Put3ska returns & teases for the future

Put3ska returns & teases for the future

by rick olivares

Philippine ska band Put3ska made its long-awaited triumphant return to a jam-packed Music Museum last Friday, May 24, and it seemed like old times with something noticeably different.

The band, which got its humble originals as a British Two-Tone ska influenced outfit in Malabon didn’t exactly replicate the old hits that spanned two albums in the 1990s. The arrangements spotlighted each musician has gotten much more technically proficient over the years, and that the arrangements were different; more reflective of the changes of their sound and ability. 

The band’s original vocalist Skarlet Brown, displayed the depth of her vocal range and it has gotten better and stronger with age. “Bear with me,” she humbly requested if the band sounded rusty. 

Far from it. They performed at top speed; like a couple of day’s work outs that drummer Brutus Lacano was drenched in sweat. Second generation even needed a costume change.

While their first big hit, “Manila Girl” that was a re-make of guitarist and band leader Arnold Morales’ old hit with his punk band, Urban Bandits, was one of the final songs performed during the evening, the other treat for the fans was the new song – a counterpoint perhaps to their first hit – titled, “Manila Boy.”

Whimsical-sounding perhaps. But not at all.

It seemed like a new millennium version of the instrumental opener of their debut album, “Bang Tumba Ka,” but as it progressed, there were the spoken word vocals of lead vocalist Skarlet Brown. 

And as vocalist Emelee Nicart told the band at a couple of points, the song was from an upcoming and yet untitled third album that had the crowd roaring.

And it seemed that the 700-plus folks who packed the Music Museum roared all night. From opening act Beat Bahnhof from Japan that kicked off what was a show that lasted a little over three hours (an hour from the visiting band and an hour and a half plus from the main act) to Put3ska’s performance that literally had everyone standing, singing along, and dancing along the aisles and the stage. 

Pu3ska, featuring members of the band’s various iterations, played a 23-song set list; mostly of their hits, with a few covers that were spread across three vocalists – Skarlet Brown, Emelee Nicart, and Mae Ilagan.

Taking part were two familiar faces from the band’s early history – DJ Shane Cosgrove who managed them for a while and did the opening introduction of the band for the reunion show, and Skataba (aka Daryl Orchard) who danced on stage and sang – like he did before – two Two-Tone classics in “Lip Up Fatty” by Bad Manners and “One Step Beyond” from Madness.

While there were a lot of the older fans in attendance; most were those who caught Put3ska during its 1990s heyday at Club Dredd and Mayrics to name a few gig joints where they routinely played (including the Music Museum which is memorable for them as they played one of their first shows there and won a slew of NU Rock Awards in the same venue), but there the new generations were represented as well. 

Also spotted in the audience were members of seminal punk band, Betrayed, the Bembol Rockers, Bulacan ska band Skabeche, hardcore crew Badburn, the Rod Mijares Combo, as well as Club Dredd impresario, Patrick Reidenbach to name but a few. 

At the end of the performance, fans climbed up the stage for photos or scampered after set lists as souvenirs.

The band will reconvene soon (which will be the line-up for the next stage of the journey as Lacano has bowed out due to other commitments) where there are plans to not only begin earnest work on the new album, but also a video, and some performances lined up inside and outside the country.

“This isn’t unfinished business,” said Morales after the show. “This is the next chapter.”

Listening to American Football's LP3

Cebu’s Sheila and the Insects release new album, Love or Limbo

Cebu’s Sheila and the Insects release new album, Love or Limbo

by rick olivares

Sheila and the Insects were the second act to hit the Summer Noise 2019 stage at the Greenfield District last May 18. With the setting sun in their eyes, the quartet nevertheless, delivered a powerful performance as they are wont to do. 

The Cebu-based quartet – vocalist and guitarist Orven Enoveso, guitarist Ian Zafra, bassist Wesley Chiongbian, and drummer Vince Yap -- has been prolific music-wise with their entire repertoire all sung in English. And the Summer Noise crowd received an added treat when the band launched their fifth album, Love or Limbo, during the show.

