rock in the fine city

Humpback Oak- Oaksongs

2010-04-03T00:52:00.000-07:00

HUMPBACK OAK- Oaksongs 4 CDs Boxset
(Humpback Oak 2010)

“Oaksongs” would be the last music I buy. “Pain-stained Morning” being the first Singapore album I bought. Humpback Oak serves up as the alpha and omega of my adventures in Singapore rock music and if not, any involvement in music at all. You'd have read somewhere that I am suffering from musical malaise and have gotten rid of close to 95% of what used to be my Cds, tapes and vinyls. And yet I have a survivalist bug-out bag with enough space for the “Oaksongs” boxset and it in itself can hold the rest of my Humpback Oak Cds. This bundle will be spared from my material world spring cleaning because it is of utmost importance to me. You'd see that the bundle of Humpback Oak stuffs occasionally holds my soul.

A more resolved person can readily identify the appeal of Humpback Oak as the most excellent representation of void decked acoustic guitar strummers from the heartlands endemic to reclusive Singaporean loners like yours truly. Not in the league of rock n' roll children of grand gestures, this is a gifted and humble gem that is most agreeable to the unassuming but critical.

For alot of people, “Oaksongs” is perhaps the last chance to hear all the lost classics of this band from the demos to the three highly acclaimed cult albums, which over the years just seemed more and more elusive. For longtime Humpback Oak fans like me, this is a celebration of its existence (and death). The boxset is limited to only 500 sets and held its launch at Books Actually, a cool place with the kind of customers you'd like to curb stomp to a pulp. On the day of its launch, I sneaked into that store and managed to get the boxsets before anybody turned up. For some strange reason, I was bestowed a #333/500 from Leslie for being the first customer, and my delusional state of grandeur sometimes tells me that this is my number, that of the half beast. I metaphysically ransacked the interior of Leslie's room captured in a diorama and found alot of cool things tucked under the bed and under the floorings, like the scribbled piles of SJI foolscaps, a custom-made guitar pick, photos of them looking dejected and serious, and last but not least 4 Cds packaged in origami! I think someone lost his head.

Finally, justice is done to the demos and rare tracks, immortalised here on digitally enhanced CD. The subliminally beautiful rawness and talent of the amateurish demos is like a Carpenter's “Yesterday Once More”, wrecking up ghosts stuck in the time loop of the past. I reached for my cigarettes while listening to it, and inhaled a lungful for kundalini's moment. Then while testing out the rest of the Cds more and more unsettling magma seeped into me. For a while, the infallible me have to grapple with sheer emotionality of the past without being reduced to a miserable wretch. I tried to shake off the haunting effects of Humpback Oak but to no avail. It is pain stained morning ad infinitum all over again.

65 Indie Underground Set

2010-04-03T00:47:00.000-07:00

VARIOUS ARTISTS- + 65 Indie Underground Digipack 3 CDs Set
(Universal Music Pte Ltd 2009)

First and foremost I would like to thank all the good people at Universal Music for citing “rockinthefinecity” in this compilation. Thanks to Teck Kheng especially. Secondly, it is about time that Singapore indie music gets its due recognition. I've said this so many times and I've even doubted the potency of my words but finally someone answered my call (or our calls). The magical significance of “+65 Indie Underground” is not just uniquely Singapore but YOUR Singapore. The number of songs here also do not add up to 65, but aside from the obvious: country telephone code, we have our final “Independence” (not counting the British one) in 1965. So it makes sense that 65 and indie go hand in hand. The underground part is open for interpretation. This handsomely packaged 3 Cds compilation features 50 exemplary Singapore bands and their music in retrospective, from the 1984 new wave of Zircon Lounge all the way to the 2009 supergroup TypeWriter. A large part of the material contained therein falls in the '90s range. And I thought that in this period, Singapore music sounded the best.

I'd wish that this compilation can hold more material than the three Cds worth of music, which is still already quite a feat in itself considering that alot of the older recordings are difficult to source and reproduce these days. Each CD represents an era, from the most current to the 90s mainstays and last but not least the pioneers. In my opinion (especially after hearing every tracks on this compilation), I find that the Singapore bands of this age have the technology and the bands of the past have the grit. The bulk of the '90s bands are a mix in between. Some popular '90s Singapore bands like Kick! are obviously not included here because the contenders need to be struggling amateurs with little radio appeal and bad sounding demos. Just note the word “Underground”. Some of these bands attained cult status over the years but alot of the others are forgotten and forsaken in time and oblivion yet sounding good and brilliant. Some people may ask, “if the bands are so good, why are they still underground?”. Well, to answer their questions, “because they are from Singapore.” Here you will find some of the underground gems unearthed and excavated for the first time on digital format, like Corporate Toil's “Johnny Says”, the Razor's Edge's “Winds of Change” (not a Scorpions cover), as well as Nunsex's “Ripride (Tons of Black Clouds)”, all very original sounding experiments created from the budding period of the Singapore underground, and which can also serve a lesson for some aspiring local avantgardists who thought Godspeed You! Black Emperor is the most special thing they've heard.

Chances are a second series of the compilation might be in the pipeline. I hope it will materialize because there are at least few dozen more well known Singaporean underground bands that didn't make it to this compilation. Take for instance Teck Kheng's own Mindrape Protestants and Kim, Raw Fish, Mortal Flower, Fection Dasche, Rocket Scientist, etc. And if somebody wishes to do an anthology on Singapore hardcore and metal a 10 disc boxset will not even suffice but that is another story altogether. .

Various Artists- Rock The Garden

2009-12-26T21:18:00.000-08:00

VARIOUS ARTISTS- The Substation 10 Years & Counting (Rock The Garden) CD
(The Substation Ltd 2000)

The thunderous clouds are always loud, the lightning a mere symbol to behold. The late Kuo Pao Kun is dearly remembered as a pioneering arts activist who brought The Substation, amongst many of his other contributions (more of theatre), into prominence. Founded in 1990 from a disused PUB power station at Armenian street, this community-funded, non-profit arts centre serve as a platform to nurture local artists for workshops, concerts, exhibitions and lectures, and it became the first and only independent contemporary arts centre. After he passed on, The Substation underwent a major revamp and the memorable colourful courtyard covered with shady trees where local bands once jammed their tunes to impressionable audiences seated and standing everywhere is now sadly turned into a commercial ploy known as Timbre frequented by yuppies and pretentious bourgeois bohemians.

This CD that I am reviewing is The Substation's commemorative tribute to the scene, and the bands who haunted the “Rock The Garden” era 10 years and counting, from 1990 to 2000. The liner have special notes from the great Kuo Pao Kun himself as well as our dear X'Ho. Altogether 10 bands are tied into the disc for the 10 years of great rocking, and albeit a seriously screwed up tracklisting on the compilation, any fan of local music can instantly recognise the familiar sounds from our familiar bands on the disc. This compilation is a fairly eclectic mix of new and old bands, and it covers across a wide genre from metal to ska, from indie rock to avantgarde. The CD features the following bands and their songs in the correct order: Fishtank- “Restless” (great laidback ska track with very gelek trumpeting), Nuradee- “I'll Remember” (folksy roots ballad), Humpback Oak- “Normanton Park” (the legends's song with an uncanny semblance to Red House Painters' “Grace Cathedral Park), The Ordinary People- “Big Surprise” (brash, energetic indie rock from another legend), Plainsunset- “Priorities” (indie punk rock), The Edge- “Funk It Up” (brilliant metallic funk rock ala RHCP), Concave Scream- “Fiction” (brilliant fret taps and cool U2 vibe from our local legend), One Man Down- “Forsaken” (grating angsty raw nu-metal), The Oddfellows- “Lost My Head” (cult cult live performance from the godfathers of Singapore indie rock), and last but not least Corporate Coil- “Hokkien Girl Blues” (noise, artistic noise from the legends!).

