The quartet’s new single is yet another testament to a still-unfolding creative renaissance that leans heavily on soundscape-building and psychedelia.
To fans of a certain vintage, The Bloomfields’ songs are akin to party tricks or cosplay. In other words, they’re original, sure, but with a heavy tint of borrowedness. A certain band from Liverpool was, for the longest time, their de facto inspo.
From the mid-aughts to the decade that followed, the group transitioned from Beatle-y melodies to ‘Pet Sounds’ harmonies to Manila Sound revivalism. In all of these, the guys have been nothing but consummate technicians. You couldn’t berate them for sloppy executions. “They’re just like the real thing,” you may have even, absentmindedly, said once on their behalf.
But what does that mean?
They’ve always been “the real thing,” to be fair, but the specter of their heroes has always loomed large. Well, that’s over now. In fact, it’s been for a long while, and that has been made exceedingly clear by their most current singles under the Lilystars banner: the masterfully harmonized “Byaheng Mahiwaga,” the minor-chord, major-lift that is “Until Tonight,” and, out over the past weekend, the hypnotic “Wala.”
“This song reflects on the decline of a relationship and the overwhelming sense of despair that can envelop a partner,” the band says in an internal release. “It’s about coming to grips with reality and feeling hopeless in the face of it,” they add, lending humanity to what, on the outset, just sounds like a heady trip to a splendid elsewhere.
Three singles in, it’s clear that The Bloomfields are dead serious about this psych rock thing. Witnessing them tentatively negotiate between experimentation and sing-song accessibility is a thrill. And while we’re on the subject of negotiations, it needs to be stressed how nothing was held hostage in the (uhm) execution: not their tasteful instrumentation, not their vocal stylings, not their familiar lyricism.
The Bloomfields’ creative cues for “Wala” are a curious vat of canon inspo (The Beatles, XTC, Oasis); imagistic anchoring (the open road); and trying out new tools in the shed (Maguindanaoan kutyapi and Japanese koto, both played with reasonable adeptness by Nathan Abella, who also sings lead vocal). The compact arrangement is also laudable: Lakan Hila takes over key elements, including rhythm-section duties, while Louie Poco completes the harmony and percussion trifecta.
This new cut is a cut above the rest, and it’s hardly a retooling of ‘Rubber Soul’ B-sides, though you’d be hard pressed to stop people from thinking it. No matter, “[It] naturally aligns with the band’s creative direction,” the band says.
Watch the Music Video Premiere on YouTube: