Pulse.ph : MUSIC + CULTURE
February 23rd, 2007
February 12th, 2007
Why is it that when people do full remake albums, it usually comes off as really sad and trite, but when it’s Lani Misalucha, it’s okay? Better than okay, even, as her latest album, the self-titled Lani Misalucha, feeds on the guilty pleasure centers of your brain but leaves you with a surprisingly positive vibe. I’m thinking it’s because Lani Misalucha is really great at what she does, and despite her producers’ past attempts at giving her commissioned original compositions for her earlier albums, fans go to her concerts to hear her now infamous Whitney Houston medley. We all watch American Idol, we know by now that nobody pulls off Whitney Houston well (most of the contestants who try to sing her hits usually get a “That was absolutely horrendous…” from Simon), and as we’re sitting in our dens, we shrug and say, “But Lani Misalucha can sing Whitney Houston in her sleep.” On this album, though, she only sings one Whitney Houston song, and it’s not one of her big hits, either, it’s “Hold Me,” that song that goes, “Hold me in your arms…” oh, you’d know the song when you hear it. The album is made up mostly of songs you may have heard on the radio, on a bus, in passing, without ever really knowing the artists, nor ever forming the notion to buy their respective albums. Like I’ve heard “Very Special Love” lots of times before, but I had to Google to find out that it was originally by Maureen McGovern. And someone named Stephanie Mills sang “Never Knew Love Like This Before.” (Of course, this could be because my tastes admittedly run in a different direction.) She also has low profile songs by Michael Jackson (“Someone in the Dark”) and Stevie Wonder (“All Is Fair in Love”). Some songs are those that are always being remade, like the Melissa Manchester-penned “Come In From The Rain,” which was first made popular by The Captain and Tenille, then recorded by the composer herself, Diana Ross and Shirley Bassey, among others. There’s also “Never My Love,” originally by the Addrisi brothers’ Association, and which we know from the Kathy Troccoli version—the song also has versions by 5th Dimension, the Four Tops, Etta James and Barry Manilow. A surprising addition to the tracklist is Heart’s “These Dreams”—while that almost ethereal quality in the original is lost here, Lani’s version is quite classy. Ah, and there’s a Christmas song, Martin Nievera’s “Christmas Won’t Be The Same Without You,” I think because it was released over Christmas. Notice that all the songs are slow and somber? Not really the kind of songs she can let loose on, as people are used to. That said, I’m curious about why this album is her self-titled album, since usually self-titled albums are supposed to represent the artist and what she/he/they stand for. For someone who is known to astound with her vocal fireworks, she’s surprisingly mellow on her self-titled album. Was the self-titling due to another reason, or is Lani Misalucha really a somber person? She does show off in “Hold Me,” Luther Vandross’ “Always and Forever,” and Natalie Cole’s “I Live For Your Love”; her vocal improvisations towards the ends of the songs are goosebump-inducing. I’m not a big fan of most of the songs on the album, but I really appreciate Ms. Misalucha’s musicality and wondrous voice. Actually, I believe she even sings some of these songs better than the originals. I do really love her take on Astrud Gilberto’s “A Certain Sadness”—she sings it as if it were her own, poignant yet confident. And she should. She’s Lani Misalucha.
