Sound & Sense
Stay In by Johanna Poblete, Senior Reporter
Business World – Weekender | December 9, 2010
INDIE tends to be one genre of music packed with diversity, and Bread and Circuses is a prime example of how post-punk euro-pop circa the 1980s and ’90s can morph into an experimental contemporary sound that’s easily melodic (ergo, listener-friendly), rhythmically complex, with elegant vocals and ponderous lyrics that pull at the emotions.
The EP is the The Camerawalls’ sophomore effort, coming two years after its first album Pocket Guide To The Otherworld (2008), and months after the release of the single “The Sight Of Love,” which featured Sarah Gaugler of electro pop band Turbo Goth, which was released in February.
There’s been a change in the band lineup, with bandleader and vocalist-guitarist Clementine “Clem” Castro and bassist Law Santiago welcoming Joseph “Bachie” Rudica into the fold after their former drummer resigned. Read full article…
Strings Of Life
Sound Advice by Denise Roco
People Asia – (October-November 2010)
It Started With An April Shower / The Gentle Isolation
Simple. Warm. Unique. Happy. These are four words chosen by the band that encapsulated what is essentially, Gentle Isolation. From indie label Lilystars Records, comes the much awaited EP It Started with an April Shower from this Bulacan-based quartet. Vocalist Ness Urian narrates that the early roots of the band was New Wave and Brit rock from the 80’s and 90’s. “We used to be a New Wave cover band with a male vocalist who then was my brother, Christopher. But he got too busy to join practice so other boys cajoled me to take his place.” The boys namely, Joseph Rovero (guitars), Monch Cristobal (bass) and Bachie Rudica (drums) subdued their instrumentation to adjust to the new female lead that was and still is a naturally shy but charming girl. This fine-tuning eventually became twee. As sure as “Let’s Go Slow” is making waves on the airwaves, “Faraway” (the oldest track from the album composed in 2005) is certain to make a tsunami.
Humming Along
Stay In by Johanna Poblete, Senior Reporter
Business World – Weekender | October 1, 2010
ONE OUGHT to expect that with the EP title of One Dreamy Indeterminate Hum, that the music of Your Imaginary Friends would be akin to a sonic ellipsis — unsubstantial, halting, wispy. It is anything but.
While it can be light and lilting, the sound is solid; no tentativeness, no halting pause, no slacking, just the pure confidence of plug-in-and-play, even conjuring a wall of noise to drop on the unsuspecting audience.
Indeterminate here refers to category, that tiny little slot we like to keep our records in, for some semblance of order. This being an EP produced under Lilystars Records, you already expect a certain kind of sound — something a little left off center. Read full article…
Finding Your Imaginary Friends
Man On The Side by PAUL JOHN CAÑA
The Manila Times | September 16, 2010
The latest band churned out by rising indie pop label Lilystars Records is called Your Imaginary Friends. Their sound hovers somewhere between upbeat 80s guitar pop and early 90s rock, with a bit of dance mixed in. Four years in the making before arriving at their current lineup, Emerald Aquino (bass) joined brothers Ahmad and Ed Tanji (vox/guitars and guitars respectively) and Eric Po (drummer) in March 2010 with a resolve to do their bit in the name of pop music. Read full article...
Faraway, So Close
Senses Working Overtime by Luis Katigbak
The Philippine Star | September 3, 2010
There are good and bad names for bands, just as there are good and bad names for people — “good” or “bad” in this context usually meaning “appropriate” or “inappropriate,” respectively, or to put it another way, “bagay o hindi bagay.” For example, Dying Fetus (known for such albums as “Purification Through Violence” and “Descend Into Depravity,” and coming to annihilate Amoranto Stadium this Sept. 14) is a good name for a death metal band, which is what they are. On the other hand, it is a terrible name for an a cappella group that specializes in breezy bossa nova fare. Or a boy-girl acoustic duo. (Then again, that might make for the most kick-ass acoustic duo ever. Their debut album could be called “Death by Tandem Bike” and feature songs like Candy Coated Carnage and Immolated by Sunbeams.) Read full article…
Music For The Educated Masses?
by Johanna Poblete, Senior Reporter
Business World – Weekender | August 26, 2010
CLEMENTINE “Clem” Castro, founder of independent label Lilystars Records and the other half of The Camerawalls (not to mention former vocalist of defunct band Orange and Lemons), is looking for a receptive ear. He believes he’ll find it online. Read the full article…
Three Gents & A Lady
by Johanna Poblete, Senior Reporter
Business World – Weekender | August 26, 2010
CALL IT flock mentality, call it survival, call it natural attraction, but bands with a sound divorced from mainstream music tend to jam together and create little pockets of popularity.
The latest entrant to this rich repository is The Gentle Isolation, a local indie pop quartet with a slight tendency towards twee. The band from Meycauyan, Bulacan, launched its EP, It Started With An April Shower, on Aug. 18 with support from The Camerawalls, Your Imaginary Friends, Kate Torralba, and Outerhope. Read full article…
Good Music And Then Some
Indie pop band The Gentle Isolation has their moment in the spotlight
by Paul John Cana
The Manila Times | August 19, 2010
In a musical landscape dominated by larger-than-life personalities, eye-popping theatrics and assembly-line quality songwriting, how can an upstart stand out and be heard? For The Gentle Isolation, the guiding principle is simple and straightforward: “There’s always room for good music.” That and this advice from a veteran musician to bassist Monch Cristobal: “To be able to get recognized in music, your songs must have good melodies.” Read full article…