The current S-rockers and their proponents, groupies and managers can “Rock The Sub” in all its pomposity; for those who remember, the spirit of Singapore music as a creative force of a native, as opposed to national would find meaning in “Rock The Garden” of the '90s, an exciting passionate time of the past where the vital interactions of Singapore music and their audience came alive in a spirited firework that short circuited and started a bonfire. I was this anonymous teenager in flannel shirt seated right at the back of the garden, a distance away from the frenzied crowds doing half-baked moshings and secretly pulling a bodysurf every now and then. I've witnessed showy bands, favourite ones, mediocre ones, hopeless ones, technical faults, crazy antics, crazy groupies, rabid responses, accidents, tauntings, cold treatment, total moshing and illegal stuffs, in the cool airy proximity at the foot of Fort Canning where you can kick back, drink some beer and smoke all you want with a good view, brilliant sound and excellent ambience. What great fond memory. This CD will bring you nostalgia-heads back to the aforementioned.

Global Chaos- The Art of Listening

2009-12-25T04:54:00.000-08:00

GLOBAL CHAOS- The Art of Listening CD
(Pony Canyon Music (M) Sdn Bhd/Small Budjet Productions 2000)

The title says it all. “The Art of Listening” will demand a certain configuration in your faculty to grasp the sheer unnervingly ecletic array of genre shapeshifting and associated madness. You hear but do you listen? I cannot vividly recall another band that sounds like this, at least not anywhere in Singapore. Mr Adam Md Yusop, the mastermind behind this intricate and convoluted musical shapeshifter is certainly one guy I would hope to meet, despite the fact that we had some form of email communications online few years back when I was doing a metal website. He come across as an intelligent free spirit who would not only think out of the box, but would hurl the box into the dump the minute he chance upon one. I know there was something special about Global Chaos when I first heard their debut demo “And It's All Our Fault”, which seamlessly meld the brutal sounds of death metal, hardcore, grindcore with experimental elements. The demo won positive acclaims from many of the underground presses from the early '90s, and it won me over even though I would consider myself as a rather close-minded metal freak back then.

Now, I cannot help but feel that this debut album from Global Chaos will bewilder your average orthodox metal fan. This CD had leapt a light year even further from their demo days. Adam's palate for Global Chaos here is a strange, insane landscape of the human psyche. “The Art of Listening” began with a mystifying Arabic intro that opened a deceptive gateway into a throbbing industrial hell of “And the Angels Danced” complete with a zone out moog somewhere in the middle that takes you further into electroclash/hardtech tripping. This track was featured elsewhere on a tribute compilation to Malaysia death metal gods Brain Dead. Do not be fooled into thinking that you can keep track on its progressives; you'd be thrown off tangent from the hardcore moshpits into surreal jazz arpagios like on “3 Dimensional Anger” (featured earlier on Menagerie Compilation put out by Mouse Records).

Just as you try to wince away from more metallic abuse, “Baraka” a guitar instrumental piece led your hands mischievously into the rainforests and suddenly your heart will beat with environmental consciousness, before emerging on the other side with “A Piece of a Puzzle”, a live version of the emotive rock song with pop sensibility and heartfelt lyrics, first made famous on the Made In Singapore (MIS) compilation from Mouse Records. “Flames of Srebenica” is a jazz infused progressive death metal instrumental, a full steam ahead loco train into the depths of unpredictability with unusual time changes and twists. “Cyber Neanderthal Man/In Twilight with Myself” is what I would consider as the crazy crazy highlight on the CD. This is witty, perverse, brilliant and fun concoction of reggae, circus music, hardcore, jazz, blues and death metal in one blue pill and it still works under the magic of Global Chaos! Two tracks from the legendary cult demo “And It's All Our Fault” are featured here as bonus tracks, namely “Imagine If U Will” (blues meet death metal and grindcore) and “Dying Inside” (hardcore meets rock, death metal and avantgarde).

This CD is a great vehicle for exercising the human ID via its convoluted musical auto-suggestion. All of this thematic theorizing is of course a bunch of subjective horse feces. The music is just incredible and very recommended for the adventurous music lovers with an expansive open-mindedness and enough intelligence quotient to get hooked. The last weird piece in the Global Chaos puzzle: this CD is for some interesting reason only issued on Malaysia's Pony Canyon/Small Budjet Production (Fadzil's pre Musikbox label from Johore Bahru) despite the very fact that this is a Singapore band, and that most local music collectors will have some trouble finding this item, given its limited quantity and puzzling elusiveness.

Nun

2009-12-24T22:47:00.001-08:00

NUNSEX

Classic trio of Nunsex/Nunsex- Beatnik Demo 1991

The bandname Nunsex is a controversial choice especially in prudish evangelical Singapore, and I am surprised the religious watchdogs didn't get to them. They also had a controversial reputation in some live gigs. The band was into industrial noise and punk rock, a headswim of Sonic Youth, Big Black and Dinosaur Jr, and it was formed by Azmi (vocals, guitars),Salleh (drums) and Randie (bass) in 1989, a trio who regularly patronize Spitfire (a skate-gear shop). Azmi could be considered a veteran as he was originally from the pioneering death thrash metal lineup Nuctemeron (although he was actually sacked). They released one very infamous cassette LP, titled “Beatnik”in 1991, and it features many catchy dark tracks like “Valhalla (Home of the Guts)”, “Ripride (Tons of Black Clouds)” etc., driven by superb fuzzy guitar wah-wah and a brilliant drumming hinting at jazz roots with typically decent Boss studio productions. “Beatnik”, the name culled from the Beats Generation, was one of the most brilliant and original sounding releases from the early '90s yet sadly a lot of crap beat it to fame. A CD reissue of their legendary tape will be a deserving treatment.

The Padres- BigO Singles Club

2009-12-24T21:26:00.000-08:00

THE PADRES- BigO Singles Club #1 MCD
(BigO Pte Ltd 1993)

Tucked away deep in the corners of the HDB units, a sweet dream forments for a regular Joe who was in all possibility allured to the Bohemian impulses of the energetic middle-class. It is an alluring option to be creatively expressive, throw in some dissent, and perhaps if one goes far enough, to leave behind a testimony of their adventure. Some hard work actually paid off for this sort of a teenage rebel who decided to form a band by the name of Corporate Toil, making artistic noise that is benignly subversive and painfully amateurish, and which consciously not wanting to sound a part like the next Dick Lee or Eric Moo. Nevermind that Joe Ng and company looked kinda part of the Xinyao movement with his meek early Corporate Toil shots with shades, he stuck to his casiotones, looked away from jeering punks and made some of the most adventurous music to be heard from the HDB arena demo circuits, in the name of the underground. It was a fun period in that part of the '80s, because other equally impressionable wide-eyed kids also saw the merit in making a world of possibilities out of the riffs in their head and a cassette tape. The DIY movement sprouted and soon they grew in congregation. Along the way they got bold enough to be heard saying there's “nothing on the radio”. Self contained with imports, tape-tradings, exquisite tastes and making own music, who cares about Vanilla Ice?

But Joe probably heard Queen's “Radio Gaga” and felt the same way. And he also probably heard it over the radio. In 1991, Joe Ng abandoned the electro-pop of Corporate Toil and formed his first rock band, The Padres, a moniker hastily selected impromptu, based on a US baseball team t-shirt. This band wrote “Radio Station”, which is anthemic for that time, a sartire on how radios would conveniently forget to play their favourite songs, but the funny thing is I actually first heard it on the radio. This song was found on the “BigO Singles Club #1” that comes together with an issue of BigO magazine back in 1993 along with other song like “Angel” (as well as a hidden track which sounds suspiciously like Kevin Matthews effort). The MCD that I am reviewing here is a piece of history for Singapore indie pop/rock music and I would consider it as the epitome of the movement because it is the first media that propagated “Radio Station” before radio gets it. This release of course is now a collector's item that every Singapore music fans talk about. No, BigO does not sell it anymore, so let's just talk about it.

