Reviews: Megumi Acorda, Munimuni, Tiger Pussy, etc.

Roasted Tasty Crunchy

Unexpectedly | Megumi Acorda | 2018
“The sadder I get, the faster I drive”, sings Yan Yuzon on “Lost Guide”. If you don’t go by this rule, by which, I mean your speed isn’t directly proportional to your loneliness, then Megumi Acorda’s Unexpectedly might be a welcome company. At 17 minutes, this EP could be perfect for long drives for someone who has nothing to think about – on repeat (you could also add some of Megumi’s vaporwave tracks from YouTube or Soundcloud). Acorda’s ethereal voice melds with waves of guitars and echoes that you don’t have to learn every word – the songs conceal her lyrics’ sad simplicity. She’s in love in the first and unexpectedly or rather expectedly, heartbroken for the rest of the EP. In love or heartbroken, really makes no difference for the unrequited. She gives the feels, music provides the medium. Sad shoegaze music for long drives or wallpaper bedroom music that has actual songs in it. Well, I’m just happy the opening bars of “Ghost” remind of an old Crazy Horse song and that the song itself reminds of an old sad song I still can’t put a finger on. B+  

Norman Fucking Rockwell! | Lana Del Rey | 2019
Goddamn, man child / You fucked me so good that I almost said, “I love you”—is how you open a good soft rock record. A fucking good soft rock record. Was listening to this album in a while and at one point I thought if she’s gonna say ‘fuck’ two more times it’s gonna turn into Chocolate Starfish and Hotdog Flavored Water. *** 

People You Hate | Tiger Pussy | 2013
I thought Oh, Flamingo! narrows the gender gap. Though the boys play guitars and the girls, backbeat and rhythm. As the old adage goes, no one comes to shows for the drummer, much less the bass player (except maybe if they’re girls and one of them is Pat Sarabia). Well, wait till you see/hear Tiger Pussy because Jan Sunday doesn’t like relegating women to the back. And if you’re thinking you heard it all before—no, NOT exactly, the “drums are punchier, the structures trickier” (Christgau) and the songs are twenty-fold punkier than what’s in Dookie twenty years ago. Despite the genre’s supposed familiarity (three-chord, angst-ridden), this four-piece punk rock band from Cebu keeps you at your toes, keeps it interesting. Yes, they’re from Cebu, home to Urbandub, Sheila & the Insects and… that famous lechon (no, I wasn’t gonna say Cueshe but that’s also true). And having withdrawn from this type of music for quite long time now (and lechon as well–yes, I turned semi-vegan almost a year ago), Tiger Pussy’s People You Hate comes as a forceful, refreshing re-introduction to the loud, fast and spunky—that I’m tempted to, and therefore might as well, eat lechon again—if I’m given another crunchy tasty roasted chance. Jan Sunday and co. keep the ‘riot’ and the ‘grrr’ in their riot grrrl punk. A  

Simula | Munimuni | 2017
Self-proclaimed poets playing indie-folk with “deep, poetic lyrics” having people Brazilian-wax poetic over songs they themselves branded with their own genre “makata pop”. Self-limiting as promotion, niche marketing as label. What’s next–poems without words? Now that would be math-folk. Bullish or not, they have songs to show for it. And maybe you could give them a pass—these self-proclaimed poets who probably never read Bukowski—simply because they have a flutician, which is like having a DJ in the mix when your band plays nu-metal (“Bukang-Liwayway”, “Tanikala”). B+ 

For Princesses, By Thieves (O Mga Awit ng Hiraya Para sa Guni-guning Sinta) | Shirebound & Busking | 2019
No ‘Lloydy’. He’s no Frodo either. And if you’d ask a Star Wars die-hard, there’s only one “Return”. The opening track put a smile on my face like in some deleted scene from Avengers: Infinity War—I thought The Mountain Goats, almost. That smile didn’t last long unfortunately, as I waited for the next winner (“Miss Mosh”, “Waltz of Four Left Feet”). C+