Revolver Top Albums of 2009

By: Cris O. Ramos Jr.

It has been said a million times:2009 was a tough year that we can’t wait to end. Nonetheless, 2009 was also a great year for local music with the abundance of great releases.

Here’s Revolver’s annual list of the top local releases of 2009 (previous toppers have included Pan’s Parnaso ng Payaso, Joey Ayala’s 12 Love Songs, Agaw Agimat’s Mantra, Itchyworms’Noontime Show, Up Dharma Down’s Fragmented, Radioactive Sago Project’s Tanginamo Andaming Nagugutom Sa Mundo Fashionista Ka Pa Rin and Rico Blanco’s Your Universe.

As always, if you vehemently disagree with this list, you can always make your own. The more, the merrier.......

25. Switch – Visceral (Sonic Shape). Industrial rock gains a voice in local shores. Expressions expressed through a lot of pain, suffering and more pain. Phase 1 is complete for Ian Quirante and co., it’s time for phase 2: The incorporation of a more original sound.

24. Johnny Alegre, 3 (Affinity). The Flying A of Pinoy Jazz returns with an album recorded with two of the world’s most esteemed jazz players – Bill Hart and Ron McClure. The result is Alegre’s most straightforward and bluesiest effort.

23. Ill-J, Logic for Reason (Locked Down). The illest joint this year. A much-improved outing from the former SVC member’s first album.

22. Noel Cabangon, Byahe (Universal). Cabangon tackles on the rich pop tradition of Original Pilipino Music.

21. Sino Sikat?, 2^nd Album (Warner). There’s hardly any of the rock & roll spirit that made their debut album so engaging (but when it shows up in tracks such as the Middle Eastern-flavored “Heartbreak Blues” and “Wherever You Are”,boy.....). That’s because for this album Sino Sikat? makes a commitment to the acid jazz (check out the album opener “Toilet”), the funk and the soul.

20. Rivermaya, Closest Thing to Heaven (Warner). Rivermaya picks up the pieces by going back to their roots, the bands that inspired them to do music in the first place – Tears for Fears, The Psychedelic Furs and all the other new wave Gods. No, it doesn’t sound like new wave at all, but the vibe and the ethos is there. A big improvement from their previous Buhay.

19. Chicosci, Fly Black Hearts (MCA) and Kamikazee, Long Time Noisy (Universal). Both albums are the aural equivalent of advanced army soldiers returning to war equipped with more technologically advanced arsenal with new fighting techniques learned and mastered. Dangerous, indeed.

18. The Ambassadors, Life Goes On (Sonic Shape) and The Line Divides, Signals and Sounds (Rocket One). More sounds from the Giant South. The Ambassadors combine the pure old school punk energy of 2001’s Chaotic World with the melodic punk sounds of their two previous albums with some tricks learned from their Sonic Boom buddies to come up with a fourth album that’s just brimming with life and energy. The Line Divides live up to their name if what they mean is that they know the line that divides the rakista kids and the disco-punk hipsters (real or imagined), because they masterfully do music that caters to both.

17. Juan Pablo Dream, Juan Pablo Dream (Rookie). JPD turns the soul up even further with a more polished, a fuller sound and fantastic female doo-wop singers.

16. Gloc-9, Matrikula (Sony). Gloc’s most eloquent album to date. Matrikula is so eloquent that Gloc proudly printed the lyrics on the album sleeve,as he should. Album single “Upuan” (featuring the lead singer of Zelle) making it in heavy rotation in radio stations is proof that there’s nothing like an excellent song to obliterate the line between “high-end” or “masa”. If this album doesn’t prove that there’s more to Gloc than his rapid fire spittle,probably nothing will.

15. Aya Yuson, Angelsongs (Candid). Hands down the best pure local jazz album of the year. Hardly a moment here is wasted as each turn leads to another. It doesn’t hurt to have great voices (Yosha Honasan, Skarlet, Aileen Bailon, Arthur Manuntag) in the mix either.

14. The Lowtechs, Anniversary of the Machinery (Freezer Disk). Baguio-based members get together to approximate a The Doors-inspired sound ends up sounding like modern hard rock take on 80’s new wave with a penchant for mock-metal themes, got hooked.

13. Sugarfree, Mornings and Airports (PolyEast). This is a self-assured, excellently-produced album for the persevering trio (and their best vocally). Mornings and Airports once again proves that Sugarfree’s music is a textbook example of the winning appeal of pop music while successfully sticking to the arrivals-and-departures theme (kudos also to Inksurge for the wonderful album design).

