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ALBUM REVIEW: APARTEL - FULL FLOOD


Apartel is a six-piece soul outfit based in Metro Manila. The group consists of musicians from other bands, most notably Ely Buendia of The Oktaves, Pupil, and notably as the lead vocalist of Eraserheads. Two years ago, they released their debut full length record “Inner Play” under Buendia’s own record label Offshore Music.

Listening to Inner Play, I felt that record presented itself as a highlight reel of the past, a stunt that can strongly appeal to that particular group of people who prefer the music of that era. Rather than aiming for a “refreshing” take on the genre, however, Apartel only plays with the sound at the surface level. It could be emotionally comparable to a fictional collection of lounge music in a hotel somewhere in the middle of Roxas Boulevard: forgettable nostalgia. None of what they laid out before would really stick with the listener.

In Full Flood however, the band seems to have expounded on the sound of that era and branched out in a wider selection of arrangements rather than sticking to a one dimensional Marvin-Gaye-Sexual-Healing type of production. This is improvement in the band’s direction to say the very least. Travelling through the funk/rock n’ roll/disco sounds of the late 70’s with an array of disco synths, Moogs, and tons of guitar licks; all elements that help in the reminiscence of the “boogie” era sound.

The album opener, “That’s What She Said”, has the band come out swinging with tons of trumpets and bass slapping, only to be halted by a chorus that failed to catch my attention. The guitar solo later on would later be used as a transitional device to the second track, “Pateros”. This track felt stronger in the context of the album’s track order and I can say that this one of the album’s highlights for its catchy chorus, build up, and progression. The third track “See It to Believe It” screams dance floor disco all over but it recovers by having an intense build that I thought felt was useless at first but then again, it was impressive to see how this track ended up technical-wise. In “Mahiwaga”, the production shines with a saxophone and harp spot. This track was shiny all over but wasn’t that much of a highlight besides for its fantastic musicality. “Sisid” was a track that I felt like they should have gone for in the rest of the album. Some parts in “Sisid” felt slow but rightfully so, and as it goes on and on, each instrument shines one after the other. Now this is the Apartel I prefer, a mellow sound that surprisingly showed actual character and musical depth in less than five minutes.

The sixth track, “Underboner”, is some kind of an interlude that shows of the band’s technical skill. Horns blaring, drum fills, guitar solos etc., like wow, should a track be this long? Like is it even necessary to be in the middle of the album? Anyways, the seventh, “Pre-Loved”, was an okay track but again, was it really necessary to replace the lead singer with another vocalist? Both “Underboner” and “Pre-Loved” has same intentions but it sounded weird to be this bridge of filler throughout the entire album. The next track “Quack Quack” felt like a rehash of ideas of other tracks before this, so it felt a little inconsistent and a bit tiring from this point on even if the spots here like the layers of synths and trumpets go all over the track. “Ako Ang Dagat, Ikaw Ang Buwan” was one of my least favourite tracks in the record. The last moments in this track felt like I want to legitimately press the next button for how predictable it sounded. Ely Buendia sounded really tired singing those hooks over and over again. The same can be said with “Can I Be So High”, it felt like we have to tolerate the energy that Apartel showed here earlier on in the album. It just felt like there are tracks that are rearranged to match this specific type of mood but it didn’t feel like it was according to plan build-up wise. The chorus was a bit tedious but it didn’t last long until the last song “Why You Gotta Do Me Like That?”, an appropriate closer that ends Full Flood on a better note. The last few minutes of the track has this gospel choir echoing Ely Buendia’s thin vocals, giving tribute to one of the most pivotal figures of soul music at the time. And it makes me wonder why this was the only “gospel” influenced track in the entire album? Can I call another case of shoehorning an idea just because it paid tribute to an era? I might not know but it worked well in songwriting at least.

Overall, Apartel’s Full Flood was a collection of ideas all rolled over inside a wrap, a wrap that is their previous sound in Inner Play except they added a bit of spice and flavour to it just so their listeners would taste something different. But with further analysis, the sound falls apart to reveal the same exact sound, just executed with different toys. This 11-track album also showed some inconsistent cuts that showed slow jams, unnecessary fillers, and a wearisome concept. Apartel may sound good to the ears and Full Flood has its fair share of strengths and weaknesses, but if you listen to their entire catalogue closely, Ely Buendia’s newest musical project just feels like a highly paid and publicized mid-life crisis.

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