seemed that we took a more artistic direction). Hindi siya parang, let’s just come up with an acoustic version. It’s, like, let’s come up with two songs that are very different.”

The point of difference can be seen in the instrumentation aspect. One has the orchestra feel, while the other added 13 to 15 tracks of guitars, as one could glean from the answers of Yael.

“We were working on the song, and we realized na parang pwedeng maging dalawa ito, eh, (that it could have two versions or tracks),” said Yael on the idea of producing two tracks for Kelly, “kasi sobrang ang layo talaga nung tone. Magdagdag ka lang ng gitara, galit na siya. Magtanggal ka ng gitara, defeated na siya (you add a guitar, then it sounds angry. You remove it, then the feel becomes defeated).”

As you and I know, Sponge Cola released two versions of a song with two contrasting emotions.

“If you’re the kind of listener na naghahanap ng mood (or feeling), parang if you’re in a solemn place, you can listen to this (Kelly). If you’re in a more, like, wit out kind of environment na gusto mong ilabas ang galit mo, pwede yung ito namang isa (and you want to express your frustration, you may listen to the other Kelly),” said Yael.

As for the reception of Sponge Cola’s following to these tracks of the same lyrics, but set in a different music or sound, Yael shared, “Mas sanay sila na mas maingay kami, so mas nagugustuhan nila talaga when we have distorted guitar (they are used to listening to our noisy and distorted guitar tracks). Mas nagugulat sila ‘pag may mga songs kami na puro orchestra, walang gitara (they’re surprised when our songs are more on orchestra-sounding and devoid of guitar).”

Since the quiet version of Kelly was released first, followed by the guitar-driven one, their fans are now used to this path their favorite band may take. But their preference for the latter speaks of the image the band has among its followers, added Yael, which is an act that plays a concert for people. It’s a scene where artist-musicians are passionately playing guitars and drums and collectively producing chords and tones that interpret the emotion narrated in the lyrics. In the interplay of musical and vocal sounds is the intersection where listeners understand the music idea and its theme.

In contemporary times, fans and most music enthusiasts definitely consider and embrace new musical offerings from artists like Sponge Cola.

Kelly (Sagittarius) and Kelly (Scorpio) are available on digital music platforms worldwide via Sony Music Entertainment.