It was a long time coming. Very, very long time.
One of the young hottest acts since forming in 2012, Farewell Fair Weather has gone through a lot of struggles and reinventions that made them traverse journeys from the streets of UST to the bars of the Metro and even beyond (hey, they were once hailed as Jack Daniel's Chosen One!). It didn't matter when they were left behind at the height of success of their colleagues.
And all we listeners got after all of this time is... Blank Pages (well, not literally). They had an EP during their first heydays as a band, but it took them long to unveil a full-length record that saw some of their old songs rejuvenated with grandeur and emphasis.
This isn't just an art of a young lass named Patricia Marie Manalo who singlehandedly penned almost all of their songs. It was a collaborative effort with five other people that withstood the test of time. Hell, even Allaine Marie Guerrero, who isn't an instrumentalist but the band's sound engineer, took a chunk on making this album possible with the help of producers Isagani Palabyab and Francis Reyes. Mark Villena's drum work could be somewhat heavy compared to FFW's early years, but it blended well.
Beyond was something I didn't expect to prosper like that – I mean, with a bunch of horns and trumpets. It was a totally different song that I hardly recognize until the combo of the usual sassiness of Manalo's vocals, Ethan Muriel's loud bass lines, Palabyab's magical touch on the keyboards, and those stapled riffs from Kim Hue Jin that was a standout in an instant, appear to one's consciousness.
Rough Skies, as it seems, had some tweakings, especially with the ambient noise present before the intro, but it did look like intact – just like how songs like Manic, Another, What Lies Behind, Amihan (well, sans the horns), Change, and Blank Pages used to play live.
Tunnel's End is a potential tearjerking spirit-lifter, by the way. I'm thinking of having it as a part of my funeral song list. The highly-intense Change is probably the most-awaited track of them all. Sakali still remained a melodramatic track even if it's an over-worked version. Major changes were evident on the layout – especially guitar tones and vocal placement – which some deemed unnecessary.
The producers definitely knew this shit really well that he helped Farewell Fair Weather make this record possible and promise a somewhat fusion of jazz, and alt-rock in the process. It's just they faltered a bit on the crossfades, though understood that was made on purpose.
The Verdict: 8.4/10
Must-hear: Manic, 30-Second Vacation, Tunnel's End
Listen to Farewell Fair Weather's Blank Pages on Spotify. Purchase the album via contacting the band on their Facebook page.
Farewell Fair Weather is Mic Manalo-Palabyab (vocals/rhythm guitar), Isagani Palabyab (keyboards), Kim Hue Jin and Coco Coo* (lead guitars), Mark Villena (drums), Ethan Muriel (bass), and Leng Guerrero (tech).
*Coco Coo took over the reins of Kim Hue Jin when the latter left the country in 2018 to undergo military service training in his home country South Korea.
Author: slickmaster | © 2019 The SlickMaster's Files
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to make a comment as long as it is within the bounds of the issue, and as long as you do it with decency. Thanks!