In 1994 it was played on the BBC World Service; and music for the masses take on a twisted meaning.The mad hatter sliding guitars of Ben, the unstably amicable vocals of Joe, the dramatic thudding of Pat and the foreboding plodding of Francis point to the defiance of their Bohemian impulses, a sweet dream come true from a long period of toil in the Singapore music underground. Suddenly you can feel it in the air. We would wave our hands in the air like antennas to the sky, signalling for the great mothership of revolution. The idealists could envision a rock n'roll utopia and psychos prolly see an anarcho bleakness. So many years have passed, so much have happened with local music, and “Radio Station” still resonate the whole spirit, ethos and heart of Singapore indie music circa late '80s/'90s as an anthem of our youth, ideals and revolution. The Joe that made “Radio Station” will die a happy man. The other average Joes can only stand and stare.

Radio Active- Eyes In The Attic

2009-12-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

RADIO ACTIVE- Eyes In The Attic CD
(Pony Canyon Entertainment Pte Ltd 1993)

Dulcie Soh can make wave with Radio Active. Her new band after Do Not Ask (DNA) actively abused the geiger counter for a large part of the '90s radio when the radar zoomed in on the Singaporean ruckus. You sometimes wonder if Dulcie was a Triple Sciences student with her choice of bandnames. But she has just got the right kind of chemistry and formula for this band, a departure from the full of life science rock n' roll of DNA into the thinking man physics of Radio Active. She has forsaken her rock goddess leather jackets for the gothic little black dress, complete with the holy cross dichotomy and a more somber visage. Radio Active consists of her, ex-DNA comrade Jeff “Spookz” Long and Herey Teper, and it was formed one year after DNA went defunct. They released their one and only debut album “Eyes in the Attic” in '93, produced by Martin Tang, and a large part of the songwriting/music creative processes are split between Jeff and Dulcie. Herey Teper may be the bassist, but he is the official Radio Active Marlboro man; he is either seen smoking or holding out a box of Marlboro for endorsement.

On “Eyes in the Attic”, Radio Active continued the tradition of their adult oriented rock, oblivious to the more caustic and simplistic noise that were churning forth from the then “indie” Singapore music scene. “Needles and Pins”, “Eyes in the Attic” are more upbeat rock n'roll numbers amid the newfound Blondie influences in “Don't Take Advantage of my Good Nature” and “Soul Searchin'”. Incidentally, they covered Blondie's “Dreaming” on this album, as well as Bad Finger's “No Matter What”.

This album had a couple of famous hits active on the radio, like “Changes”, a hearfelt tearjerking ode to Dulcie's father laden with its interesting ethnic sound (didgeridoo intro?) and beautiful composition coupled with the worldly, passionate voice of Dulcie, and “To Be With You”, a ballad that seems rightfully at place on a radio roster full of Mr Big and Saigon Kick ballads. I remember quite recently I was driving one morning when I heard the Class 95 Morning Express trios played “Changes” out of the blue and after that Vernetta Lopez went kinda pensive and said in her low smoky voice that she felt good hearing this after a long time. Well, of course that morning some idiot messaged in and said that song is written by Tanya Chua (no offense to Tanya I love her too). Well, I admittedly still listen to the radio, albeit moreso for entertainment than for the music. I'd also have to confess that I first heard Radio Active's songs, and even The Padre's “Radio Station”...ironically on the radio. Maybe it's still pretty much trendy and cool to say that there's “nothing on the radio”. Well, “some thing's were better before, some thing's not the same anymore. Life's full of changes, they say...” You have the free will to change channel but I am not sure you will hear of Radio Active anymore again, on radio..

Edgar's Fault- Edgar's Fault CD

2009-09-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

EDGAR'S FAULT- Edgar's Fault CD
(Route 88 Music Production 1991)

Raunchy rock n'roll is the secret passion of many a so-called punks who wish to progress beyond the three chords to do four. Jared Ellington, a teenage skinhead from Anti-Social Kiosk (an old punk band from the Opposition Party era) shared this passion and while hanging out at Woodstock at Far East Plaza, met a bunch of rockers from Route 88 and together they formed Edgar's Fault, a rock/heavy metal outfit heavily influenced by the LA sound. Their big break came when their song “Positive Mental Attitude”, appearing on WEA's “Let's Celebrate” compilation got positively acclaimed as the best song on that record. Eventually they did not get signed to WEA but released their debut album on the independent Route 88 Music instead.

The material on this CD is best described as a blend of hard rock with a fair mix of heavy music and ballads that sounds mostly like Guns N' Roses and Skid Row affairs, although Jared seems to be also quite heavily influenced by Dave Mustaine's (Megadeth) vocals. “Dead Roses”, the opener is a popular material from the band, having extensive radioplay on the old Radio Heart station. This song is hard rocking with vicious riffs, cool licks and catchy chorus, the string works of both guitarist John Chee and bassist Kamal, and Jared's raw, nasty vocals cooking up a lethal combo. “Doctor Doctor” (I'm surprised that this song managed to pass the censorship in 1991), “Never Say Die (Part I and II)”, “Master Swindler”, “Black Eye” and “Speed Sleep” are the other more upbeat rocking songs from the album, and they are great metallic music to headbang on the mean streets, to the same effect as the omnipresent influence, Guns N' Roses. While “Our Tree”, “Dear Lord” and “You're Not The Only One” (another heavily featured song on radio back then), are more soft rock ballads that are distinctive, memorable and mandatory for any self deserving LA influenced rock band to showcase their sensitive side, haha. “21 Second War” for the record, is just 21 seconds of filler. The technical proficiency of the band is nicely demonstrated on the songs here, with some very neat sounding riffings and drum fills, and of course sounding nothing like simple punk numbers, yet very punk in attitude.

Edgar's Fault was supposed to have recorded another album featuring old material, after Greg (the drummer guy after Bong) and Kamal left the band but we didn't hear from them anymore. Last thing I heard Jared left for Canada, so it could have possibly spelt an end to this cult band from the early '90s. Those long hair, facial hair, leather and the bad ass attitude is not a regular feature in today's rock music but for those who relish the crazy sounds from those wild days, you'd have agreed that Edgar's Fault did it exceptionally well. From the way I see, they fittingly commemorated our favourite “Dead Roses” and its generation of jaded rockers.

Band of Slaves- 45 MCD

2009-09-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

BAND OF SLAVES- 45 MCD
(Prometheus Sound Art 1993)

There are a number of things going on with this EP from Band of Slaves. This was made by the band after been spurred on by the death of its vocalist, the late Ian Xavier, who met his misfortune at the Tornado Disco incident. As Alan Ann, the bassist puts it in an age-old interview, “it's not the motivation we would ask for but this will certainly be the impetus for us to buck up and complete the album.” And hence this commemorative MCD. Band of Slaves were great entertainers with their energetic, highly groovy blues rock-reggae music and socially conscious lyrics, rocking the circuits since '87, but this EP “45” is an artwork that is somewhat dark and ominous, the handiwork of Ian and his passings. Ian wrote the song “Eternity” as an eulogy to his late father and lyrically it talks about death, which is eerily philosophical and prophetic.

Band of Slaves were few of the local bands after IGTA that did rock reggae before The Bushmen revived the movement. Musically they were very much influenced by The Police, Bob Marley, Don McClean, Lenny Kravitz and Bob Dylan. The MCD contains five songs, of which all are original materials except for “Redemption Song”, a Bob Marley cover, which is a surprising choice given so many other more reggae selections from this legendary man, yet this may also seem like an appropriate choice for the sombriety of the stuffs here. Selena Wee was roped in to do some of the vocals here, like “Blue Gates” and “Another Cold War” whereby the former has a Latin soul style and the latter more roots rock. “And Justice For Some” (is this a wordplay of Metallica's “And Justice For All”?) is the only song that has a strong reggae sound, which may not seem obvious at first with its contemporary pop piano passage.

