THE 20 BEST LOCAL RELEASES OF 2017
It's that time of the year again. All of the year-end listicles we've made so far are solemn but we aren't dismissing all of the quality local records we've listened to all year.
From the crushing sound of post-rock to the endearing sound of folk music, we've managed to cover every single piece of what the local scene has for us for the entire year. 2017 was both a triumphant and disastrous year, which involved a bunch of controversies and setbacks for both performers and fans. We aren't afraid to feature anything that is bold, risk-taking, and innovative. So sit back and ready your ears for the 20 best local releases of 2017!!!
20.) soft ghost - sugardumper EP
The combination of lo-fi and Twee-pop is joyfully channeled in this EP. The vocal harmonies are clean and the guitar and toy synth tandem are a match made in heaven.
19.) The Flytrap Habits - 2021
Groovy indie-rock sounding like a bunch of your college mates playing tidy Sunday music. The Flytrap Habits gleefully takes two steps forward with fab in their debut record.
18.) washere - 40 ;^) EP
40 ;^) (stylized as “40 winks”) is a special record that is downright witty to the bone. Washere’s dream concept and diary entry-like confessions match perfectly in songs that last for only 3 minutes or less. This record also proves ‘washere’ to be the one of the most eclectic, shape-shifting, and flamboyant music producers today.
17.) KJah - Kamao ng Kankaloo EP
KJah’s return to the EP format was the comeback we need in his latest release “Kamao ng Kankaloo”. The hero from Caloocan passionately presents his city with style and grit. With beats from similarobjects, Juss Rye, and Tatz Maven, KJah still packs a ton of courage to fit in any form of rap.
16.) Rice Lucido - Pahina Uno EP
Rice Lucido’s introspective of human interaction becomes fervent in “Pahina Uno”. Songs that discuss the nature of us, Rice Lucido lands softly with her tender acoustic and baroque pop-y tales of love, growth, and affirmation.
15.) Asch - For Two EP
Asch creates music for the soul and the soulmate in “For Two”. Combining funk, jazz, and electronica like they were partners dancing in the rain (a drizzle to be specific). The EP builds like they are relationships and the tracks here are blooming with fantastic production, percussion, and inserts of any variation of the wonky bass. With the result of having “For Two” this year, Asch Catabona is an electronic music prodigy for the ages.
14.) Ian Penn - Water On the Creek
Showing a more contemplative side of folk-music, Ian Penn gradually dispenses the cliches of a country singer. A heart-on-a-sleeve kind of debut full length, the singer-songwriter pens down a piece of your heart on a notepad and scribbles it with his own poems of life experiences and thoughts about missing someone. Water On The Creek streams across a colorful river of sound and memory way better than your average country-folk singer.
13.) Musical O - s/t
This self-titled record is skull-crushing math rock instrumentals leaves no trace of filler whatsoever. Musical O’s striking sophomore effort is as harsh more than it is beautifully perplexing. From the almost monotone vocal delivery to the audacious intensity of the riffs and chord progressions, Musical O outshines others who challenge the simple sound of Math-Rock.
12.) The Geeks - Double Sided Sophomore Slump
The Geeks’ sophomore is a testament for those who think slacker rock is dead, it’s just right there sleeping on your couch and never getting back up again. The Geeks truthfully gauges the style where every word or slur and power chord sounds the same but the mood keeps on getting consistent as the project progresses. The Double Sided Sophomore Slump is nihilistically comedic and lazily derived. Derived in a sense where it can tickle your funny bone and hop on the slackerdom for the meantime.
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11.) %ercentius - 0%
Jorge Juan Wieneke V’s side project %ercentius (stylized as Percentius) is described as this juke master-ala-footwork adaptation music project. I will say this again, this is electronic in its extreme. By extreme, ‘0%’ is immeasurably animated and diced to create this brand new sound. Only a genius like Jorge (aka Similarobjects) can only create a hyperactive rhythmic machine like %ercentius.
10.) Modern Day Collapse - Acquiescence EP
Modern Day Collapse has just released one of the most engaging records in their own respective sound. Their debut EP, “Acquiescence”, adds tons of elements that would make a longer lasting piece of hard-hitting and riff-driven music. Acquiescence adds more of the raw pain that melodic hardcore is known for. Stylistically, the record achieves its momentum and it ultimately thrives for catharsis.
9.) The Insektlife Cycle - Vivid Dreams Parade
Being no strangers in the metal and post-rock scene, The Insektlife Cycle forge a strong foundation in the Psychedelic genre. The guitars are in action and the bass does the talking, this band creates some of the most tightest performances in an album all year. Providing masterful showmanship and attention to detail in every section of the album, Vivid Dreams Parade must be renowned in other parts of the globe in the future, both in the local and international scene of psyche music.