February 8th, 2007
My sister has a live audio clip of Dave Grohl singing “Tiny Dancer†and she listens to it full blast on the speakers, over and over. It’s not the kind of cover that feels like Grohl sings it so much better than Elton John (because he doesn’t), or like the musical accompaniment is utter genius (because, while pretty good, it isn’t anything extraordinary). Instead, Dave Grohl douses the song with the funniest retorts and ad libs ever, making the experience more hilarious than inspiring. And it really is funny—my sister has been playing it over and over and Grohl quipping, “You know let’s skip all the other crap and just get to the chorus like on that bus scene, whaddya say?” still doesn’t get old. That said, I always look forward to any live recording Dave Grohl is on, whether he is able to talk or not (particularly Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged album). And I missed out on the only time the Foo Fighters ever came here, so I was particularly excited over the release of Skin and Bones. It’s the recording of one of the acoustic concerts they did after the release of their 2005 double disc, In Your Honor, which had a “hard rock†side and an “acoustic†side. If the Foo Fighters were a local band, I’d be appalled at their release of an acoustic album. But their definition of acoustic seems to be different from ours, they still have a lot of electric instruments plus the full drum set, so it’s not the typical Pinoy set-up of acoustic guitar and kajon/egg shaker of the recent past. Also, since they’re one of the biggest supergroups in the US, known more for their live scream-a-thons—I think Dave Grohl’s been wanting to scream into a mike even while he was drumming for Nirvana way back when—a live acoustic (again, under their definition) album is actually a welcome change. Another great thing is Dave Grohl sings more here, as opposed to making funny spiels or screaming his nuts off, and you’re reminded what a great vocalist he really is. Besides the fact that he’s very entertaining, as I’ve established in paragraph 1, he’s got a nice voice, which makes these rather laid-back Foo Fighters songs quite beautiful, some almost poignant, particularly on one of my favorites, “February Stars,†which is further enhanced by symphonic accompaniment. A lot of the songs on the acoustic side of In Your Honor are on this live CD, including “Razor,†which builds up quite compellingly towards the end, “Over and Out,†“Another Round,†“Friend of a Friend,†and “Cold Day in the Sun,†where drummer Taylor Hawkins sings, changing places with Grohl not only on both recordings but also at every concert they play. It’s trippy. It also has two new songs, “Marigold†and the title track, “Skin and Bones.†Skin and Bones also has the “hits,†somewhat relaxed versions of “Walking After You,†“My Hero,†“Big Me,†“Best of You†and “Everlong.†Though, by “Best of You,†which is on the “hard rock†side of In Your Honor, Grohl has gotten tired of singing the songs straight through and actually warns the crowd, “I can’t let you guys get off without screaming at you for a couple of minutes,†before screaming for a couple of minutes. And then he goes back to singing on “Everlong,†though this time, you can hear the audience sing with him, as in you can hear distinct voices singing passionately, interestingly at the line, “And I wonder, when I sing along with you…†That is, if you aren’t too busy singing along yourself. I always thought that you should buy a live album released by your favorite band because it’s like experiencing them live minus the sweat and hassle and with every sound pumped straight into your ears by your headphones. Admit it, it’s why you download bootlegs of concerts off the Net. Front and center, baby.
January 24th, 2007
With Twilight, the hit quartet behind “The Day You Said Goodnight†steps back a little, and—in Episode I slash Batman Begins slash The Godfather (Part II) prequel fashion—delivers the much-anticipated follow-up to their self-titled debut. Twilight, as we all know, is a kind of diffused illumination, the lull between sunset and the total opacity of nighttime. Curiously, in idiomatic language, it is a kind of death-knell—as in “the twilight of a man’s lifeâ€â€”the penultimate sweep of mortality’s wildly ticking clock. (Incidentally, talks of a hiatus are hovering above the four-piece, as they toy around with the idea of taking a breather after being in the not-so-calm eye of the pogi rock storm.) Fortunately, however, the death-knell definition does not hold water on the band’s sophomore outing, as Champ Lui-Pio and company masterfully shatter the pigeonhole—and maybe let the pigeon out, and maybe replace it with a sparrow, which are characteristically less upbeat than pigeons but are infinitely better singers. But I digress. Anyway, the band has not really mentioned anywhere that Twilight is a “prequelâ€; I just made that part up. I do not wish to mislead or confuse, but Hale’s second baby is the sound of a distant past, a distant past one can be proud of, one that warrants an extended visit—like shooting the breeze with a first love. Twilight reeks of the early Nineties, its light fighting dimness in an under-card match. I can hear some Gin Blossoms in here, and some Lemonheads, and—yes!