Love or Limbo crackles with energy and soars; propelled by a manic beat and thumping bass reminding me of a young (New York band) Interpol circa Turn On the Bright Lights and Antics. Enoveso’s baritone adds much to the seductive mystery (such as on “The Teleporter”) that the album suggests. And you get the feel it is a late night urban soundtrack for meandering on rain-swept streets, subtle flirtations, and inward reflections. 

The album features nine tracks and I’ll give it a 10 out of 10.

We spoke with Enoveso about Love and Limbo that in our opinion, is perhaps the band’s strongest effort to date.

I was surprised by how the new music sounds like Interpol. And I love it. If the first album is characterized by New Wave influences, is Love or Limbo leaning to a new millennium sounding alt rock?

Enoveso: Although the band has had among its influences New Wave music when we first started, I don't think our music is.  It's as good a foundation as any I would think for a band to build its body of work but what makes a band's sound distinctly its own is not the foundations but the finishes and the flair.   It's in the songwriting and the details and that I think is very personal and unique to the artist.  In this I think it's hard and probably wrong to peg our music to a specific movement or genre.  That would be severely limiting on our creative working space.  I think that's why we've tried to avoid labeling our music as much as we can.  Our first two albums, Tangible Rhymes and Plastic Eyes Static Minds, I would think were of a certain pop flavor.  Our third, Manipulator, was intentionally dark and experimental.  Our fourth, Flowerfish, was probably more candid and carefree - that was a very stressful and fun album to make.  Love or Limbo though was built up over a prolonged creative process such that I think it naturally captured a wide spectrum of stories and ideas that came and went over the years for us.  And I think that is a good thing because I hope it makes the whole collection quirky and different on each track.

is there a concept behind Love or Limbo? Why the two covers? I wish the font sizes were bigger. it is so hard to read anything on the album.

Enoveso: Yes, the common thread of the (nine) songs in the album is that they are all very emotional stories.  But all stories have two sides.  Here's the text in the album art where we associated the themes with each song in the album:

-----------

Love 

Alarm = Invitation 

Monolove = Commitment

The Last Awkward Moment = Woo

Teleporter = Admiration 

The Wave = Freedom

Love in Fashion = Passion

Venus to Mars = Honesty 

Always = Dream

Escape = Choice

-----------

Limbo

Alarm = Seduction

Monolove = Commitment

The Last Awkward Moment = Flirt

Teleporter = Obsession

The Wave = Farewell

Love in Fashion = Lust

Venus to Mars = Hostility 

Always = Delusion

Escape = Regret

Each story has two sides and our album title tries to tease that duality.  The same theme can be viewed from different perspectives depending on whether you are in love or in limbo.  In the list above, we had fun inserting "commitment" as the same word for both Love or Limbo as the theme for the song Monolove.  This wasn't a typo.  My view is that commitment works great for certain people and is viewed as a prison for others so it's already dual-meaning.

I love Sheila and the Insects' being steadfast in terms of its song. You know performing in English and the music. How has the band stayed this course all these years?

Enoveso: Hahaha, it's because we can't write Tagalog songs to save ourselves.  We're not native Tagalog speakers although we speak and understand the language.  It's awkward for us so we can't confidently write in that language even if we tried.  I never even considered it because I know my limitations.  

My consolation is that I believe stories make powerful connections regardless of language or culture.  

To date, what have been the band's biggest gigs/shows? Any plans to perform abroad?

Enoveso: We have not broken through yet that's what I think.  Although we're happy to have our friends and fans, we'd love to be heard by a wider audience - who doesn't.  So as to biggest gigs and shows, we're still looking for that.  We did play in Singapore some years back but we have not been too active in the gig circuit in the past five or so years because we've been busy putting in work on Love or Limbo.  But we're slowly building ourselves back up and hopefully, we can be more active on gigs and tours.

Are there any particular stories about the songs from the new album?

