About a year ago, the first part of the Love album by Angels and Airwaves was released to the public as a free download. This was only the first installment of the album. Love Part 2 was recently released (though not free this time) I would have to say that this is AVA’s best work yet. This is far from the sound of their debut album “We don’t need to whisper” and it’s a fulfilling end to the Love album.

This is supposed to be a 2 part album meaning even though it was released on different dates and year, it still counts as one so expect to hear some surprises as well.

Let’s get a rundown on the tracks shall we?

Saturday Love - Typical angels and airwaves track complete with the delay effects that we all know from them.

Surrender - One of my favorite tracks in the album. It has this simulation of a marching army sound as well as a strong message in the song. No i will not surrender….. Definitely a must listen. Also, Try singing the verses of Some Origins of Fire from the first love album and you will find

Anxiety - The carrier single of the album. Reminds of “Hallucinations” from the first album installment.

Crawl (Heroine) - Starts off slow then builds up in the middle…. the break part kinda sounds like the previous track…. well, it could only be me.

Moon as my witness - On to this part of the album, the music slows down. Starts of with synthesizers then proceeds with Tom’s singing. A Little creepy if you ask me

Dry your eyes - One of their fast songs in the album. Kinda reminds me of Everything’s Magic from the second album I-Empire. Good track to listen as well.

The Revelator - In my opinion, this is a weak track. I don’t know, it just that i don’t feel this one. No offense to fellow Angles and Airwaves fans out there

One Last Thing - Good song. Something safe from the boys

Inertia - Another safe song. Still has to grow on me.

Behold a pale horse - Not a bad song. My only complain is just it’s sounds repetitive. Well, that’s just only me

All that we are - Now for the kill and probably the best song for me in the album. I’m torn between the first 3 tracks and in the end, i think this has got to be the best track in the album, followed by Surrender and Anxiety. Starts of slow then at the middle, that’s were the beauty of the track comes in. Distorted guitar effects still brings music to the ears.

Overall, the year’s wait is worth it. Tom is simply amazing and have grown not only as a musician but as a lyricist as well. Go get the album and you will not be disappointed.

I recommend the package of the album that contains both Love parts 1 and 2 as well as the movie.

Now after almost half a year, Ebe Dancel is back. His new venture as a solo artist also marks the release of his latest album entitled “Dalawang mukha ng pag-ibig” Originally , it was supposed to be released around July but it was pushed back to the first day of August, 2011.

Ebe Dancel's Latest solo offering

I got my hands on a copy of his album which is a double disc by the way (disc one has the full band arrangement while disc 2 contains the same order of songs with an acoustic twist) and so far, i have already listened to the album a numerous times and i have to say that Ebe still hasn’t lost his touch on songwriting.

Disc one (white) contains the following tracks:

Muli – The carrier single of the album. It has that old sugarfree style of singing that only Ebe delivers. Personally, i liked the “woooo-hoooo” part of the song. Perfect for the carrier single.

Isang probinsyano sa maynila – This song talks about how fast life goes on in the city on a “probinsyano’s” point of view. This talks about the city, tall buildings and beautiful girls.

Wag kang mag-alala - One of the ballad songs in the album. It starts slow and as the song progresses, it builds up and there’s even a blues-y solo on the middle part of the song.

Luha - Love the bass work on this song. groovy and catchy while matching Ebe’s high-pitch voice parts. String arrangement is also great. Ithas the potential to be the next single for the album.

Maligalig - Another hit in the making, this one also has the potential to be a single for the album.

Paalam kahapon - As i read the lyrics of this song, this reflects someone’s past and how someone moves on to the present. It has the same theme like one of his songs while he was still in Sugarfree (Kwarto)

Hanggang sa dulo - This was the first song that i heard from him after the band parted ways. It was used in a telenovela on TV 5 entitled “8 Kingdom” It’s starts heavy and you can hear the oriental sound variation in it. me likey!

Lapit - Something new to the ears. Synthesizers were used and a slow song. Something different from him as we are used to hear him sing either with an acoustic guitar or with a band. But with synthesizers and drum machine is a refreshing change to the ears.

Ikaw ang aking tahanan - Now to the blues part. Yeah! groovy!

Wag na tayong mag-away - Starts off with a piano and harmonica to the tune of Muli. A perfect song to end the album. Actually as you hear the song, it has the fade out part… then it comes back again, emphasizing for an encore. And that is what the fans would like to hear.

The other disc (black) contains the same track list but with an acoustic arrangement.

Personally, this is one of the must buy albums for this year.

Heck, it may be my album of the year for 2011.

Overall, for the price of 350 pesos, the album is all worth it.