—maybe a pinch of sweet, sweet Ash (“Girl from Mars†and “Lost in You,†off of 1977, probably). The signs are clear: Hale wishes to be taken seriously. In the opening track, “Last Song,†Lui-Pio promises that he’s “done with all these tears,†and that, “one day, I’ll fly so high above my feet,†which I don’t think is about substance abuse; I think the “high†the singer’s referring to is a creative one, and I say that with no dash of sarcasm whatsoever. “Fire in the Sky†is slightly more upbeat than standard Hale fare, but Champ’s championing of the insipid, unaffected vocal delivery is proving to be limited, or, at the very least, ineffective in some contexts. And speaking of insipid deliveries, though Twilight promises to be more musically adventurous than Hale, the band’s trademark melancholy is still evident on tracks like the strings-rich “Empty Tears, Empty Heart†and Lui-Pio’s solo acoustic-and-vocal performance on “Liham.†(Lui-Pio, it has to be said, is more earnest on any given day than, say, Cueshé’s Jay Justiniani or some such pogi rock idol.) The gems in Twilight teeter on the brink of genre-shattering, but the boys still manage to land on their feet somewhat. The most exciting among their pop singles is a toss-up between “Waltz†and “The Ballad of.†The former is exactly that (a waltz), while the latter is cut from the same cloth as Coldplay’s “Fix You,†starting off unforgivably tender and ending like a Howard Shore score. The grand revelation of Twilight, however, remains the songwriting of guitarist Roll Martinez, which reaches its apex in the Kid A-esque attempt “7, 8.†The sparse and subtly electronic arrangement of “Dahil sa ‘Yo sa Himig ng Aking Gitara†is also of high note. Now, the question is, how will they do these songs live? Hmmm.
January 15th, 2007
There are a lot of good songs on Evanescence’s sophomore album, The Open Door. However, I had to really take time to listen: it’s not the kind of album that’s so compelling that when you play it in the background, it won’t stay in the background. No, this album definitely stays in the background. Except, after the fourth or fifth song, you’ve thrown your earphones off because Amy Lee’s constant wailing is giving you a backache. It’s definitely not the kind of album you can listen to all throughout (much less over and over) and I had to take several “Evanescence breaks” just to be able to review this album fairly. The songs, taken on their own (and several days apart from each other), are actually quite well-written, and they each have their own merits. It opens well, too—”Sweet Sacrifice” is furious, in a majestically symphonic way, and just the kind of comeback you’d want Amy Lee to come back with. She’s just as furious on the other single, “Call Me When You’re Sober,” though I like the third furious song, “Weight of the World” much better than the first two, with its unexpected breaks and dynamic textures. And she sounds very in control here, which I like very much. The rest of the album isn’t as enraged, which is probably why it loses steam somewhat, but still, as I’ve said, each song has its merits. “Snow White Queen” has groovy electronic elements throughout the song and quite powerful lyrics. “Lacrymosa” has a choir that feels like several ghosts were let loose in a room; it also has majestic instrumentals, though it’s cut short just when it gets interesting. The instrumentation on “The Only One” rocks heavy while still giving that feeling of floating. And on top of it all is Amy Lee’s soaring voice, the main ingredient in the mix. Her ballads are also worthy of mention, and she has four on this album—”Lithium,” which someone mentioned is her tribute to Kurt Cobain, “Like You,” with the cool understated guitars, the very charming/haunting-turned-heavy “Your Star” and “Good Enough,” which is easily one of the strongest songs on the album, despite it being one of the simplest. You can say these slower songs are what she does best, though none of the four come anywhere near “My Immortal.” The saddest part about The Open Door is people are always going to say, “the first album was a lot better.” While the only songs I remember from the first album were the hits, “My Immortal” and “Bring Me to Life,” just the fact that these two songs sound nothing like each other but came from the same album and were released at almost the same time is enough to get me to agree. No matter how much I like “Weight of the World,” I’ve sort of forgotten it by the time I reach track # 9 and none of the other songs on this album can surpass “Bring Me To Life.” They’re just not in that category of “legendary rock song.” But perhaps writing a bigger “legendary rock song” is not the point. Amy Lee is breaking out on her own and the result sounds promising. If we didn’t compare it to the first Evanescence album, The Open Door is actually quite good. Just don’t listen to it on headphones straight throughout.