I personally think that this tribute feels rather heavy on the heart, prefering their more cheerful material on “New School Rock III”, music that brings one back to the good ol' days when Band of Slaves and The Nonames were pleasing the crowds with their laidback roots and reggae. Still despite the apparent sense of seriousness with “45”, it is a very strong release which is unfortunately too short in length (what else do we expect from an EP) and too limited to make it to more Singapore music lovers. This MCD of mine is handnumbered and I don't remember seeing it been sold anywhere after I purchased it many years ago (maybe I bought the last copy), like all the mysteriously elusive Singapore music CDs out there. Let's say according to popular belief that very few people support local music, then where did all those CDs go to? Burnt? There MUST be another person spinning “45” somewhere on this island.

Kelvin Tan- The Bluest Silence CD

2009-06-20T00:25:00.000-07:00

KELVIN TAN- The Bluest Silence Digipack CD
(Aporia Society 1998)

Art is open to interpretation, and it's usually subjective pertaining to individual perceptions. However, most people associate pretty stimulus as a superlative of beauty in art. That's for most normal people. Many delved into more “controversial and ugly” alternatives so as to speak, to suggest that subtle beauty of the cool and misunderstood. That's for most normal people who thought they are different. Few however don't give a fuck but live on in their insane existence making art that only pleases themselves. If you scratch the underbelly hard enough, there are your so-called underdogs who lived in mental/spiritual fringes, obsessed with their pursuit of that very curse called art, which has pretty much forfeited them the chance of living a normal life like your average Singaporean. If I think films, I think Toh Hai Leong, and if I think music, no doubt Kelvin Tan will come into my mental picture. He is one guy with an interesting approach to life and he can pretty much live up to the name as the most prolific artist in Singapore. I wouldn't be surprised if few years down the road he would have released his 100th album. Most of his works are very far out for most people, which can even be improvised freeform “noises” that wilfully don't make senses. Some might admire his guts and willpower, some thinks he has an immense passion for his kind of music, most see it as a sign of madness or pretension, for his albums hardly shift in units except that trickling support from the few fervent fans of his work, which incidentally included a professor in the list.

Mind you, Kelvin Tan he is not a no musical gene random noise-generator. And this Kelvin Tan is NOT that blind dude with a short shot at fame. He has been actively involved in music and literature since the '80s. You can find his presence in BigO often, he has written a Singaporean cult classic “All Broken Up and Dancing” (an essential literature during my teenage years), and he has led the role as the unpredictable guitar axeman in The Oddfellows. I first noticed his musical talent when I heard that song “She's So Innocent” from “Carnival”, and it is so beautifully composed and written in its simplicity that it made me feel jaded that such lovely ballads are not heard of ever since in Singapore until 1998, when Kelvin put out his solo debut “The Bluest Silence” and it's an album chock full of songs written in the same vein! Essentially, many would rate this as his best work, and of course nothing on this album sound like his more experimental, inaccessible later works.

“The Bluest Silence” in its entirety is an acoustic folk album like Bob Dylan updated to the more current sounds of the late '90s with a very heartlander feel. The catchy guitar chord works, the bluesy lead shredding, the well thought ot composition, deep lyrics and even right down to the voices of Kelvin Tan are exceptionally well done, especially the vocals aspect which many Singaporean musicians are struggling with. And he managed everything on this album from composition to performance all by himself.

The album begins with “Your World Ragged Shop”, a very strong number that suggest a tired metropolitan life and that very escape by faith and salvation, opening with lines “Heading through the headlights trying to get out of the daze, we came across the crossroads that unravelled into a maze, in your little Charade could the car bring us redemption?” “Fear and Trembling” is a darker, more somber song which could do proud in ahem, Leslie Low's solo work, although Kelvin was here first. Next comes an upbeat, melodic “She Sheds a Light” which was a 98.7 FM Top 10 hit, a beautiful ballad that is more sophisticated and say compared to his simple and kind “She's So Innocent” work from The Oddfellows, a beauty in a different light with saxophone accompaniment. “Jacqueline Among Her Flowers” is another ballad that appears in the same vein as “She Sheds a Light”, and of course it is written for a certain girl called Jacqueline. “Venus Defiled” is a song of a bitter ageing ex-beauty queen (and an actress) with heartwrenching lyrics like “Like the charms she used to taste, as is really an illusion, she asks herself in jest.””Icarus” and “William Blake's Ghosts” are an insight into Kelvin's literary interests which become more apparent, with a philosophical edge even, in his later works.

The packaging of this digipack album is worth mentioning also, with alot of effort put in the layout, the lyrics cardboards with illustrations and all that, making this look like a very hefty piece of productions. It is a pity though that this album is next to impossible to find, and considering the fact that Kelvin nowadays make rather simple DIY sleeves for his albums these days. Alot of people I've spoken to mentioned that tis a shame that Kelvin Tan did not make music like this anymore. In essence, it is still the same old Kelvin Tan, and to put it into perspective he makes great popular music with his debut, and great unpopular music much later on. It's a fine line between a genius and a madman, and I do think he has traversed both paths.

Chris Ho- Nite Songs In Day-Glo

2009-05-05T03:44:00.000-07:00

CHRIS HO- Nite Songs In Day-Glo CD
(WEA Records Pte Ltd 1989)

“Nite Songs In Day-Glo” is the solo debut by Chris Ho, ex-Zircon Lounge, before he was axed into an X'Ho. Back then he was the talk of the town with his steamy performances for the album launch and how Bobby Brown got away with it. Old stories from long long ago. But of course this album is best remembered for it's classic dance hit “Sunburn”. For those who don't know, this is the definitive Ah Beng dance number characteristic of the early '90s. The song is a collaboration between Asanee Chotikul (from the famous Asanee/Wasan brothers responsible for making alot of Thai Ah Beng “techno” hits for e.g. The Grasshoppers,etc) and Chris Ho, with its infectious melody and the memorable chorus. This is the very “Surfer Dan with 30 dirty birds” with the macho radio quality crooning of Chris and the exotic and somewhat cheesy oriental melodicism. I love “Sunburn” to death, for it is a song that stays in your head, and its amount of cheese, cornball and tom yum trash is curiously delicious here.

Chris Ho has got to be one of the most adventurous musician in Singapore. One can witness how he leapt light years between the arty cold wave of Zircon Lounge to his disco dancing solo debut, to his different spiritual transformations in incarnations of X'Ho in spoken words, electroclash and even recently black metal. He went from Duran Duran to rocker, to mohawked punkmonkhunk, to a skinhead. This colourful personality does DJing and write books; his whole bloody existence in Singapore is godsent. I'd vote for him if he forms an opposition party. On “Nite Songs In Day-Glo” cheeky Chris with his rocker locks left the deserted steampunk dystopia of “Regal Vigor” into the sunny paradise of tatoo and temples with a suntan and a grin. Chris Ho probably intended this to be the sleazebag of the century with suggestive male torsos picture, liner notes like “look at the boys waiting for some action”, “wood beams rust steely thrusts” and “you're fiction and i'm friction” sprawled across, stuffs which would probably make Morrissey bow his head in shame. And the lyrics... dammit dun even mention the lyrics! “Buddy Buddy” will prolly make those ex-new guards of AWARE convulse and writhe in agony.