12. Greyhoundz, Execution Style (Independent). The musically sophisticated twin sister of the fury that was Apoy.

11. Musical O, Debutante (Terno). It’s the musical equivalent of a turbulent sail on an old school pirate ship around the world. Engulf yourself on the musical waves of emotion and sentiments, ay-ya-ya-ya.......

10. Urbandub, The Apparition (MCA). This is the most no-nonsense, no-frills just rock out Urbandub album since Birth. There’s hardly any of the geared-for-radio lovey dovey songs here (to be exact about it,there’s only one of that here) and none of the steady-eddie reggae-flavored songs (sorry, “Evidence” fans). The Apparition is full of self-reflection songs and social commentary the U-dub way. 

9. Us-2 Evil-0, Dirty Debutantes (PMS) and Zach Lucero, Fall Crash Infect (Independent). These are two lovely and hip-sounding indie-rock albums that perfectly complement each other. Dirty Debutantes is a geeky ode to superpoke, Carmi Martin, Saguijo and Mikey Amistoso while Fall Crash Infect is Lucero’s ode to 90’s rock and friendship. Most importantly, both albums are love.

8. Kjwan, 13 Seconds to Love (Independent). With their first album they went to rock the boogie while with their second album they spiked it with some experimentation and dark vibes. With this one they just wanted to express themselves and rock out without losing out the Kjwan flavour. This is clearly their most straightforward album to date; 13 Seconds..... is packed of songs that just breathe. Probably the first Kjwan album that acknowledges that frontman Marc Abaya used to be an integral part of Sandwich. (You can even take a few songs here into an EP and make an off-shoot of Thanks to the Moon’s Gravitational Pull).

7. Duster, Sweetheart Snackbar (Sony BMG) and Techy Romantics, Touch (Party Bear). The Discotillion continues! There are essentially two types of all-female bands in history: the aggressive riot grrls (Tribal Fish, Abrasive Relations) and the cutesy-patootsie ones. Katwo-Puertollano-Librando joins bandmates Kris Gorra-Dancel, Myrene Academia and Ristalle Bautista and principal album collaborators Raimund Marasigan and Lourd de Veyra in an album that proves they’re both. Sweetheart Snackbar is full of songs about “QC Girls” and “Retail Therapy” while also containing songs about a domestic disturbance (“Saksakan”) and proclaiming that they have, well, the “Balls”. While many of the bands that came out from the decade that was provided a musical template that won’t be out of place in either Embassy or Saguijo fact of the matter is they’re more Saguijo. Enter Ryan Villena who joins co-conspirators Dondi Virrey and Camyl Besinga to form Techy Romantics; who totally live up to their names and achieves to be equal parts Saguijo and Embassy, achieving the perfect fusion of 80’s-inspired post-rock and club music.

6. Peryodiko, Peryodiko (Thirdline). The male confessional so profoundly written it doesn’t feel wimpy at all. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the musicianship in this album is top-notch.

5. Corporate Lo-Fi, The First Album (BNH) and Nyko Maca+Playground, Nyko Maca+Playground (Infectious). The stalwarts of Pinoy Soul raise the standards of quality further with these much-awaited debut releases. Corporate Lo-Fi debuts with this fusion of big band dynamics and hip-hop which should satisfy both camps with aplomb – or else, they don’t have taste. NM+PG is a fusion of Barzil-inspired music fused with hip-hop, soul, jazz, electronic and most importantly, Pinoy flavour.

4. Archipelago, Travel Advisory (Archipelago). It’s not a concept album in the strictest sense, but the music carries a vibe that brings you to one. Yan Yuzon and co. transport you to their views, reflections and emotions through their brand of devil-may-care rock. Listening to this album is definitely more than a worthwhile trip, it’s an experience.

3. Hilera, Nut House (PolyEast). No local album in 2009 was wilder and angrier than this album. Hilera brought the noise-pop barrage of their self-titled debut to the next level – scratch that, to the next one after the next one to the next, ad infinitum – and using rockabilly as their base achieves a vibe that’s mod, Britpop, psychobilly, swinging and, yes Beatlesque at the same time.

2. Pasta Groove, The Distinktive Sounds of Pasta Groove (Terno). This is a mind-boggling collage of samples, jams and collaborations. PG proves that not only prove that Filipino music has always had the groove and, more importantly, the soul; and proposing the template that could move it forward. 

1.Outerhope, A Day for the Absent (Outerhope). Their brilliant first album Strangely Paired was already a tough act to follow, but the Benedicto siblings outdo it like it was nothing. They step things up a notch by skipping the little patches from their first album and coming up with a snappier and more charming batch of spare-but-lush (as Luis Katigabk would put it) songs. Now, there’s definitely no doubt that the guitar-and-keyboards duo are more than fine without a full band set-up.