8.) Illustrado - s/t
Group efforts are a come and go but this record managed to grow on me whenever I listen to this back to back. Illustrado’s self titled record is a force to be reckoned with. How so? Sayadd, Batas, and Goriong Talas’ astounding amount of bars accompanied by Apo Lerma’s head banging boom-bap are enough for you to keep you full. Hip-Hop is on full force in this record and Illustrado just made it heavier than ever.
7.) Waiian - Stranded in Hawaii EP
Underdogs are awed by their idols, and sometimes those underdogs follow the footsteps of their idols. What most underdogs don’t realize is that they tend to forget where they’re coming from. My issue has been answered by the young 19-year old rapper from Makati, Waiian. He proves that rappers shouldn’t be exactly like our idols.
Stranded in Hawaii is a record of life experiences, talks about his small career, and him skating around the block. He does this in a subtle but effective way. Waiian’s raps can stretch in a mile from where’s really from and distance isn’t such a big deal for him. Stranded in Hawaii deals with a lot of subjects rappers today don’t get to discuss -- their real selves.
6.) Eazyhead - Paranoid Fuck EP
Eazyhead doesn’t play by the rules. The NOFACE Records rapper/guitarist/performer is a devoid of anything conventional or positioned. “Paranoid Fuck” creates his own direction of sound with no excuses. In this record, he plays with a lo-fi rock sound but still creates this dizzying record with little to no cohesion. The sound immediately relates to a state of paranoia rather than the respective sound’s supposed state of euphoria. Altering the past to the present and seeing no signs of a good future, Eazyhead’s arrangements make us feel free from any rules in music, letting the world spin around with no control.
5.) Backflip3000 - Talambuhay
@kulotsalot3000’s bedroom project is incredible for creating one of the most therapeutic records known to lo-fi. All of the quick-witted puns and inside jokes aside, the promising sound of life regrets and lullabies about your love going to leave you are about to be delivered by backflip’s analog cloaked voice and distortion pedals.
“Talambuhay” is an album that explains all emotion in the fuzz. This project will make all of your bad days imminent and all of the lazy days nigh, Backflip3000 is here for you, ready to have a shoulder to cry on way beyond the lo-fi.
4.) Sound Architects - In Time of Need
2016 made post-rock a thriving genre in the local landscape of music. Manila’s Sound Architects aimed to solidify the genre with their groundbreaking release “In Time Of Need”. With only 6 tracks in the album, the entire project bleeds with a great amount of magnitude, radically turning the wheel of how post-rock should revolve around on.
Every set piece of emotion that is released in “In Time of Need” turns into a giant wave of sound. Where every passage in the album contemplates the concept of grief, decay, and distress. Every moment has a story to tell, and the Sound Architects are letting their echoes be heard across the globe with their technically impressive and impactful record to date.
3.) Tradecraft - Randomness and Order EP
Dream-pop became the go-to music for people who want to get lost in this giant field of simple songwriting and reverb-drenched production. Tradecraft, on the other hand, clears the picture that most dream-pop acts are missing out on; Both in indie-rock elements and in pop sensibilities. Blending with almost every layer of what we can imagine out of rock music, Randomness and Order unify every category swiftly.
Coming from the city of Davao, seeing the quartet rise in the underground community in the metro becomes evident that there’s no such thing as geography in releasing music. Tradecraft perfected the sound of pop and we aren’t leaving it anytime soon.
2. ) MUNIMUNI - Simula EP
Illuminating light from their own glimmer of hope, Rising makata-pop band Munimuni, take their listeners in a different world where no one else in folk music cannot do -- being authentic and being goddamn enjoyable at the same time. “Simula” uses an alternative way of delivering their sound without being too safe or being too atmospheric. From the beginning to end, you’ll find yourself going back to the start where everything needs to be in constant repeat. Relieving the joy, sadness, and reward of life. Munimuni is a band that everyone needs to witness for crying out loud! “Simula” is an ultimate record, a big giant statement that addresses the maturity of folk-pop in the country throughout different platforms.
1. ) Calix - The Lesser Of Your Greater Friends
2017 is the year of Calix; Ending up invited to play at gigs, and getting involved in rallies, small talks, rage groups, and hardcore shows. And no matter how hard his sharp words pierce through the barricades, The Lesser of Your Greater Friends becomes an anthem. A sudden burst of an uprising that many people can call an influential piece of hip-hop.
To put it simply, there are tracks that helped people clench their fists and raise their own awareness on different issues. Subverting every fascist one after the other, the trap hip-hop production helped Calix bind the rightful rage that is this album.
The Lesser of Your Greater Friends is stellar from start to finish. The album also alleviated a whole new level of aggression in hip-hop. It is an album for us to make noise in the streets, fight against a system we never knew we would fight against. Calix is the voice of our own cry for rebellion. And for that, The Lesser of Your Greater Friends is an album for every generation.
Check out all of these projects thru the links below the description/covers. Happy New Year everyone!!!