Guess who was late in making his contribution to the annual QLE Music List (hint: it was the first letter). I blame the long, arduous task of making my annual top ten, but really — when it comes to good music, especially good Filipino music, there is no excuse. We almost didn’t do a QLE (Quark, Luis Katigbak, Erwin Romulo) this year because for all intents and purposes the Philippine rock scene is dead.
Then I realized something — this is when people need something like the QLE the most. There are a handful of great recordings this year, yet sadly one won’t be able to find them in record bars or radio stations. Instead, the music fan must go the extra mile; watching their shows in local music clubs and digging through sound clouds and band camps to listen to their music. Because I love you, I’m going to make it easy for you. Here are my picks, and how to get them.
Pinoy Album of the Year
Taken By Cars — “Dualist”
Taken by Cars has always been more than just a Filipino band to me, and they prove that they’re not just one-trick ponies with ”Dualist,” an album as intelligent, hip-shaking, and elegant as their debut ”Endings of a New Kind.” The album still has potential dance classics like Unidentified and my personal favorite, Autopilot, but there is also an evident and welcome distancing from dance-punk, with tracks like the steady 34, the ’80s throwback track Considerate, and the epically atmospheric Thrones: Equals. This album is all about growth, and this is most evident in how much Sarah Marco has gotten better at singing. Bryan Kong is a tighter drummer if that’s even possible, and guitarists Bryce Zialcita and Siopao Chua have learned how to play off each other perfectly. I was afraid that the exit of bassist Benny Yap would be detrimental to the band’s sound, but Issa Garcia not only makes up for his absence with skill and precision, but a whole plethora of rock moves that the former didn’t have. As a result, the band is much more fun to watch live as well. Most of my conversations with music critics and musicians this year have had one central theme: Pinoy rock is dead. That may be the case, but if bands like Taken By Cars keep making music, the funeral won’t be so bad.
Runner-Up to Pinoy Album of the Year
Tarsius — “Primate”
Diego Mapa is one of my favorite Filipino songwriters of all time, and his solo project Tarsius is an atmospheric masterpiece that could rival the work of DJ Shadow and Cornelius. His final track From The Mountains, with its sampling of NU’s last broadcast, holds a special place in my heart.
The Butchercons — “Coalesce”
What’s interesting about the Butchercons is that they’re very familiar, but it’s almost impossible to place who they sound like. It seems like they took every important rock movement of the Noughties — garage, emo, dance-punk, psychedelic, low-fi, post-punk revival; and merged them into one glorious mess. Coalesce pulls off the wild abandon perfectly, without the annoying hipster pretension prevalent in a lot of bands today.
EPs of The Year
Arigato, Hato — “Heartsongs for Humans”
That Cat Cortes. What a voice. Arigato Hato finally releases an EP after what seems like forever, and “Heartsongs for Humans” is the perfect title for this collection of bittersweet electropop songs. Give it a listen — http://soundcloud.com/arigatohato/sets/heartsongs-for-humans, you will not regret.
The Strangeness — ”Jesus Camp“
Funny, funny thing about The Strangeness: I’ve known them since they were high school kids fooling around with their Livejournal accounts and awkwardly-written pop songs. I go away for a few months, finally get to hear their debut EP when I return, only to find that they’ve turned into drunken old men in my absence. What the hell. The Strangeness is garage rock; but it isn’t young, swarthy Hives or Strokes garage. It’s more Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Pete Doherty post-rehab garage; songs written after getting beaten up at the bar for the fifth day in a row. With song titles like Cain Was Furious And He Was Downcast and Jonestown, Jesus Camp references more than just pop culture, it goes deeper. Singer/songwriter Francis Cabal is such an unassuming young lad that one would never expect such… gravitas from him. Listen to one of my favorite songs from their album, Being Sober Is Such A Drag at http://soundcloud.com/loveoneanotherstudio/the-strangeness-sober.
Flying Ipis — “The Flying EP”
The trouble with all-girl bands is that they can be a novelty. Get a bunch of cute girls, put on some tats, make beer and lifestyle music videos showing how hardcore they are, and boom: instant fanbase. Flying Ipis is the farthest thing from that. Despite the allure of being four girls from Poveda who rock hard and are filled to the brim with attitude, they have something label-manufactured girl bands never will: substance. The combination of guitarist Ymi Sy’s unique riffs and singer Deng Garcia’s Jem-of-the-Holograms-on-crack vocals make songs like Sssikreto and The Drive Song stand out from the usual Riot Grrl fare, while jilted-lover pieces like After I Love You and Past Is Past, Bitch may or may not be fiction, but they sure as hell feel real. Like them at http://www.facebook.com/TheRoachClub for information on how to get 26 minutes of awesome.