“Sunburn” of course is good. It leaves behind a lingering aftertaste of a perversion of “Loy Krathong”, which is the kind of shit I seriously dig. On this album, Chris covered, or shall I say “paid homage” to some of the greatest rock, punk and postpunk grandfathers. Here, you will find Iggy Pop, The Beach Boys, Television, Element of Crime and even Bahaus numbers done in the professional firefighter Chris Ho way. Of course there's originals, and when Chris Ho is given the liberty to write his songs, he likes to add extra cheese and sex in his formula, like “Buddy Buddy” and “Fictional Stuff”, the kind of music played in SM clubs frequented by blitz kids, trannies, sad Pierrot clowns, majorettes and Carmen Mirandas, pleasure girls and pleasure boys. On “Light St. (Yvonne's Gone)”, Chris subdued his naughty ways and sing about losing love, amid the industrial, dystopian settings that bears some reminescence to his Zircon Lounge stuffs. The last track on this album is the “Sun-dance remix” of Sunburn”, which rocks alot like the original.

This album that I am reviewing is on the hyper rare CD format. Yes, even the vinyls and cassette tapes are extremely tough find in Singapore these days, however it's much more so for the CD which was released in pathetic amounts back then. You have to hate a label like WEA. I have many “rockinthefinecity” readers coming up to me and queried about how I have gotten my grubby hands on those supposedly non-existent CDs (for example like Do Not Ask, Overheads, etc) and I have to say, well it really pays off if you live for music collecting. And “Nite Songs In Day-Glo” really brightens up any self respecting local music collection, what with the ultimate rebel icon staring lasciviously on the cover. Having said that, let me go back and listen to “Sunburn” one more time.

The Ordinary People- It's A Weird Existence CD

2009-04-06T05:03:00.000-07:00

THE ORDINARY PEOPLE- It's A Weird Existence CD
(Tim Records/Odyssey Music Pte Ltd 1993)

There is a fine line between The Ordinary People and The Oddfellows. One is ordinary, the other is odd, but they are both such nerdy, earthly, humble and pot-bellied bands who can carry a tune. They may not be the most impressive looking people (indeed they are much less than impressive if you see their photos in the liner notes!) but they can seriously rock like no tomorrow. There is no pretension or posing of artistry from this band, you know, that typical levitation into the strata of high mindedness or the construction of meaningless abstract pseudo-intellectual proses typical of many Singapore bands... This band simply rock out their numbers straight in your face with their bouncy teenage naivete and the simplicity of their expression, which at times seems like the second coming of “Teenage Head”. The Ordinary People, led by the multi-talented Chang Kang had already garnered a good reputation amongst the local indie observers with his early heartfelt demo recordings of just simple acoustic numbers with a heart, even before the release of this debut album.

Their debut CD album titled “It's a Weird Existence” is one of the landmark local release that defined the “Singapore Sound”, which is in a way both good and bad. The Ordinary People may be an alternative band, but therein their rockings contain a laidback, heartlander soul that could be found on few bands like The Oddfellows, The Amateurs (a very impressive much forgotten demo-level band) which eventually trace back to the source: in Xinyao (local Mandarin folk pop)! I hope the band will take this as a flatter. The bad thing about this album (and along with many Singapore albums), like how many of the critics and detractors of local music like to put it, lies in the vocals, which may seem unrefined, offkey or having that funny Singlish accent to them. I personally actually find this rather endearing, for this is the earthly charm of our indie music with our unique creole exemplified. The guitars are loosely tuned and loosely strummed, and the band probably don't give a hoot to tabulations and musical notes, which really adds to the allure of this band.

Musically, The Ordinary People rocks the alternative faculty, with substantial modern power pop influence in the veins of Teenage Fanclub and The Posies, add a dash of folk and roots sounds. The album is full of memorable numbers that has this youthful exuberance coursing through its veins. Like the opener “Ready To Be Confused”, there is a ball of rolling enthusiasm and urge after quiet guitar ringings and the blithesome harmonica turns this into a twirling nerdy angst-ridden lament. “No Regrets” is a melodic number waxing lyrical about nostalgia, the good times, old friendships and such, which brings a feel good feeling in the heart, with a catchy chorus that makes a great sing-along. “Older Now” is one of the two acoustic guitar numbers on this album, reminescent of Chang Kang's early works, and it is soulful, tuneful and backed by a female vocals courtesy of Charlene Pang. “Slip Away” is the other one, and this song is a slightly plaintive but still hopeful meditative passage performed with acoustic guitar and harmonica. One of the dearest aspect I observe about this band is how they always maintain that big positive vibe throughout the whole album, which speaks volume about their personality. And in such sad times (economic recession, impending danger of great depression and war), this is one thing that makes The Ordinary People shines like the cheery sun, from the rest of the negative doom-mongers singing about how sad they would hope to be.

Astreal- Ouijiablush CD

2009-04-06T02:28:00.000-07:00

ASTREAL- Ouijablash CD
(Springroll Creative Entertainment Agency Pte Ltd 1996)

Back in the early '90s, I had this serious infatuation with shoegazing bands and when I hear The Pagans (Singapore's version of Ride meets Chapterhouse), you can imagine me sobbing to its hip swaying headswim on Boss pedal effects. After that period we had bands like The Mother and Breed (pre-Astreal) with their wall of art-noise Curve sounding demos. But the biggest name in the history of shoegazing in Singapore if it's not The Pagans, then it is very much Astreal. After Pagit left Breed, the remaining members roped in a particular Melissa Lim for the vocals and they created their unique art noise dream homage of a My Bloody Valentine with Astreal. My first exposure to this band was with the BigO Singles Club 3, which features their song “Stay Awake”, leaving quite an impression with its interesting texture and engaging melody .

Somewhere in 1996, Astreal put out their debut “Ouijablush”, which upon first look reminds me of the cheap techno/dance compilations put out by VMP. But this is extreme indie, very dreamy and sonically rich ambient rocking high on helium. The opener “Just a Dream” is 11 on gain and grating to the max, but a beautiful tune is laid in its architecture, and here the vocals sounds like ghostly whispers which occasionally breaks into clarity. “Wait” is a much more melodic song with a strong Slowdive influence in its structure, and where I can get to hear Melissa's amateurish yet irresistably charming voices. Her airy vocalisation shines on “To The Velvet”, a song which is low on feedbacks and woven by clear, slightly reverbed guitars. The more upbeat songs on this CD are “Stay Awake”, “Vir-Uno”, “Take My Hand”, driven by infectiously energetic programmed beats. “A Blue and Yellow Glow” may be an instrumental, but it is ironically the most complex track on this album, with its beautiful layers of wonderfully chiming instrumentations that aids a spirit into heavenly realms under the right influence.

The debut itself is a very gentle, psychedelic foray into the kaleidoscope of dreams. Subsequently, the band has witnessed few lineup changes, with the participation of Ginette Chittick (previously from Psycho Sonique) in their rosters and the band has since ventured into a darker electronica realm with their sophomores, which is still good, if not better than the debut. However, there is an allure of the mid '90s Astreal that warms the heart in a way that is snug as a bug in the rug.

Mutation- Void of Disharmony

2009-04-06T02:25:00.000-07:00

MUTATION- Void of Disharmony 7" EP (Die Hard Version)
(Nuclear War Now! Productions 2006/1992)

Before extreme metal has gotten the kind of popularity and hype these days, most of the people in the early '90s tend to associate the music with stereotypes in racial, religious and even moralistic aspects, which can be very far fetched and exaggerated. However, it does have its basis when it comes down to the group of people who would readily accept this music form. Malays can pride themselves with a long, enduring tradition in rock/heavy metal that has been very well estabished since the old Geylang Serai scene. And on the hindsight it is pretty uncommon to hear Chinese people playing or even listening to metal especially with this generally prude and less adventurous population (which maybe makes me weird because I am Chinese and I listen to metal).