I’ll give it a 5 out of 5

Eevee – Paramdam

This is one band to watch out for. Recent winners of Nescafe Soundskool, These4 young lads hailing from Davao released their debut album “Paramdam” under Sony Music. The first time i heard their single “Gusto ko lang ng girlfriend” this is a refreshing sound and what we need right now and not some angsty-driven music that is playing on the airwaves right now. I personally like the debut album and i can see that they have the potential to make it big in the music industry. “Gusto ko lang ng girlfriend” opens up the album while “Waiter” has the catchy tune of “Waiter pa-follow up ng order, yung inorder kong lovelife. kanina pa ako naghihintay” will make you singing for quite sometime. Other notable and personal favorite tracks include larawan, photographer, master baby (which is also one catchy) leading man and saturday night just to name a few.

I only have one complain on this album, it’s very short. Why only 11 tracks? Just when i was having fun listening to the album, it falls off with 11 tracks. Well, my complaining can only mean one thing and that is i can’t wait to hear the next album.

I highly recommend this album guys so get it now!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Taken from the MusikoInc youtube channel

Francis M and Ely Buendia – In Love And War (ILAW)

About a year and a half ago, there is this dream collaborative project between 2 of the most influential artists in the philippines namely the late Francis Magalona and Ely Buendia. Everyone was excited until the man from manila passed away. They did however started the recording process and as a result, the carrier track is Higante. But due to the unexpected death of the master rapper, we were all left wondering will this album still be released?

Flash forward to 2010, finally, In Love And War (or simply ILAW) is now released in record bars. I was curious, how did the project went on? Answer? It has 10 tracks wherein 3 tracks were recorded with both ely and francis taking over the microphones. As for the remaining tracks, it’s a collaboration with different artists such as Pupil, Hilera, The Purplechickens and Gloc 9 just to name a few. The Album starts off with the carrier single “Higante” and you think that was it? Bleeder and Bust Stop are the next track that has francis magalona on it. The rest “Bum Ticker, Hand on,Wasak Waltz, It’s alright Ma and Buzzkill just to name a few) are some of the other tracks in the album though quite honestly, the 3 tracks that has ely and francis singing has got to be the strongest tracks in the album.Don’t get me wrong though, i like the purplechickens track and hilera but not as strong as bus stop (though bum ticker is a little catchy especially the closing verse)

Overall, the album is not bad though it would be epic if the late francis magalona didn’t passed away and completed the album. That would be legen…. wait for it….. dary

Still, get the album and you won’t be disappointed

Click here to view the embedded video.

Taken from youtube user kupalczach

The album packaging is nice, which i might say should be the standard CD packaging here in the country. It has has 16 tracks (alot for a debut album) and i guarantee you, you will be listening for the whole album the first time you play it.

“Black Box” opens up the Archipelago experience and i believe this is the current single playing on the airwaves and it’s a feel good song. The next song which is the same as the album’s title also has a slow rock feel to it but nevertheless, another feel good track.

“Lumapit” is the first tagalog song that you will hear on the album and it’s followed up by “Meteor” Honestly, i can’t pick a single song that shines on the album because there are a couple of tracks that is worth noting and potential singles from the album in the future. Here’s my list on it:

• Blackbox – Currently their single and no doubt about it
• Travel Advisory
• Lumapit
• Meteor
• May 1 – This was their previous single after MRI
• Gaan
• Engine Breaker
• Baguio
• MRI – Their first single

As you can see on my list, almost half of the songs in the album can make it through the airwaves. This is a good sign for the band considering that it’s just their debut album and most of the tracks are good enough, heck i can’t wait for the next album to be released.

So my, verdict? let’s just say the day when i got my hands on the album up until now, i can’t help but play at least 4-5 songs everyday. It’s on my iPod touch, office mp3 player and even on my cellphone (i use the intro of “Silver” as my ringtone) heheh!

To sum it up: Buy the album, plug in your earphones and get ready for an experience that only Archipelago can deliver. This is a must buy for those who are looking for a breath of fresh air and are tired of listening to the “crappy tagalized” songs that’s playing on the airwaves or better yet, for some good ol’ rock, the way it should be be. One of the albums you must buy. We are lucky to have the band Archipelago, right here in “our” Archipelago.

13 Seconds To Love

It only takes 13 seconds to love or hate a band…. That was the main theme for this new offring from KJWAN. And i have to admit, it would take take you only 13 seconds to love the whole album. This highly-anticipated follow-up to 2StepMarv was undeniably a change and a breath of fresh air on the music scene.

A little history of how i heard this band: I was browsing sandwich’s yahoogroups way back in 2003 and i saw this side band of Marc Abaya, who was then frontman of Sandwich. Kjwan was a catchy name and it was something new to the ear. As i was trying to grab a copy of either their album or some of their sample songs, i caught up with user jorelpogi on their group. Little did i know that it was Jorel Corpus (Kuya Jor as i still call him) humbly answered my queries about the band, and i also promised them that i would spread their sound on the campus where i was taking up my bachelor’s degree (De La Salle – Dasmariñas) and well enough, i got one person hooked to their sound. This is my now good friend, bandmate and former classmate Kristian (rock on dude!) and the rest was history….