Enoveso: The Teleporter was a song that I had written many years ago when EDM (electronic dance music) and the DJ'ing culture was very popular so that particular song harks to my fascination with that movement.  It was a fleeting fascination though because I didn't get the music.  I enjoyed listening to certain songs but I couldn't really find a connection so it was a short-lived interest but enough that I was inspired to write about it.  

You can order Sheila and the Insects’ Love or Limbo through their Facebook page.

Soundstrip guesting at Home Radio 97.9FM

Saturday, May 25 was the first episode of the Soundstrip sessions on Home Radio 97.9 FM. With Dennis Estopace and Aldwin Tolosa of Business Mirror with DJ Bettina who is the daughter of my old colleague Vina Henson.

Talked about the indie and underground music scene in the Philippines.

Swell episode.

4 albums I picked up during Summer Noise: Sheila and the Insects, Manic Sheep, Sen and Subsonic Eye

4 albums I picked up during Summer Noise: Sheila and the Insects, Manic Sheep, Sen and Subsonic Eye

by rick olivares

The sweltering heat was hung heavy on Summer Noise 2019 but it did not detract the artists from putting on an awesome show (technical problems aside).

Rayms Marasigan asked me what act was I looking most forward to watch and I replied everyone. In a festival like Summer Noise, that’s a lot of people watching; more than the usual gig. While I do get to see a lot of the local acts, I was looking forward to watching the foreign bands too. Now you don’t get to see them just any day of the week.

Here are the albums (I already have Japanese Breakfast’s album that I had Michelle Zauner sign during an interview) that I picked up from Summer Noise 2019 and how I relate them to their respective performances.

Love or Limbo (Sheila and the Insects)

I have been a fan of Sheila and the Insects since I heard their song “Everyday Drive” and I subsequently picked up the album, Plastic Eyes Static Minds (at the same time as Cynthia Alexander’s wonderful Rippingyarns from N/A Records). I have not been able to pick up their succeeding releases and never saw them again until Summer Noise and it was great. 

They released their new album Love or Limbo at the festival and I thought the live performance was solid. And they sounded very much like Interpol circa their Antics album that I just had to pick up the album on compact disc (great music but I am not happy with the printing of the case as it is so difficult to read anything).

This is the band in full flight. I’ll say their strongest release to date. And I’ll be hunting down the albums that I missed. I hope it doesn’t take me a long time to watch them again.

Brooklyn (Manic Sheep)

I was looking forward to the performance of Manic Sheep. This Taiwanese shoegaze and noise rock band with a dash of twee has been invited to perform in the SXSW (South by SouthWest) Festival in the United States as well as the Canadian Music Fest that is a five-night festival that showcases a lot of bands. They’ve also been a part of the Fuji Rock Fest in Japan. 

Incredibly, Manic Sheep (drummer White Wu, vocalist Chris Lo, guitarist Howard Yang, and bassist Joy Chang who was replaced for Summer Noise by session player James) has a bigger following in Japan more than their hometown of Taipei! 

“It is nice to get around especially in Asia,” said Lo, “it is expensive to go to the United State or even to Europe and it puts a strain on our resources. But we are very pleased to know we have fans there. So performing in Manila for Summer Noise is good and we were surprised by the reception we got from the Filipino fans.”

Brooklyn, their second album, is a solid album on compact disc with its jangly warmth and the bounce in the music. 

Sen (Sen)

The name of their band means “immortal” in Mandarin. They came on stage right after Sheila and the Insects and right before Cynthia Alexander. They took the cue from Sheila and the Insects with a heavier performance making Cynthia Alexander -- who is always a great act to watch -- like a palette cleanser for the lighter but no less deeper songs. That is not to take anything away from Sen which is a band from Taiwan.

I’d say there aren’t many bands like them. If you like Joy Division, Bauhaus, Nine Inch Nails, and Machines of Loving Grace then Sen will resonate with you. It’s a mix of goth, industrial, and post-punk and pretty powerful. 

Picked up their self-titled debut album that was released in August of 2018, and even if sung in Mandarin, it did not detract from my listening pleasure.

