Ciudad Forever album & show marks indie pop band’s 25th Anniversary
by rick olivares
It is hard to believe that indie pop rock band Ciudad is 25 years old. Could it be that long already?
Between their debut, Hello! How Are You, Mico the Happy Bear in 2000 and 2012’s Follow the Leader, they released an album every two-plus years. They were prolific, nay, prolific. And they wrote the best pop gems by any local band.
They never fell off the map. Ciudad has released five albums and now a sixth – a double compact disc album titled Ciudad Forever – that shows how they have remained not only prolific but also relevant to this day and age.
They have shown an ability to adapt as they continued to release singles one after the other online as they adapted to the changing times. More than that, they improved their crafty as a very good live act and released some very good tunes since.
It is even more gratifying to see a whole new generation of fans groove to their music. That quantifies their staying power.
And now we’re lucky that Ciudad have collected all the online singles to go with their hits from their sophomore effort, Is That Ciudad? Yes, Son, It’s Me. to their Bring Your Friends (the rights to their debut are held by their old label).
Featured are the Beach Boy-esque harmonies on “Oh, Christian!” to the extremely hummable “Get You Closer” to the bouncy Bacharach pop of “SIFIL (Such Is Falling In Love)” and to the 70’s groove of “Tiny Apartments”.
Ciudad Forever is also nostalgic trip; a timely retrospective to allow the fan to marvel at their body of work. The groovy “Call It A Flick” is included as is Fountains of Wayne-ish “Until It’s Cool”. The catchy “My Emptiness” is there. As are two of my favorites “Dance Lessons” and the pensive “Friday Noon”.
Thus, Ciudad is like one of life’s tiny delights. They remind us of why we love comic books, rom-coms, the gift of friends, why falling in love remains a powerful emotion and force, and why we constantly reminisce about the good old days.
Ciudad Forever comes in a cool DIY package complete with lyrics, liner notes, and reflections and anecdotes from the band itself to friends such as classmate and former manager Quark Henares, wrier Erwin Romulo, director and musician Marie Jamora, their number one fan Kathy Gener who formed Ang Bandang Shirley and is co-owner of indie label Wide –Eyed Records and others who they have formed strong bonds to this day.
And that is exactly the magic about this band – relationships.
The band – Mikey Amistoso, Jeff Cabal, Mitch Singson, and Justin Sunico – were friends and classmates at the Ateneo even before they formed Ciudad. Amistoso explained the dynamic between all the members with this allegory, “Before we became a band, we were friends for a long time. We are generally nice people and empathize with each other. That is the strength of the band. However, that could also be a weakness because none of us will do ‘career moves’ at the expense of our friendship. Remember how the Beatles got rid of Pete Best and they were unstoppable after that? We would never do that. We stick to each other.”
During their 25thanniversary show at the 123 Block last Friday, September 20, Ciudad -- which for some time now has been performing with Singson’s son, Wocky on bass that has freed up Amistoso to play guitar and keyboards – brought all those elements into play. The old hits and the newer ones. Old friends and familiar faces mingling in a sea of new ones. Hearts fluttered and smiles were aplenty.
And that is the magic behind 25 years of great music.
Looking forward to next.
Ciudad Forever.
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