Well, Mutation for that matter is a death metal band led by Roy Yeo, who is as Chinese as Jackie Chan sounds like to you and they have a reasonably big impact in the underground. The band besides Roy who does vocals (and who very much later runs Pulverised Records) also consisted of Yiu Leng Hiang on guitars/bass and the godly Ayong handling the drum kits (who is a Malay with a cult reputation for playing in Singapore's legendary Leviathan, and of course most famous for his role in Stompin' Ground and his label Dies Irae Productions). Their 1991 demo “Malignant Existence” is arguably one of the best death metal demos that ranked highly up there with other cult classics like the Abhorer and Profancer. I remember to heart the scary intro with monks chanting at a funeral procession before hell breaks loose with the deathly blasting monstrosity of “Nocturnal Reincarnation”, haunting my dreams ever since.

This "Void of Disharmony" 7” EP I am reviewing right now is the much anticipated reissue of unreleased recordings from 1992, kudos to the great work from Nuclear War Now, a label specialising in the filthiest and most extreme of cult metal. I am extremely privileged to get myself a copy of the “Die Hard” version of this release, which features coloured vinyl, a poster, a sticker and a nicely embroidered patch. Here, Mutation has somewhat updated themselves with a more brutal and modern sound. There is one track here “Cannabilistic Horror” which was originally from the '91 demo, but with a more prominent guitar sound, better productions and a more brutal death vocals. The other track is the rare unreleased one, titled “Ceased To Be”, which is played in the same tradition, heavily inspired by the chugging grating bludgeoning of Swedish bands like Grave, Dismember, etc. The other notable band playing in the same style at that time is Silent Sorrow, who has later cleaned up their acts and became the Concave Scream that everybody likes.

I am always happy to review a metal release, since my background is metal. It is an acquired taste for the permanently head damaged and I am glad that's the way it is. But being the skeptical fogey I am, I have an exclusive taste only for Singapore's late '80s to early '90s death metal like Mutation for example. Nowadays, I find many so-called local metal bands playing broken wristed and diluted "metal" very distasteful yet they carry so much attitude with their arrogant mannerism and outfit. Back in those days, metalheads with their t-shirt and jeans moved in the crowd like wolves in sheep clothing. The new kids are really sheep in wolves clothings with their fanciful adornment and whatnot. In that period, when even the leftest of the dial alternatives are somewhat denounced and reprobated in our local climate, the ones who dared to scream, thrash and bash to utter anarchic subversion stood out as the true rebels. Respect for the true underground of the past.

Flying Pills- Flying Pills CD

2009-04-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

FLYING PILLS- Flying Pills CD
(Mospleen Records/Compass 1999/1997)

I have a weakness for all-females bands playing heavier music than their male counterparts. It is fascinating to hear how this gentle gender are capable of churning out bottom heavy evil riffings and hitting aggressive vocal ranges. My most recent purchase is a Gallhammer CD, a Japanese all-girl sludge death metal band that paid homage to Hellhammer, Amebix and Eye Hate God. In Singapore, there's not many all-females outfit doing heavy shit, and from my hazy memories I can recall Psycho Sonique who scored it pretty big in the '90s with their energetic girly punk, and this band I am reviewing, Flying Pills, who had a sound that was later found on the exquisitely progressive art gothic metal/rock Lunarin (which technically speaking is not really an all female outfit).

Flying Pills put out an album sometime in 1999, but the material I believe was originally written in 1997. What I like about them is their big Black Sabbath (and other heavy metal) influence in their music. They also have this very free spirited sound that traverses rugged chick rock, with a voice from vocalist Zarina that is deeply soulful, accentuated expressively across a wide vocal range, especially with that painfully angry caw and tongue rollings characteristic of Tori Amos, to Alanis Morissette and The Cranberries (and later on in Lunarin as well), sounded wounded yet proudly feminist. While this is no “Jagged Little Pill”, Flying Pills evokes a rather similar passive aggressive bundle that is naked with raw emotions.

I happen to like alot “Yourself” and “Bitter Faith”, two exceptionally heavy numbers with its Black Sabbath moments. Many other tracks here are soulful hobo jangle like “Who's Innocent”, “Foolish One”, and “Riot Dame”. Their music sometimes tread a fine line away from female-fronted pub rockers, and they would probably make a fine one at that if they intend to head that way. Local releases are hard to track down due to very low amount of copies released but this Flying Pills debut is particularly one tough find although it was released only in 1999. Not to mention that this album has got a very nice silver foil logo on the mysterious black cover, which makes this a nice addition to any self respecting Singapore music collection.

Stompin Ground- Measured By The Richter Scale CD

2009-04-04T06:56:00.000-07:00

STOMPIN' GROUND- Measured By The Richter Scale CD
(Smoke/Pony Canyon Entertainment 1995)

If a real earthquake strikes Singapore, we would all be doomed. But how about a groundbreaking band that is so sonically powerful that it needs to be measured by the richter scales? We get more hardcore. This band has left a huge impact in the local music scene since its activities were first reported, and any lion city hardcore musicians will somehow point backwards at Stompin' Ground as the premier hardcore gargantuan of local music. This band is often credited for spurring the whole hardcore punk establishment in Singapore. I had followed the band since their very early days. I remember fondly how Hafidz pranced about with a bucket on his head, and how “botak” my dear friend Ayong is. Back in '89, there was not as much fun in the scene with pop/rock, but everywhere there's plentisome metal, hardcore and punk with demos that even made themselves famous across the globe, something that is unfortunately seldom acknowledged amongst the current elitist indie rockers in the scene. The wave created by those bands like Stompin' Ground, Opposition Party, Mindrape Protestants, Global Chaos, and Rotten Germ (a band which had actually influenced U2's drumming when they were in Singapore!) swept through the lion city and subsequently we see the cohorts of famous names like Voice Out, Retribution, Four Sides and Obstacle Upsurge bringing hardcore to greater heights after been inspired by the legends.

In 1995, “Smoke” label, a subsidiary of Pony Canyon tailored to releasing more extreme bands put out the debut Stompin' Ground album aptly titled “Measured By The Richter Scales”. Earlier on, the band had found fame in their “Grey” demo days back in '91, appearing on BigO's “Lion City Hardcore” compilation in 1993, and put out their debut EP “We Set The Pace” in the same year. On “Measured By The Richter Scales”, the productions is powerfully strong and the music is truly bottom heavy with groundtrembling sonics and chugging riffings. When “Tunnel Vision” kicks off this CD, the soundpicture caves in like a monstrous bulldozer. The basslines are frenzied and hypnotizing on “From Within”, with Hafidz snarling hoarse with intense angst and Ayong's need fluid drum patterns with alot of play on the peddles. “Ages” is more straight ahead with melodic riffings, with very disturbing lyrics directed at parents who lost their kids due to neglect. “Better Day” is dedicated to the hardcore scene calling for unity, and which is partially stemmed from an incident in the past; back in a Kuala Lumpur gig in '94 when the band got booed off stage by a group of Nazi punks. “Betray” is a cover of Minor Threat's classic punk anthem and it is often played at shows to rabid response. There are two bonus tracks on this album, namely “Generator” and “Life”. The two tracks are killer hardcore and Red Hot Chilli Pepper-like funk fusion with plenty of grooves.

The hardcore scene has died down considerably quite alot in recent years, with many extreme music lovers shifting focus either to the trendy modern black/death metal, or reintegrating back into fashionable norms with the current retro-indie and emo. Back then, many hardcore musicians took themselves very seriously and at some point, alot of the straight edged positive mindset driven factions even function like highly disciplined monks, with extremely tight ethics, strong ethos and principled living. This is pretty much unlike the impressionable, susceptible and “sensitive” crowd we often see a lot these days. Unfortunately throughout the years there's too many infightings amongst extreme music fans with mob mentality, them punks, skins, skas, metalheads and whatnot. Worst still, there's always the threat of the racist/fascistic infiltrations to further manifesting, poison and divide the scene, making the underground precarious and unpleasant. I remember very well a warning that came from the hardcore scene during the “Lion City Hardcore” days,”...united we stand, divided we fall...”