December 21st, 2006
Their first song on Salindiwa’s One starts with the smoothest intro I’ve ever heard to open an album, then the lyric, “Buksan ang pinto…” is like an invitation to what you feel is not your usual album. Of course, you expect this anyway, given that Salindiwa is not your usual band, either. Some people may argue that Salindiwa is too niche, but I disagree. I think if you like R&B, you’re going to like this album. If you like jazz, you’re going to like this album. If you like blues you’re going to like this album. If you like fusion, you’re going to like this album. If you like good music, you’re going to like this album. That’s a lot of people already, yes, I think so. “Pinto†is a sonic assault without being loud—yes it’s possible, as you can hear on this very first song. It’s also got all these textures and layers over that easy groove, combining different aspects from different genres and blending them smoothly. Yes, I know it’s called fusion, but I felt the one word couldn’t even begin to describe Salindiwa’s music. The second song, “Bahid,” has a more R&B vibe, though the instrumental leans toward rock, with keys, bass and guitars playing off each other. It settles back into its original R&B groove before ending with a blistering guitar solo that seems to come out of nowhere. Then the album gets even more laid back on “Camille,” with its ultra dreamy melodies. Vocalist Maik Arce’s R&B background is most prominent on this song. While the first three songs on the album do have the same feel, you can’t say they sound like the same song, as there are just so many elements in between. And just when you start to think that this is the tone for the whole album, they change it up on you. There’s an allusion to an unrecognizable Filipino folk song on “Buang,” particularly a waltz at the start and in the middle; despite this, it’s the heaviest song in the album. Filled with frenetic energy that rushes frantically to a proposed climax, but changes gears always at the very brink of it, the vocals “Wag kang mawawala…” soaring over the other instruments going faster and faster is my favorite part of the song, and maybe of the entire album. Many times through the course of the album, you stop and think what amazing musicians guitarist Kakoy Legaspi, bassist Franz Magat, keyboardist Nikko Rivera and drummer Paolo Manuel are. There’s no specific moment when one or the other or all astound you with some brilliant musical passage, they seem to do this randomly. As if it were your usual. They outdo themselves on “Ilodmodai,†which is mostly instrumental, punctuated by cellphone noise sampling and long solos from each instrument. It’s almost like watching a live gig of an improv jazz band, and hey, who’s playing sax? While all this musicianship could also go wrong if overdone, Maik Arce does a great job of keeping it all together and keeping the music accessible. His silky voice comes across best on “Zeros and Ones,†the most bluesy track, and “Dina,†an R&B flavored ballad. Lyrics are simple, but effective. Take for example: “Tayo ba’y nabubuhay, para lamang mamatay?” from “Bahid.†Actually, there are also some witty puns, such as on “Dina,†which you assume is the name of some girl the song is for, then you hear the lyric, “Di na aasa pa…†If they weren’t playing the kind of music that would seriously blow you away, it’d be easier to see through their pranks. The album gets even better toward the end. “For Years” is a quieter ballad, in that majestic Dave Matthews Band sense, while “Irie” is the most jubilant song on the album, and the most dancey, also. “Rajah Juan†starts out bluesy but is actually, generally, on a reggae beat, accented by blues harp trills. Then the chorus starts to veer away from the reggae, entering a more jazzy realm before exiting to blues again for the solos. And, again, more astounding instrumentals—the band’s really pushing the fusion ticket with this last song. But what the album really does is make me want to watch them live. See ya at the next gig!