Subsonic Eye (Singapore)

Watching this shoegaze/dream pop band from Singapore, I was surprised that people in the audience knew their songs and were dancing along. Turns out that they previously performed in Manila at Mow’s. 

More than that, this band really isn’t into shoegaze and dream pop except for their guitarist-founder Daniel Castro Borces, who is half-Filipino (and is already serving in the military) who is into shoegaze. “I’ve been trying to influence the rest of my band so they’d all get into shoegaze,” he laughed. 

For example, the drummer, Lucas, is into hip-hop while vocalist Nur Wahidah, listens to other music. “It’s great right,” smiled Daniel who has gotten his way with Subsonic Eye’s sound that is a raw brand of dream pop with a bounce that gets people dancing and jumping.

We like to play happy music for sad people which is why people get rowdy during our shows,” quipped Lucas. “That’s the hip-hop guy in me throwing in that element.”

They sold their cassette album Dive Into (released in September of 2018) during Summer Noise and I thought it was a prized find.

At the Put3ska Reunion concert at the Music Museum

With members of Put3ska, Beat Bahnhof, and Shane Cosgrove, and Skataba backstage minutes before Beat Bahnhof took the stage.

With Beat Bahnhof

With old friend Skarlet 

With Put3ska's Brutus Lacano

With Arnold Morales

Japanese Breakfast on keeping a promise to Filipino fans; Nine Inch Nails & Slowdive

Japanese Breakfast on keeping a promise to Filipino fans; Nine Inch Nails & Slowdive

by rick olivares

Michelle Zauner isn’t letting in that she’s tired. Or even sleepy.

Hair unkempt, she is nevertheless radiant. 

Zauner, the talented woman behind experimental pop rock band Japanese Breakfast was in town for Summer Noise 2019 at the Greenfield District. And despite the oppressive heat, she’s feeling relaxed in the cool confines of a nearby hotel where she and other foreign artists taking part in the annual indie music festival are billeted. 

“When we did our tour in 2017 in support of (her sophomore album) Soft Sounds from Another Planet, we neglected a lot of countries and they were upset about it. The Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore all asked, ‘Why didn’t you come here?’ Next year then. I hope it will all be worth the wait.”

Japanese Breakfast was a surprise hit in the last few years among music fans. The debut, Psychopomp, was a personal album as Zauner wrote about her mother’s passing away from cancer. 

Along with American hardcore band Touche Amore’s magnificent Stage Four that also document’s lead singer Jeremy Bolm’s dealing with his mother’s death from cancer, and like Psychopomp that was released in 2016, they were both lauded for their bravery in sharing such intense and personal feelings about loss. 

“I think my feelings have changed a lot outside the songs,” she bared about performing those songs today; three years after they were released. “There is a track with my mom’s voice and it is haunting to me and I can’t really listen to it. “Some like ‘In Heaven,’ I think the lyrics aren’t as painful when I first wrote it. I have this joyous feeling playing it. Some days are harder, but generally, it isn’t as painful.”

“For Psychopomp, I had no fan base. I had no label, no band. I was stuck in Eugene, Oregon, and I wanted to make sense of my life and it became it this raw and personal project that people responded to. I never expected to get this recognition. Especially in this part of the world (Southeast Asia).”

“For Soft Sounds from Another Planet, I was nervous because I worked with another producer (Craig Hendrix).  And I was afraid this Psychopomp was a fluke. I gave myself a month. Whatever we can come up with in one month; that’s it. And it worked. At the end of the day I can only make what is natural, exciting and real to me. If they don’t like it then that is only what I can do.”

The two albums have propelled Japanese Breakfast from an indie hit to an international star. The band has toured heavily in the last two years and has appeared in major music festival around the world. 

And now there are expectations for the upcoming third album.

“Yes, I feel pressure,” she laughed. “There are expectations, after all.”

During a trip to Los Angeles in August of 2018, the Philadelphia-based Korean-American Zauner, bared in a video for Amoeba Music, that the new album will be influenced by industrial rock band, Nine Inch Nails, as well as avante-garde artist, Bjork.

Japanese Breakfast recently dropped a new single, “Essentially” on W Records on Spotify. It was a surprise move since her first two albums came out on Yellow K Records and Dead Oceans. Psychopomp was released by the former but distributed internationally by the latter while Soft Sounds from Another Planet was under Dead Oceans.

The Indiana and Texas-based indie label (yes, they have two offices) is home to some of the most acclaimed indie artists in recent years such as shoegaze band Slowdive and indie rocker, Mitski. Yet for the new album, Zauner is joining W Records.

“It feels great and honored to have shared a roster with these people and inspired by them,” she said of her time with Dead Oceans. 

But for now, it is finishing the last legs of this long tour (that ends in August in Spain), then, in her words, “there is a bit of quiet to recalibrate.”

“I will be work on creative projects such as my book and the new album. I am excited to embark on this new chapter. 

Zauner paused for a moment to think, then surmised while biting her lip, “It’s not very Nine Inch Nails, isn’t it,” she said in reference to “Essentially.” 

She laughed once more. 

“For the last record (Soft Sounds from Another Planet), we wanted to make our Soft Bulletin from the Flaming Lips,” she said of the American rock band’s widely lauded ninth album that was a departure from their guitar-heavy alternative sound into something more intricately arranged and layered. “It’s a sci-fi/space musicale that disassociates from trauma and grief.”

“I always have a vision of where the new record will go. I’m thinking, ‘I have to make the next Pretty Hate Machine (the debut album from Nine Inch Nails) or Homogenic (Bjork’s third album). But knowing me, I think I get into this vision and freeze. I mean how can you make the next Pretty Hate Machine and Homogenic? You can only make something natural to you. When I go into the studio I am not going to think of anything at all. In my head, I hope I will make something that is a pretty mesh between Nine Inch Nails and Bjork but it probably will not be at all.”

“But that’s for the next few months. Right now, it’s putting on a good show for the fans in Manila. And I do hope they enjoy it.”

They sure did. Japanese Breakfast was the penultimate performer for Summer Noise. Even in the sweltering heat, Zauner and her band (Craig Hendrix on drums and also produced Soft Sounds from Another Planet, the amazing Devan Craig on bass who she played on Little Big League, and Peter Bradley on guitars) delivered a solid set with their technical proficiency on full display. 

As she made her way to the air-conditioned tent behind the stage, Zauner, all sweaty but in smiles, reiterated, “I hope we made the Filipino fans happy.”

Michelle Zauner signed by records! And I got to interview her!

Michelle Zauner signing my records.

Sing to me an alphabet of fear: My collection of The Crow

Was a fan of the comic book when it first came out. And an even bigger fan when the film was released. 

The LP released on Record Store Day 2019, the original compact disc release, the DVD, and the trade paperback.

Scenes from Summer Noise 2019 at the Greenfield District

Tide/Edit with the Ringmaster

Subsonic Eye from Singapore

Cynthia Alexander

UDD

Ben&Ben’s new album, Limasawa Street, is an instant classic

Ben&Ben’s new album, Limasawa Street, is an instant classic

by rick olivares

On the cover of Ben&Ben’s self-titled debut EP, brothers Paolo and Miguel Guico are walking down a tree-lined road with one of them waving his hand as if to say, “Hasta Mañana!”

They return three years later with Limasawa Street in an exquisitely designed light box of a package and an album cover where a beacon guides numerous faceless people on the road. The beacon resembles the light box album package and flash drive.

The “journey” the brothers and the band undertook? Well, if the debut EP had this introspective feel of love and loss, Limasawa Street finds Ben&Ben a bit more worldly-wise and even more confident of their abilities. They wrap their concerns of life and the world in intricate arrangements that find them tapping into jazz, soul, and the pop rock musings while not forgetting their folk roots.

Music is art and art can be interpreted in different ways. Sometimes what we think of a song is something totally different from how the songsmiths weaved them. One thing that we can be sure of is that the gift of Ben&Ben’s full length album, Limasawa Street, is how it radiates hope. Whether you want to read deeper into it or not, it does come at a time when there is much at stake. 

