mga sir, eto po yung review sa PULP. We got 3 1/2 oranges
ANGULO - Blur The White Lines (Pop-No-Comply Records)Rating: 3 1/2 oranges!
POLISHED, MUSICALLY FLAVORED AND TIGHT FOR A DEBUT, BUT THERE'S OBVIOUSLY MORE UNLOCKED AND UNRELEASED POTENTIAL IN THIS BAND
Having been veterans of not one, but two Philippine Division of the World Battle of the Bands competitions (not to mention individually seasoned in their own right!) the group collectively known as Angulo definitely have the edge compared to their contemporaries when it comes to the recording and performing aspect of what they do; in a big way, that definitely works for this quintet (namely vocalist Niles Chong, guitarist Kelvin Uy and Lio Valiao, bassist Johncy Agregado and drummer Niko Dinglasan) as there is undoubtedly the pre-requisite amount of respect younger contemporaries have for them - yet in a way, it does set a pretty high bar for them to reach, as the casual music listener who's hearing the songs for the first time will most probably have expectations...it might be quite an odd way or approach to listening to an album of songs for most typical music fans, yet it undoubtedly affects the listening experience in some way or another
A spin of the group's debut Blur The White Lines carefully treads these parameters and factors within the music, which is, giving-credit-where-it's-due, a well balanced combination of young, modern experimentation and melodies with an obvious know-how in the classic, visceral and dynamic formula of rock n' roll. Albeit the fact that it's easy to have them in with the emo/screamo pile (or in the modern rock pile consisting of bands who were greatly inspired by Urbandub), listeners will be able to hear the urgency of the material and the well-crafted tension and build of the album's tracks, as the opening instrumental "the Calm Before" effectively starts off and unconsciously summarizes the play of the rest of the material: soft, then hard, the stop, then go, then light, then heavy...then POOM! And effectively enough, the starting salvo that is the dynamic "The Best Mistake," the mid-song-boomer "Drowning In My Sleep," the pulling-out-the-stops riffage of "Rising Sun" and even the jangle-y yet moody "Lost In Translation" are tracks that are both easy enough to digest and pretty inventive, n the modern rock sense.
Both guitarists Uy and Valiao make good use of technique and taste, as their musicianship is simultaneously tight, precise and playful while Dinglasan and Agregado cover the rhythm section with the same balanced amount of skill as well. And as far as Chong's vocals go, they are thankfully in tune, and, despite his voices straightforward nature, sound like they were meant to be sung in the fashion listeners will hear on disc.After a poignant instrumental intermission that is "Tranquility Becomes Her" (which, in my opinion sounds more like an album opener, making the abovementioned “The Calm Before” my preferred loser) it’s audible that the direction of the music on Blur The White Lines is taken to a slightly different place: the energy is replaced with a more vibe-y, mid-tempo and subdued (but not totally quiet) direction.
In a way, it's admirable in the sense that the album sort of has more than one act or movement, like a play or a musical piece would, yet in the case of a pretty straightforward rock album like Angulo's, a bit of the momentum is lost. Though "Sydney" charges through with a hyped-up 16-beat progression and the proceeding "This Year" strikes a few elements aiming for a stadium-sized dynamics, it's sort of audible that the band is in a different place by now, and though the songs do hold a lot of flavor, they lose quite a big chunk of meat - and listeners who are giving the album a spin in a single go, might come to this point wherein it may seem that the band is repeating itself and playing safe, and not really armed with enough surprises to make this latter section of the disc a little more interesting, and peaking.
In short, this would be the place for more memorable choruses and seemingly potential singles to keep the listeners’ intensity and enthusiasm up. Of course, it’s only the band’s first album, yes, but it could have been that while the band was covering all the details concerning the recording and performing, that the small nuances do not manage to shine through. Technically, I also found Chong’s voice on the more-backseat section in the mix, and a bit lacking in forcefulness on disc. It actually sounds like he’s pulling away the mic from his face (not unlike what a lot of singers do while performing and hitting high notes), and though it may not be entirely wrong with the way the sound is meshed together does not allow there to be much weight in the vocals (and in turn, in his songwriting) as dynamics, as most of us know, can be what accents are to musicianship. Though I’m admittedly glad that all the guitars are up-front as most great rock albums feature, the vocal mix might be something the band would want to carefully go through in the future.
In a nutshell, Blur The White Lines is a fine release from an ambitious, sincere and seasoned collective, though it does not seem to be the classic rock album in their roster should they start putting out newer releases and debut songs in the near future. No issue there, save that the band hopefully comes out with a follow-up soon enough that’ll be less calculated and premeditated, and sound a lot more natural, visceral and more direct. I mean, they’ve obviously got their chops together, and have a fine sense of adventure with is musicianship, so the next step for Angulo might be to enjoy the process a lot more instead of overworking and coming out with small, straight waves of songs. It may seem strange, but it is audible especially to those of us who listen to music on a daily basis. Kudos to the consistency and the ability of this band, but I bet there’s more they have to offer should they get the hang of simpler yet significantly richer tunes in the near-future. But debut albums are almost always charming, perhaps if not by the material or anything, for being priceless glimpses and listens to where the direction of the music (or the band, even) is coming from and can be taken. In short, a good gauge to look back on and learn from. I’d say this release is almost for everybody, and it might mean that all Angulo needs is a bigger, rawer-sounding boot to kick our asses with. Good effort, and a good sign that they’ll be around for quite a long time.Joey Dizon