The Oddfellows- Carnival CD

2009-04-04T05:23:00.000-07:00

THE ODDFELLOWS- Carnival CD
(Tim Records 1992)

Before the star dimmed for Humpback Oak, The Oddfellows had already known the languishing spotlight. The music scene of today care not for down to earth, humble ordinary-looking heartlanders who sincerely want to rock out with all their heart and soul. And for The Oddfellows, add bulging tummies and receding hairlines. I wouldn't be surprised if The Oddfellows have no groupies at all, save for that few odd and queer Bachelors of Engineering taking “So Happy” too literally. To be frank with you, The Oddfellows is indeed not relevant in this age where you need really lots of hair on your scalp, and a scrawny, wimpy frame to complete the emo package. Patrick Chng, the main guy behind this band probably saw that coming long time ago before deciding to call it quits and moved on to his other endeavours. Kelvin Tan (not the other one who is blind), the lead guitarist guy from The Oddfellows also moved on to do solo and to this date had released more than fifty (!!!) albums, which undoubtedly made him Singapore's most prolific musician. From what I've read, their debut album “Teenage Head” did not do very well in sales (although it's a mystery where those remaining stocks have gone? Burnt?) and likewise the same goes for “Carnival”, the second album from these veterans, and which I am going to review here. Both albums however are historically very relevant. Almost every local musicians have cited these works as the most influential Singapore indie rock albums of the '90s, and just like “Teenage Head”, “Carnival” has scored hits with songs like “Unity Song” and “Goodbye”. I can almost empathize with Patrick Chng when he refused BigO's offer to reissue the two legendary albums, because it would indeed be pointless to do so. The real Oddfellows fans would have bought the albums already, be it in CD or cassette form and of course the best rockings are exclusively reserved to the fanclubs of fan's memories.

The Oddfellows on this album sees the departure of Wai Cheong, and the inclusion of two other old affiliates namely Vincent Lee on bass, and the multi-talented Kelvin Tan who shred guitars. When you break down “Carnival”, you find a Carny within. There is a reason why these bunch of guys are known as The Oddfellows. They are freakishly unique with alot of talent hanging out like meat which you would either wince away or take a bite. I assume that probably at that juncture, Patrick was facing his mid 20s crisis. On “Goodbye”, he mentioned “...oh I'm 25 and still doing things I like, lost enough to know what I really need to find...” He would have made up his mind, packed up his bag and left the crossroads and headed for lifelong dedication in the music scene. “Carnival” has very beautiful music that sounds like it was made by shy, socially awkward misfits who has a heart of gold. This is as awkwardly beautiful as Tracey Thorn from Everything But The Girl, and like her with outstanding soul.

“Don't Fight” begins the album with a very cheery Husker Du meets Reivers kind of energy, melodic and yet punk rocking at the same time. The naivete and enthusiasm of this track is a very purposeful starter of this “Carnival” experience. When it comes to “Goodbye”, the band gets gently melancholic in a very real, earnest manner. Like I've mentioned earlier, this song is suggestive of the uncertainties that Patrick and company is facing, and the uncertainties that Patrick is facing inside. The mood changes with “Unity Song”, the highlight of this album with its soaring uplifting melodies ala 10000 Maniacs and positive feel that exudes from the beautiful lyrics and music. The jingly-jangle quality of its bright pop easily made it a frequent on airwaves. “Walter Says” is an observant social commentary with drum machine driven beats. On “Pretty Faces”, The Oddfellows head back to their old punk roots along the line of “Lost My Head”, with its upbeat rhythm and loud, brash riffings. “She's So Innocent”, an acoustic number written by Kelvin Tan is exceptionally touching and beautiful. It is a very simple and heartfelt torch song dedicated to a particular Jacqueline Fan and it has that beautiful “nerd crush lament” that flows through its entirety in its unique Oddies ways. “Carry On” sounds like straight from the chapter of The NoNames with its infectious reggae beats and good spirits. Things became very twisted and dark with “Why Don't You Try To Find Out?”, written by Vincent Lee. It has a got a dejected and painful undertone, with subtle implications on sexuality, isolation, and depression. I do not know the real answer, so why don't you try to find out or ask Vincent if you care? Haha, ok ok it's about AIDS.

“Carnival” is refreshing for their time because they understand that indie pop/rock is meaningless without good melodies and words. They have the tunes and words to endear themselves to a whole generation of local music listeners and in the process probably inspired many would be musicians. The Oddfellows has succeeded in creating a work that is compelling without resorting to the high minded art garbage that many bands these days are striving to become, because they are playing themselves on this record, being Oddies, simple, slightly quirky heartlanders with a heart. It is a pitiful and sad thought that I will probably be the last person on Earth writing something about this band before the tiny red dot disappears in say 50 years down the road. For 99% of the readers out there, you probably would not be able to find this classic Singapore album anywhere since it, along with many supposedly low selling but rare local classics, simply poofed into thin air into limbo. But if you do, keep it stashed well, treasure it, for the Carny will not come to this tiny town anymore.

The Lizard's Convention- Here's a Funny Fish, Hurrah! CD

2009-03-07T19:52:00.000-08:00

THE LIZARD'S CONVENTION- Here's a Funny Fish, Hurrah! CD
(Pony Canyon Entertainment Pte Ltd 1995)

An instant favourite in the local music scene back in the mid 90s, this group makes pleasant and carefree happy-go-lucky music at a time when bands were busy professing how much they hated themselves. Lizard's Convention sounds like the nature loving pixie smoking dandelion and daffodils playing irresistable bright pleasant pop rock music, appearing both innocuous and quirky, down-to-earth and surreal, honest and ironic. Led by four good looking graduates (with Kristin Oehlers and Sol Foo being centre of attraction), the band put out their highly acclaimed debut album “Here's a Funny Fish, Hurrah!” which garners them fame as amiable hippies, charming silly smiling besotted fans. The debut album has been heavily featured in the media, even winning themselves a top place, ironically on the Philippines radio charts with an Elvis cover called “Wooden Heart”. The heartfelt, rustic delivery of this version tastes like aromatic coffee set in the dusk of tropical beaches.

The album is chock-full of extremely well written songs. The first track “The Goat That Haunted Me”, had bagpipes or fiddles that made you want to prance about in squares, a catchy folk pop number that has beautiful Kristin Oehlers luring the dumbfounded with her ethereal vocals. There is yet something plaintive, and blatantly religious content in this track. “Pleasant Song” and “Love Nut” are a couple of my favourites on this album, the chiming guitars soaring with heavenly hooks, giving the sensation of you hovering in absolute bliss with spine-tingling octaves. At the same period of time, Frente and The Cranberries who were prominent were often dropped as comparisons and Oehlers admittedly had to suppress her jitters during the recording of this album. And the result is quite exceptionally different in a good way. “If Cows Grew On Trees”, is upbeat, mischievous and delectable and you can tell the musicians having fun with themselves while recording this one. The impish delight in it sounds like awesome pop with its energy. “Gribbit The Frog” is a bright-eyed child-like folk track which is so artless and simple, yet the very ironic dark lyrics belie its gentle nature.

There are four covers on this album, namely Elvis' “Wooden Heart” and “I Gotta Know”, Stealer Wheels' “Stuck In The Middle With You”, and Hues Corporation's “Rock The Boat”. All the originals sounds special, and all the covers do justice, if not appeared as improved versions. These guys have been around for a long time, even dating back to the late 80s, although Kristin Oehlers and Sol Foo were later additions in the 90s. There is a environmental consciousness as the central theme to the band, and there is also a strong religious connotation. The band grew quite popular back then, but one little beauty of a debut is perhaps what we will ever expect from them. The Lizard's Convention has struck as a familiar heartspot in many a nostalgic music lovers and those songs become anthemic of the mid 90s, the once exciting period of time in Singapore music.