The band looks back at their past and digs deep into those happy memories to carry them and to provide hope in these times.

From the lyrical poetry that tugs on the heartstrings to the polyrhythms that give them life to the album packaging, Limasawa Street is like phosphorescence encapsulated into rich and deep pop songs.

The title track leads off and sparkles with a lightness and an energy. Like you feel alive. At once, you feel this is different energy from previous Ben&Ben songs. 

Was I surprised that the great English producer Steve Lillywhite – who now calls Bangkok home -- who is known for his work with U2, Big Country, Dave Matthews Band, XTC, Simple Minds, and many others was involved? 

You bet. 

I always thought that Lillywhite’s work was an explosive mix of soaring vocals and instruments that had a live feel – exactly how one would sound when performing live rather than carefully orchestrated work that translates differently in a live setting. Anthemic meet anthemic. So, it is perfect.

“Limasawa Street” jumps out. And even before I read on the liner notes of Lillywhite’s involvement, while listening to the album, I somehow thought of U2’s How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb that is happy melting pot of the Irish band’s early work and the more artsy stuff that came later on.

How much that song affected the rest of the production I have no idea. But the album pushes forward seamlessly from one nugget to another. 

What is it with the word “street” and its use in songs? There are some really great songs – favorites too – that make use of the word “street” in a song title.

There’s the Rolling Stones’ “Street Fightin’ Man.” There’s Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “The 59^thStreet Bridge Song” that has always been a fave. And how about Martha and the Vandellas’ “Dancing In the Street?” There’s U2’s powerful “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Add “Limasawa Street” to that now.

Obviously, there is something powerful that a street conveys. And that has always figured well in Ben&Ben lore (check the album covers).

Moving on… “Pagtingin” has a Dave Matthews Band feel and inflection. 

“Fall” is a gentle song about seizing that moment when in love and casting one’s cares to the wind while the guitars and violin noodle about in the background. 

Wistful “Hummingbird” is about letting go and moving forward yet, one is reminded of the past. 

“Baka Sakali” recorded with the King of Emotion, Ebe Dancel, is another pause for reflection.

I like songs like “Limasawa Street” and “Lucena” that soar and give the band a different dimension. 

The ominously sounding “War” is a lovely misdirection. It is rather a call to combat the tough times with love. I love the violin solo that adds to the poignancy. 

If I talk and break down each song, then I will only be repeating myself. Suffice to say, that this is an instant OPM classic. And in terms of Filipino pop perfection, I thought it similar to Jose Mari Gonzales’ Constant Change; it is an album filled with gems. 

And in these times of change, I’ve got Ben&Ben’s Limasawa Street to light my way. 

Split 7-inch single Touche Amore/Pianos Become the Teeth

Rizal Underground’s Stephen Lu embarks on European Tour

Rizal Underground’s Stephen Lu embarks on European Tour

by rick olivares

Stephen Lu can feel the fire in his bones. After a long hiatus, Lu is back to actively performing and touring with his band, the Rockoustic Blues Experiment. As a follow up to his successful five-city American Tour of 2018, Lu is headed for the Old Continent late May 2019; on a five-nation tour that will run almost about two months.

Lu will kick off his European sojourn – dubbed the “Sabado Nights European Tour Series” -- with three shows in England (May 24, 25, and June 1) followed by a couple of shows in the Netherlands (June 7 and 8) then Italy (June 16 and 23), and France (June 21).

When Lu’s two daughters graduated last year, they all celebrated by going for a vacation in the United States. “Since I was already there, I thought, ‘why not perform as well?’”

If the US tour was marked by family, the European version will be s solo flight. 