December 15th, 2006
Last July, I read an entry on Francis “Kiko†Reyes’ blog, where he talked about his excitement and his qualms over re-recording The Dawn’s old songs for this, their anniversary album. The band had always wanted to re-record their material, especially after the release of 2000’s Prodigal Sun, what with new technology and the chance to do justice to their songs. If a band is able to stick it out for twenty years, the opportunity to preserve their music with the best possible means should be grabbed. Speaking as a fan of the The Dawn from way back, I understand the reluctance to redo the songs, especially the ones the late Teddy Diaz played guitar on. After all, those are essentially his songs and, to quote drummer Junboy Leonor from Mike Sandejas’ movie, this is Teddy’s band. The Dawn themselves attest that they only continued the band as a tribute to his memory. However, Teddy is by now a legend, and a different guitarist, or rather the guitarist of the Dawn for most of the band’s history, recording his music shouldn’t be a sign of disrespect to his memory at all. As I told Kiko, if any guitarist had to do it, Teddy must be proud that it’s him. Another concern of the band was that maybe the fans would not like the reworked songs. Now that I have the CD in my player, I can say that it’s not a big jump from what they sounded like on our old cassette tapes (and, some will say, turntables, ha ha). And if you’re a true fan of the band, if you’ve seen them play live even a few times in the last five years, you will find that the re-recorded tracks sound like they do when they’re played at gigs. The reworked songs are, in a sense, “better†than the original versions, better recorded, a bit faster, and definitely not tunog-lata anymore. “Alam Ko, Alam Niyo†sounds like it was written only recently, like it came from the Prodigal Sun album. Some tracks have more obvious changes, such as the harmonica (supplied by Andre Medina) on “Abot Kamay†and the sax (c/o Raffy Francisco, who played Ratty Ratbunitata in the movie) on “Talaga Naman.†I have to confess, I was not a fan of “Talaga Naman†at all, but I like this new version a lot better, it’s more soothing and less, dare I say, baduy. In a sense, it’s a reinvention. The music matures, so to speak. Aside from the old songs, I really like the new songs as well. “Ang Iyong Paalam†and “Difference†still have “The Dawn†stamped over them, but with a more contemporary sound. The band has this knack for writing songs that will give you LSS. I’m singing “Change is breaking us apart†and have to stop in mid-“Oh-oh-oh…†because I realize I’m in the office and people are looking over their cubicle walls at me. Latest member Buddy Zabala plays bass on all the songs except for “Tulad Ng Dati,†the only song from their last album—Harapin— that’s on this commemorative album. It’s on this album because, aside from an anniversary album, Tulad Ng Dati is also the official soundtrack to the band’s semi-fictional biopic. The two-in-one function well explains Disc 2—an Audio VCD that includes the movie’s trailer and a slew of videos that seem to trace the history of the band, starting with a clip of Teddy’s famous Ultra Storm guitar solo, complete with make-up and violin bow. It is stunning, and in surprisingly high resolution. I had goosebumps the entire four minutes I was watching it. The next videos are “Iisang Bangka Tayo,†with Carlos Balcells on bass and Junboy and Kiko and their legendary long hair, “Harapin Ang Liwanag†featuring guitarist Atsushi Matsuura and bassist Mon Legaspi, then the last three are videos from Harapin featuring the band as a quartet again: vocalist Jett Pangan, Francis Reyes, Junboy Leonor and Mon Legaspi. And now they have the movie, with Buddy as their bassist, and everything comes full circle.
December 13th, 2006
I really wanted to like Session Road’s new album, Bakit Hindi. It starts off superbly—I was an instant fan of “Blanko,†with its feel-good melodies and unexpected stops and starts and changes in dynamics. Also, you just want to sing along and believe you share the same level of angst. I mean, for a song that’s about not being able to feel anything, it has so much feeling, doesn’t it? And, then, I liked the songs that followed, “Beautiful Day†and “Hiram,†although the former sounds exactly like the kind of song you’d expect from a girl-fronted pop-rock band and the third song didn’t stick to me as easily as the first two did. Then, I noticed that the rest of the songs didn’t stick with me either. “Nawawala†has the same feel as “Blanko†though not as anthemic; I’m not saying the band was getting formulaic, these songs just felt the same. And then, as I went through the album, I realized that a lot of the tracks sort of sound like one of the first few songs or a combination of two or three previous songs. Again, I’m not saying that they were following a formula, more like the impulses for the songs came from the same place. The problem, I think, is that there are just so many songs on this album—fifteen full tracks, not counting the interludes. I know that a group of songs on an album inevitably bear similarities, what with the band’s specific style, much like the pieces in a designer’s collection, the artworks in a painter’s exhibit, and so on. However, in the case of Bakit Hindi, not a lot of the songs really stand out. Of course, “Landian†does, because it’s sung by a guy and it’s basically set to a reggae beat. I like the ballad “Fly,†because it starts off acoustic, adding the other instruments after the first chorus, and I’m able to appreciate the simplicity of just a guitar backing Hannah’s voice. And “Preno†stands out because of its tempo changes, and its allusion to Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine†at the beginning. These are small things, though, and they stand out only on the third or fourth listen. I even think I would like the songs better if I heard them individually instead of all together in one or two gos. Neither am I saying that the songs should sound poles apart from each other. “Steady†is drastically different from the other songs in album, but almost to the point where it’s out of place, and there are other songs of the original mold that are stronger. So, it’s not an issue of writing a song that’s different, but more deciding which songs to put on—or leave out of—the album to make it sound tighter. The interludes could be attempts to unify the songs, but since they’re ethnic-sounding, they serve more to divert from the album’s overall sound. Or, at least, that’s how it seems to me. Meanwhile, I’m going to listen to “Blanko†again. I recommend that you do, too.
December 12th, 2006
I admit that I don’t usually listen to a lot of pop, but I really tuned myself to pop mode to review this album. I guess I wanted to like it, or give it a chance at least, because this guy was the Grand Champion of Pinoy Pop Superstar this year, and he only joined the contest to pay for his mother’s hospital bills. I mean, wouldn’t you want to like an album made from such good intentions? But of course, good intentions don’t always make great albums. This album isn’t horrible, and I suppose people who love this kind of music, and are already fans of Gerald Santos, would really appreciate it. But it doesn’t go beyond that simple achievement. At best, it’s got a bunch of nice ballads that would sound great on radio. Side by side on the album, though, they tend to sound the same, because each song has the same feel to it and Gerald Santos tends to sing them all the same way. So, individually, songs are good, particularly “Mahal Kita.†Collectively, I’ll need some coffee, please. I’m also a bit concerned about the fact that Gerald Santos was the Pinoy Pop Superstar Grand Champion. I sometimes watch Pinoy Pop Superstar (it’s actually my singing contest addict sister who watches, but then she watches most everything from Philippine Idol to American Idol, to the Rockstar series, to Pinoy Dream Academy, to Little Big Star and, yes, she can stand it when Regine continues to outdo her own outro spiel that of course goes “Pinoy Pop SooO-per-STAAAR!!!â€), and I know that winning, unlike on Starstruck and Pinoy Idol, is based on the judges’ decisions and not through SMS-based voting. So, I’m surprised that this handsome boy won, when, if I remember correctly, the girl he was up against was a much better singer. Vocally, Gerald Santos sounds good enough to be on a sentimental ballad album but not the type of voice to win a singing contest hosted by the biggest voice in the country. I guess I also expected that kind of Grand Champion album, which is why I’m out of sorts with what I ended up listening to. The title “A Day on the Rainbow†should have given it away, no? Of course, I can imagine that none of my concerns would affect how Gerald Santos does on the pop market. I bet album sales will be huge, regardless of intentions or conclusions. Till next season of Pinoy Pop SooO-per-STAAAR!!!