Ok, let’s cut the crap on how i discovered the band. heheh! Let’s get on the review. As for some of you may know, 13 seconds to love was launched way back in February and it was preloaded on the new Nokia Xpress 5800 cellphones (lucky you people who got the phone, as i don’t have enough money to buy that phone) It took about 5 months before we can actually see a physical copy of the album. As soon as the record store i’m dropping by before i go home from work displayed a copy, i immediately bought the album and went straight home.

As i opened and listened to the album, i noticed 2 things. First, their sound was different from their previous albums and almost all of them sings in the album. Even though Jorel already left the band (he’s currently studying at Berklee) their sound remains solid. Probably because before Jorel left, the album was already done. Right now, Marc Abaya, takes on role playing guitars alongside with the rest of the band (Boogie, Kel and Jhoon) which is not bad after all.

The album contains 11 tracks and opens up with the title track 13 seconds to love, a groovy song that will make you move to your feet. It will be followed up by the hard rockin’ “What about us”.

One of the highlights of the album would be the next track entitled “Pause” which features boogie on vocals. It’s a slow song that talks about how a person would like to pause the moment he/she is with his/her loved one whom he/she misses. Nice lyrics and a potential track to be the next single of the album.

“Meron ba” features some of the guitar riffs that is really catchy to the ears. “Lifeline” on the other hand has to be Kjwan’s finest work up to date. It’s uplifting melody, inspirational lyrics and positive message only shows that kjwan is not only about rockin’ with senseless lyrics but rather they make music with heart and soul.

Sunny weather, Dance on the floor, Drowning, Complicated, Nasilayan and One Life  makes up the rest of the album.

Overall, 13 seconds to love is way way different than their self-titled debut album and 2StepMarv. I’m pretty sure that this album will definitely clear once and for all what kjwan’s sound is… raw, energetic, inspirational and pure genius. Some fans may miss the old sounds of their previous hits such as Daliri, Sa ilalim, Shai and Surface but that’s what music is all about. Change and evolution. I highly recommend the album for all of you who are looking for a fresh sound from a not-so-old band in the music industry. Im looking for Pause, Nasilayan, Drowning and Meron ba as future radio hits.

Finally, It has been unleashed. The new repackaged album of Pupil’s sophomore album is now out in the market. I for myself is a hater of so-called “repackaged editions” for albums simply because it’s just a marketing strategy for record companies to cash-in extra money on an album that has been already out in the market for quite sometime (well except of course if that repackaged album only contains 2-3 new tracks well, that has got to suck)

In this case, Wildlife Special Edition is different from those album repackages out there today (also being a pupil fan myself, I’m anxiously waiting for the release of this repackaged edition) and upon seeing the album in store shelves, i was treated to a new album cover (gone is the white-ish cover and it was replaced with a black-ish jungle cover, somewhat like the picture above)

So what’s the difference between the first release and special edition?

• This comes in a 2 cd format (the album and the other one is what i would like to call the “special disc”
• The Wildlife disc (disc 1) has been remastered for this release. I compared the first release to this one and the new one is somewhat cleaner and louder than the original one.
• Slim case (gone are the days of jewel cases)
• If you’re looking for lyrics inside the album, I’m sorry but you won’t find any of it on this special release, go get the first one or if you are saving up money, there’s the internet. Go search for the lyrics)
• Liner notes

So what does disc 2 contains this time?

• Eye in the big sky listers night live set (6 songs)
• 3 demo songs
• 4 music videos
• Wallpapers and band pictures

Wait wait wait, 9 songs  in total plus 4 videos plus digital materials? Now that is a catch. As i bought the album, the first thing i played  on my PC was disc 2 which is the real gem of this release. I found out that the first 6 songs can be an EP (extended play) material. Recorded live with the pupilistas, it gives us a song from the first album (Different worlds) and the remaining can be found on the second album. The catch? they are on a different arrangement if you would be comparing it from their original arrangements which for me is a breath of fresh air. I really liked their arrangements on Different worlds, Sala and Disconnection notice.

The 3 demos i mentioned before were teacher’s pet, sumasabay and matador. I have heard some of them being streamed on the official pupil website. The videos for sala, monobloc, disconnection notice and teacher’s pet are also present here, as well as wallpapers of the band are all here. Plus the liner noted that was done nicely by Aldus Santos adds up some interesting facts about the different songs in the album.

Overall, the special repackaged edition is well worth to be bought. A little higher on the price compared on the first release (approximately just add 25 pesos) and you’ll be treated to an additional disc worth of special materials and extras. If you are a first time buyer, go get the album. If you already own the first release and just curious with the special disc, well, i suggest go get this release also. This is what you bands out there follow when you are coming up with repackaged edition releases. Well worth the money spent.