Breathing down your neck

So a few weeks ago, we surveyed some of the best music that’s come out locally this 2010, with help from friends who also happen to be band members, gig organizers and music magazine editors. They praised releases by Imago, Hannah + Gabi, Twin Lobster, Makopa, Gaijin and others. This week, more of the awesome that you may have missed: first up, Pulp magazine editor in chief and Intolerant (the band, not the adjective) guitarist Joey Dizon tells us about what rocks.

“Encounters with a Yeti — awesome instrumental music, reminds me of Explosions in the Sky... Explosions-in-the-Sky-meets, er... something else that’s good. Badburn — always good, heavy s**t. Finally an album after four years. ‘Crack The Weakened Surface’ is the title... Relentless. I’m talking about no room for breaks or slow s**t.

Joey continues: “Skychurch/ Loads of Motherhood (are releasing) ‘Objectionable Pride,’ a split CD, this Dec. 17. Speaking as a fan, these are two of the seminal metal/hardcore bands of the ‘90s. Think you might like it, actually. (The launch of these 10 crushing tracks from two iconic bands will be held at Guerrilla Bar, in Pasig.)

“Franco — great, great album,” Joey adds. “Not sure if this is counted as a 2010 release, but still... great music, great band. Not great as in ‘new’ or ‘fresh,’ but ‘great’ as in ‘everything was done correctly.’ Parokya ni Edgar’s new album ‘Middle Aged Juvenile Novelty Pop Rockers’ is hilarious, and sort of hearkens back to earlier material where the name of the game was having fun.

Parokya ni Edgar’s latest: “The name of the game is having fun.”

“The new Hilera album (‘Kid in a Coma’) also sounds awesome, real punk/ rockabilly fun. Talented trio. The Butchercons are actually doing something pretty neat, though I think the only release so far from them is a Tee Dee or some s**t (NOTE: This is apparently a package consisting of a single with a T-shirt), but I’m paying close attention since they sound pretty great. Arcadia is also one of the newer, heavy bands I really like, and Typecast’s ‘How Your Influence Betrays You’ is sonically amazing.”

Cris Ramos Jr., music columnist and indefatigable gig organizer (his Revolver series is one of the longest-running productions on the local scene), caught us up on some happenings in hip-hop:

“Jigger (Divina, of Locked Down Entertainment) says they’ll be putting out Miscellaneous’s album.” (Cris calls Miscellaneous “Pretty much our De La Soul/ A Tribe Called Quest equivalent.”) “They’re also putting out DJ Arbie Won’s ‘United Freestyles v3.0.’ Or is it v4.0? Lost count of it because I only have 2.0, and it was an impressive album. The new one will have the usual rappers, plus Nyko Maca and Katwo (Puertollano, of Duster).

Skychurch/ Loads of Motherhood: Launching split album “Objectionable Pride” this December

“Loonie’s ‘The Ones Who Never Made It’ is a great album, too. Loonie’s one of the best lyricists among the current crop of rappers. FlipTop (yes, the most watched battle rap tourney in the world, even has more hits than its international counterparts) have sparked new interest in Pinoy rap, with the masa repeating lines as if they were actual songs and everything."

Next year is looking exciting, with much-anticipated releases from Kate Torralba, Taken By Cars, Techy Romantics, and Ang Bandang Shirley. For my money, though, the one to watch out for is Domino, a.k.a. Lally Buendia (or, as Eraserheads obsessives may know her, Ely’s sister).

Her debut album ‘Fair Tales,’ which came out almost eight years ago from Viva Records, was one of the great underrated albums of the decade, an eclectic mix of spiky songs with sugary spines, with tracks like the slinky Cat Eyes, dark danceable delight Provocatrice, and ‘90s-influenced rock number Black Whole.

Domino, who only recently returned to gigging and recording, told us about her follow-up, slated for release next year. “I wrote nine of the 10 songs on the album. The remaining track was written by Aldus Santos,” she says. “I was rather uncomfortable recording some of the songs on ‘Fair Tales,’ honestly. But I am proud of every single track on this album. It’s all me in there now. Hopefully, you’ll be able to feel me breathing down your neck while you’re listening to it,” she adds with a smile.