Giniling Festival

source: pulpmagazinelive

The boys of the Giniling Festival band are still at it — poking fun at people, events, and virtually anything happening around them and setting them to music in their sophomore album "Makamundo."

But make no mistake about it: the group — made up of singer Jeje Santos, guitarist and back-up singer Bombee Duerme, lead guitarist Jebs Mangahas, bassist Lec Cruz, and drummer Marco Ho — is serious about music.

Their mad musical skills shine through again in their new album as it did in their debut album in 2007, the self-titled "Giniling Festival." What they made apparent in this new opus is that they have a lot more to offer.

“Giliw ko ‘wag mo sanang isaboy/Ang ‘yong ihi sa aking mukha…" goes the song Jebspanish Guitara in their new album.

Don’t be fooled by the words, though. Jebspanish Guitara is a pleasantly surprising track.

Here, the band shows a much softer side of itself by stripping down its instrumental battery to just an acoustic guitar as accompaniment to the suave ballad-y singing of Santos as he croons a serenade of sorts.

As for the rest of the album, the sound stays true to the quintet’s collective style: heavy and uncompromising.


In Makamundo, these wacky musicians dish out "happy metal" to rock fans.


Giniling Festival shows their apparent maturity as musicians in Makamundo through their incorporation of a number of elements not heard much or at all in their debut.

The album opener, the serious Kalamidad, gives listeners "a taste" of that maturity with its vocal harmonies, smooth transitions from loud to quiet, and salvo upon salvo of the unmistakably metal riffs and pounds usual to the band’s music.

All this happens while Santos sings about how he would thwart the evils of the world if he had control over the forces of nature.

This song may actually remind listeners of the opening themes from those child-friendly and dubbed Japanese Super Sentai shows on local TV years ago.

Well, that is if they grew up at a time when everyone still knew who “Masked Man" or “Bioman" was.


Yep, the sophomore slump will definitely steer clear of this band.


Walangbuhay.com is also worth paying attention to because this song showcases the band at its strongest.

Starting off with a mock reenactment of a question-answer exchange between an officer and his troops, this song about Internet trolls and flamers showcases how dynamic the band can get with their music as the mood shifts from aggressive to steady then back.

The song’s strength is, I think, at the latter part of the track when grand, multi-layered vocals take center stage made all the more epic with the addition of some guitar calisthenics by lead guitarist Jebs Mangahas and lines such as Wala akong buhay, di mo ‘ko mapapatay…

Lyrically, there is a very noticeable change of style as well.
From writing what-you-hear-is-what-you-get, in-your-face songs, chief songwriter Jeje Santos this time puts more thought in his words to come up with a collection of mostly commentaries about a number of social trends.

Songs such as the dark Epaloid targets people who have a knack for giving unnecessary unsolicited advice.

The carrier single Hakahaka Hula Hula delves into things like superstitions (Hala ka, yari ka/Mag-ingat sa itim na pusa/Babala, babala/Kung hindi ikaw ay magdurusa) and folkloric beliefs (Umuulan ng may araw/Tikbalang ay kinakasal).

Astig, wherein fun is poked at what’s popular and how some people follow it to be “in" (uso maputi, glutathione, glutathione… uso ang tsinelas, havaianas, havaianas. Uso ang tsinelas havaianas… gagawin ko ang lahat/gagawin ko ang lahat/gagawin ko ang lahat/ pag meron ang kapitbahay ko, bibili din ako!), it is clear that their humor this time around is subtler and a little more cerebral.

With all their sonic improvements, it isn’t too hard to appreciate Giniling Festival's new album.

Sure, it takes a little more thought and effort to appreciate this “happy metal" album but it is nonetheless enjoyable with all its innate quirkiness, pop culture references, and wit.

It’s also a short and sweet listen as the album consists of only ten songs.

However, the appreciation of the album certainly varies from person to person.

For one to know how it truly fares, it is better to hear it first-hand.

Although experiencing Makamundo entirely is not yet possible as of posting time as the album has not yet been released, Giniling Festival gives everyone a glimpse by giving three tracks for free download on their website www.ginilingfest.com.

However, I can confidently say this: Makamundo is set to be one of the better releases in 2011.

MUSIC VIDEO

Hypermetal Tsong



Hyperdrive Psycho



Siling Giniling



Astig



hakahaka hulahula



source: pulpmagazinelive