Lu will be playing solo and without his Rockoustic Blues Experiment bandmates. He’ll work with different Filipino musicians in each country, much like he did in the United States. “It is a function of cost,” deadpanned Lu. “I am coming off with playing with seasoned veterans such as the Villegas brothers (Angelo and Mike) and Harley Alarcon with Rizal Underground and guys like Bong Eudela, Pex Holigores, and Nikko Tirona with Rockoustic Blues Experiment. So I am playing with musicians who I have never played with my entire life. But again, this is a function of cost. It worked out anyways in the United States so I don’t see how it cannot work out this time in Europe.”

While in the US, I met a lot of Filipinos in their 30s and up who missed those familiar home comforts,” related Lu. “And when someone comes over, they welcome him. And I played some really satisfying shows.”

Lu will be performing songs from his Rizal Underground days such as “Saabdo Nights” and “Bilanggo” to some of his more recent fare with the Rockoustic Blues Experiment where he covered songs by Tropical Depression (“Mahal Na Mahal Kita”) and Binky Lampano (“Loveland”). 

It was recording In-Flight that stoked the longtime rocker’s fires anew. “It was (Orange and Lemons/The Camerawalls vocalist) Clem Castro who encouraged me to do all this,” related Lu. “Nagkasabay kami sa Boracay and we got to talk. He asked, ‘Hindi ka ba magre-recording?’ he challenged. And I thought about it and I am glad he convinced me to do this.”

The EP and the tours have revitalized this musician who is also working on some projects with friends from the band scene in the 1990s. “It’s all good because it has given me new ideas for songs and projects. And traveling and changes in scenery really help. They give you a fresh perspective on things which we as artists really need from time to time.” 

Album review: The Specials’ new album, Encore, is brilliant.

The Specials’ new album, Encore, is brilliant.

by rick olivares

Of the bands that emerged during the Two-Tone ska movement of the late 1970s to the early 1980s, it was the Specials who are perhaps the most lauded of the all. That is why when they embarked on their reunion tour of 2008, it was well-received with the excitement spilling on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. And that fact that Encore shot up to the top of the British album charts this past April as soon it was released really says something about them. And I am sure it isn’t only Generation Xers buying copies.

When was the last Specials album? That was 2001’s Conquering Ruler. Some might even argue that the true last album was 1980’s More Specials. In a recent interview, Specials vocalist Terry Hall specifically refers to Encore as the third album. That of course is up for debate.

Nevertheless, not since In the Studio (released in 1984) has there been excitement about a Specials album (this was credited to Special AKA) . Unfortunately, the Specials are now down to three – vocalist Terry Hall, vocalist and guitarist Lynval Golding, and bassist Horace Panter – with Danish musician Nikolaj Torp (keyboards and vocals), Steve Cradock (guitar), Kendrick Rowe (drums), Tim Smart (Trombone and tuba), and Pablo Mendelssohn (trumpet). Torp, who has performed with the band since 2009, especially makes his presence felt as he is a part of the songwriting process. 

It doesn’t matter though if three of the original line-up are around because Encore is a special album. Pun intended. 

However, the first thing you have to do when you listen to Encore is to disassociate any of the previous works especially their seminal debut and follow up, More Specials. If you figure that 40 years after that wondrous debut that knocked Britain for a loop, they would sound the same then think again. Because people change. Sounds and tastes change. If that is your purview, then you are in for a major disappointment.

On the other hand, if you open up your mind, you’ll find that Encore is a damn good album that approximates the brilliance of their self-titled debut albeit wrapped in poly-rhythms. Encore is a funk-inflected album with occasional reggae, ska, overtones. At times, I wondered if the Specials ventured into (reggae band) Third World territory. At times, it feels like listening to cousins of Blondie’ 1980s hit, “Rapture” complete with the disco vibe.

So free yourself of that notion and enjoy the album that just as it first did in 1979 when Tory politics, recession, poverty, unrest, war, racism, and immigration plagued the United Kingdom. While 40 years later, it seems that nothing has changed, the fire that lit the Specials hasn’t dissipated. The music though is closer to the styles they explored for the In the Studio album or even Hall’s own Fun Boy Three (after he left the Specials following their second album). 

