A Beginner’s Guide to Filipino dream pop and shoegaze music

A Beginner’s Guide to Filipino dream pop and shoegaze music

By Rick Olivares

It was summer of 1995 and I was sitting outside the old Club Dredd Edsa hanging out with Parokya ni Edgar bassist Buwi Meneses when the strains of the Sundays’ “Here’s Where the Story Ends” wafted out the doors. The singer – whoever she was -- hit all the high notes in a perfect cover that would do the Sunday’s vocalist Harriet Wheeler proud. 

I dashed back inside to find Sugar Hiccup in one of their first shows at the now mythic rock club. I sat, entranced, thinking, “This is great. Now we have an answer to the British dream pop and shoegaze scene (referring to My Bloody Valentine, Moose, Slowdive, Lush, Ride, and others).”

And roughly around the same time, there was Sonnet 58 that was influenced by Ride and Chapterhouse. Sugar Hiccup on the other hand had traces of the Cocteau Twins but with a more pop sensibility about them. 

But that was it. The twee pop bands arrived and the scene was inundated by a host of NU metal bands. It was more than a decade Moscow Olympics and Sleepwalk Circus picked up the baton and led the charge into the stratosphere.

Today?

You can tear the roof off the local scene.

There’s now a dream pop/shoegaze stage during the annual Fete dela Musique. Mow’s, increasingly known as that rock club for underground bands, is home to the productions by Furiosa, a production group dedicated to spread of the genre. There’s a Facebook page for the local scene, and of course, there are a multitude of bands now.

The shoegaze/dream pop scene is alive, well, and kicking into the clouds and the glaciers. 

If you are new to the scene, here are some albums – of the dozens -- that we recommend serve as your introduction to the Philippine brand of shoegaze and dream pop. 

Womb – Sugar Hiccup (1998 compact disc from BMG Records)

Their second album. Their debut, Oracle, had more pop tunes. Womb was lusher in production. More ethereal with soaring melodies (pun not intended). 

Crossing Oceans – Sonnet LVIII (1996 demo compact disc, vinyl self-released 2019)

When I first saw them in Dredd, they were the first band to my knowledge that was awash with effects. If you like Ride and Swervedriver then you’ll like Sonnet LVIII. 

Still – Moscow Olympics (2007 seven-inch vinyl from Fraction Discs) 

The initial offering from this now defunct band. Recalling the British guitar bands of the New Wave era, this song takes me back to a less complex time and when music first took ahold of every fiber of my being. Spinning this record is always tremendous joy. This has a spot next to my records of the Care, The Sundays,  

Great Secret Show – Sleepwalk Circus (2010 compact disc, Terno Recordings) 

A complete package from the compact disc package to the music. A beautiful recording. When I first got Great Secret Show, I must have played this about three dozen times those first couple of days. And it remains in my rotation even after all these years.

Sky Spectre – Narcloudia (2014 compact disc self-released)

One of life’s unexpected surprises. Discovered this band by chance (they were the unannounced opening act for a band I wanted to watch). Wrote about them and spread the news opening this band to the scene. An eccentric eclectic mix of Goth, Lewis Carroll, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the Cocteau Twins. If you like a mystery from this femme fatale trio based in Singapore.

Unexpectedly – Megumi Acorda (2018 on mini-disc self-released)

Four tracks of beautiful misery from an incredible talent. 

Hereafter – Polar Lows (2019 compact disc self-released and cassette by United Cassettes Philippines)

I think until Polar Lows, we didn’t have any of those bands that played shoegaze the traditional way – with unintelligible lyrics and haunting music that sweeps you away. Though a three-track extended play single), I’d say this represents one of the best of the old scene as well as the new one.

Within You Without You – WYWY (2018, on vinyl from The Spaceout Project, compact disc self-released, and cassette from United Cassettes)

Music from this Filipino duo from Dubai, UAE. If Kate Bush went shoegaze this is perhaps how she would sound. 

And there’s more to cast your mind and imagination adrift! Check out the aforementioned bands’ discography. And you can search for local acts such as Scott, The Strange Creatures, The Rave Tapes, populardays, and others! You can check out their music on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Spotify, YouTube, or even Facebook where you will discover more Filipino bands!