December 11th, 2006
“I wish it was my birthday,†sing Simone of D’Sound and guest Tony Momrelle of Incognito, on the song “Birthday.†So do I—wish it was my birthday so I could play this album and make everyone dance and everything would be cool. Even more than that, I wish I could dance and maximize the experience for myself. The latest from the Norwegian trio (Kim, Jonny and Simone) certainly does not disappoint. Rich in musicality, tighter than your tightest pair of skinny jeans, and so effortlessly suave—characteristics of the album and the band itself that have, ever since the beginning, made them seem so inevitably likeable. Like I mentioned, if you’re the dancing type, there are a good number of tracks here that you’ll enjoy bumping your humps to. “Green Eyes,†the current single being played locally, is an upbeat starter in classic dance-floor vibe. And so is “Birthday,†which, despite its whiny lyrics (“Small change, I can’t find my shoes/ Credit card’s just not a lot of use/ on a broke day…â€), still manages to be a feel-good disco tune all the way. “Universally†is universally catchy, with a refrain that unavoidably sticks—surely, signs of a potential pop hit, less the overly simplistic arrangement of most pop hits. The song “1,2,3â€â€”while it somehow reminds me of Gloria Estefan and her “Conga†(I have a feeling the two songs can be easily medley-ed together)—is still quite a number because of its irresistible bass lines and wonderfully percussive quality. Another song that I didn’t find as flawless as the others is “Murder Me,†but only because its verse melody (or near lack-of) reminds me of a Britney Spears song, but then the band’s musicality, and most especially the oozing goodness of the bass lines (again, the bass lines), save it from being that. It’s hard to decide, with such musicians and album content, whether I like the up-tempo songs or the slower and mid-tempo tracks better—but definitely, those in the latter group are all keepers. The title track “My Today†is one of my favorites—with Simone’s mellifluous voice backed up by the unfailing beats and grooves of Kim Ofstad and Jonny Sjo (on drums and bass, respectively), and textured by soaring keyboard effects care of sessionist Stein Austrud and funky licks from guitarist Børge Pettersen-Øverleir. The lyrics are also refreshingly positive and even mantra-like: “Wait just a minute/ I don’t need to fight it or win it/ I just need to loosen up and step into the new…And I love you, my today/ and I love you, my tomorrow/ and I forgive you, yesterday….†“Gaining Back My Faith†is another positive song, however “laid back†in arrangement. But perhaps the coolest thing about D’Sound is the diversity of their genres and their seamless synthesis of these into what is, to me, the translation of the word “cosmopolitan†into music. Throughout the new album, you hear traces of different styles, but all still D’Sound. “Feel Again,†for instance, is a melancholy tune reminiscent of the 70s although very modern still. The lyrics express for us that empty phase almost everybody goes through at one point or another: “No clue, no will, no want/ just quiet and white./ And I just let it go…Just a little fling/ just a little pain/ just a little something to make me feel again.†Meanwhile, “Sigh†is a jazz samba duet with Till Brönner, complete with trumpet solo from the musician. “Rainy Days†is a funky acid jazz-inspired track, while “As Long as I Sing†is a very soulful R&B song. “Sadness,†my personal favorite for its super sticky bass intro (again, the bass) that’s layered by a steady drum beat, is another one of D’Sound’s soulful songs that could make it to the soundtrack of your life. With 12 songs and 5 bonus tracks, including an acoustic live session of “Tattooed on My Mind†(move over, cover bands), My Today is 75 minutes of music that you’ll enjoy from start to end. Like food for your wanting soul and hungry eardrums, you’ll suck on every juicy morsel of D’Sound’s comfort music and then want more. Yes, D’Sound still delivers.
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