The Specials share their thoughts once more about being one homogenous family regardless of race and color after the war is done (Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys), racism (BLM or Black Lives Matter that Golding narrates in spoken word fashion). “Vote for Me” touches on Brexit and is a dead ringer for “Ghost Town”. They cover Hall and Golding’s former band, Fun Boy Three (formed with former Specials mate Neville Staples) with “The Lunatics” and I love the heavier if not gloomier arrangement. 

In Side Two, the Specials find their true groove in this outing.

After “Blam Blam Fever,” they segue into “10 Commandments,” a dub track that features activist Saffiyah Khan also on spoken word to a wailing Hammond organ. If you recall, a photo of Khan was snapped during a standoff with a protester in 2017 while wearing a shirt by the Specials. And now she’s performing with them on one of the best tracks of Encore.

“Embarrassed By You” is a lovely song and the last two songs, “The Life and Times (of A Man Called Depression)” – that is about dealing with depression -- and “We Sell Hope” evoke the late inning home runs of the Clash’s Combat Rock (“Ghetto Defendant”, “Inoculated City” and “Death is A Star”). 

I should note that for all the pent-up anger of this album, the Specials opt to end Encore by taking an optimistic view in “We Sell Hope”. So aren’t you glad their back?

When the lads of the Specials first formed in 1979, they embraced Jamaican rhythms and imbued it with a gangly punk energy. Four decades later, the band – or what is left – makes use of everything they have picked up in the world since and come out with a brilliant and relevant album. It says that they don’t have to live on their old hits and can create new ones in this crazy times we live in.

Japanese band Sans Visage gives music fans something to scream about.

Japanese band Sans Visage gives music fans something to scream about.

by rick olivares

The three members of Japanese scream hardcore band Sans Visage all look like unassuming college kids out on a science project. In fact, they would fit nicely well in a Japanese version of Netflix’ retro hit, Stranger Things.

Drummer Kou Nakagawa laughs and appreciates the comparison. “We’re all nerds,” he fessed up.

Even before the Tokyo-based Sans Visage hit Philippine shores for a three-show concert series, their reputation as a livewire performing band preceded them.

“They are like (recent Manila visitors and American band) Massa Nera where all three members (Nakagawa, guitarist Yohei Kamiyama and bassist Kouki Higuchi) sing,” noted Darwin Soneja of production group Sleeping Boy Collective who along with the like-minded Counterflow productions brought over Sans Visage to the Philippines. “And like Massa Nera, they are even better live than on their record.”

Kamiyama smiled at the plaudits.

Sans Visage released their debut album, Moments, in 2018 on the independent Dog Knights Productions and Asian Gothic labels after two earlier split-albums with an assortment of bands. Moments has garnered rave reviews from just about every rock music site and magazine worth its salt. 

Once more, the three Japanese musicians remain humble. “It is good to know that people like our music,” smiled Kamiyama.

Screamo music is an aggressive subgenre of emo that is strongly influenced by hardcore punk and characterized by the use of screamed vocals. Sans Visage’s music and screams are just right. Not overly loud; melodic even.

Screaming is used as a form of therapy for those having these pent-up emotions roiling inside of them. In fact, in Japan, a screaming festival on Yufu, Oita prefecture was organized with over a hundred participants. A “shouting vase” is sold to the public where one shouts into a jar but the scream is inaudible due to the sound in the vacuum. 

The band snickers about screaming and its practical uses. 

“Our music,” noted Nakagawa, “touches on topics of depression, loneliness, and frustration.”

“Music is a perfect outlet for our frustrations,” added Kamiyama. “Instead of doing something destructive or something we might regret, we channel everything through music. And we are grateful that our music is not only appreciated by others but also because it helps them.”

On a Sunday evening, May 5, at the 123 Block along Pioneer Street in Mandaluyong City, like the two previous shows at the Noise Garage in Manila and the Hardcore Hope Hall in Batangas, the three-piece band raged, screamed at the dying of the light to delirious Filipino fans.

Said a relieved and sweaty Nakagawa after the show. “It is great to know that we have fans outside Japan especially here in Manila. Music is indeed an international language.”

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