The Black Sun- The Black Sun

2009-03-07T04:06:00.000-08:00

THE BLACK SUN- The Black Sun CD
(Black Sun Productions 1992)

These guys were quite famous back in the early 90s, with their “Love You Now” ballad played to death on the radio in a good radio friendly way. Do you remember those three uncles who wrote plenty of nice love songs with a cool bandname The Black Sun? They were already in their mid 30s when this geriatrical labor of love was conceived and they play music that appeals to them and surely to their contemporaries who understands 70s safe rock. I am not sure if this will appeal to the Great Spy Experiment/Electrico crowd but they surely do appeal to me The Oddfellows-era nerd who can be a sane, sanitised conventional music lover every now and then. The three uncles were old time buddies from Nee Soon Camp who shared a common interest in 70s hard rock and they started jamming way back in '75. So they could have been honing their weaponry in some kampong ulus for the past 15 years.

This CD I am reviewing is a DIY effort from these loaded uncles, who forked out a huge sum of money for this, from state of the art recording studios to manufacturing their own CDs and covers. Maybe you can even smell Ben Chia's fingerlicking good stain on the sleeves. I understand that this CD has been reissued later on with a different cover (them in cool postures) some years later. The band called themselves The Black Sun because these uncles are not your average boring AORockers. They have mysticism and dark powers, like Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath and you might hear something funny if you backmask “Love You Now” or something. Musically I can hear influence from Yes, Led Zeppelin, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, yet somehow there is just something exceptional about this group. They really have a forte for extremely memorable songcrafting and these uncles handle their weaponry like a true “blues” samurai.

From the album opening track “Flame In The Night”, you can feel the promising power in their delivery, like a more epic Europe, but no less pompous. But the standouts are the love songs here. Love songs, how often I cringe with every mention, and yet the Black Sun did not even shy away from it, they seemingly embrace every moment of it pouring out their hearts to romanticism. “Love You Now” is undoubtedly the strongest number from this album, a very commercial sounding ballad with very potent melody hook, somewhere in the veins of Restless Heart “Tell Me What You Dream” but so refreshingly catchy, splendid! The track “Black Sun” is a dark, menacing track that best exemplifies the subtle dark, shadowy undertone of the band. With the gruff voice of Def Leppard, the textural impressionistic atmosphere of Alan Parsons Project and the doomsday lyrics of Black Sabbath, this track is the black horse of this record, and a solemn strong contender to the melancholia of “Love You Now”. “Singapore Beat” is upbeat, cheery and a satirical tongue-in-cheek social commentary. This almost reminds me of The Crowd/Watchmen to some degree with their “Orchard Road”, like I'm looking at two parallel dimensions! On “Passage (Song For The Atheist)”, The Black Sun does wistful hallowed British folk music in the veins of Pentangle! Those depressing minor chords are my secret passion and indeed I've been a closet folk junkie since young so yeah I buy this one. The last few tracks are quite experimental from “Visitation” to “Departure”, it's like a journey tripping the blended soundscapes of Tangerine Dream flangering to more structured Alan Parsons Project territory.

This is what happen when three uncles got creative. They could be heartlanders like you and me sipping kopi-o at the coffee shop. They had a vision, they got together, made their own music oblivious to jangling teenage heads out there and they had successfully released a critically acclaimed album with a radiohit to top. Now we don't hear from them but I'm sure there must be a tick somewhere in their bucketlist. For the less fortunate uncles and aunties out there with an inclination for music, they would just hum and whistle along with resignation on their way to work.

Watchmen- Love MCD

2009-03-07T04:01:00.000-08:00

WATCHMEN- Love MCD
(Odyssey Music Pte Ltd 1994)

Here I am doing reviews on the Watchmen, and coincidentially a film of the same name came out recently (inspired by the cult comics). Well, Kevin did admit that the name for his band likewise was inspired by the Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons creation and I wouldn't be surprised if he turns up the first in line to catch the premier (he watched it and you can read his reviews here at http://www.powerofpop.com.) Now, this CD in my hand is the “Love” EP from the Watchmen released apropos on Valentine's Day in 1994 (like their debut album “Democracy”released in 1993 in the same manner, haha), as a dedication to his wife Angela who is one very lucky lady to have met Kevin because frankly speaking how many women in Singapore (or the whole wide world) have proficiently written love songs penned for them (even turning into a radiohit for that matter), and a whole CD dedicated to her and only? Or I may be reading it wrong, this EP is a celebration of love. I can sense that the “Love” EP is not just about love between people, but it embraces and encompasses a passion, a universal love, a compassion, and ultimately, an absolute love that goes along Kevin's personal faith. Quite a mouthful eh? To complete the whole package, long time collaborator Eric Khoo was roped in to give this release a very tasteful touch to it.

On “Love”, assuming that at this juncture Kevin is the sole member of the Watchmen moniker, here features ex-Watchmen Tony Makarome, as well as veterans like Ben Harrison and Patrick Chng. There are altogether five songs on this MCD (wait there's a sixth one hidden and it's there for you to discover). “All I Know” is a very memorable starter of this disc, with compelling melody that keep your attention aroused that stood out strongly from a lot of other contenders doing romantic America/Beatles with very climatic chorus parts. There is an alternate version, titled “All I Know (Ivory Cut)” which is performed solely on piano by Kevin Matthews. Now here comes the way for something more upbeat. “I Love Singapore”, which later appears as The Crowd song with prominent feature in the film “Mee Pok Man” is one bouncy energetic rock n' roll number that is endearing in its tongue-in-cheek high brow punk sartire. Well, sometimes love, like love for Singapore can be ambiguous.“4 Love” sounds like something from a Timothy Schmit songbook, with its very sensually romantic arrangement and its loungey vibe. Track number five is the '94 version of “My One & Only”, the Watchmen signature number with a new synthwork, a fuller sound and a gospel touch that adorns the song in all the right places.

The “Love” EP over the years has become very rare and a collector's item for Singapore music lovers. I count myself lucky to have bought it when it was launched and now I even have Kevin's autograph on the liner. It is also rare indeed to see a band that dared to come forward and put forth a release dedicated to love in a period of time where rock n' roll becomes the haven for all that is nihilistic and hedonistic, where indifference, cruelty, and perversion and everything anti-thethical to love is celebrated as the new cool.

Lilac Saints- Awake CD

2009-03-07T03:57:00.000-08:00

LILAC SAINTS- Awake CD
(Springroll Music Pte Ltd 1999)

One of the most memorable names from the New School Rock cohorts, Lilac Saints stood out as a band always making very sublime and beautiful indie pop rock music like “Gina” and “Wasting Time” with frequent appearances on radio, and they were even nominated for Best Local Band in Perfect 10 98.7FM awards back in 1996, yet this is one band that you've always heard about but never see their albums in stores. Because at some point of time I wasn't actively seeking out CDs, I missed all the chances of getting Lilac Saints releases when they were launched and for the next many years that follows, I've never come across any of their album. One eventful day two weeks ago, I was approached by one guy wanting to trade his Lilac Saints for my spare copy of Humpback Oak CD and today I am the proud owner of the “Awake” CD! I heard that not many copies of this CD made it into the circuit for varied reasons, and the funniest thing is from the last I heard of this band, they've altogether released three different albums already. You can imagine how excited I was when I first got this one, and could barely contain my excitement to play the CD.

“Awake” however does fall short of expectation quite alot, because I had very high expectations of this band when I first heard their stuffs since the New School Rock IV days. This band from what I heard, had a very magical quality to their songs, a very laidback, casual yet sensually romantic style that sound like music played by decent cleancut friendly people, which appeared to be the case. Some people may even think that this band has some kind of “Christian” connotation which wouldn't surprise me if it turns out to be the case. Under normal circumstances the whole idea should be quite cringeworthy but Lilac Saints really know how to charm with their songs.

On “Awake”, the songs are still bright and pleasant, but it does not seem to possess the same magical sensuality of their more well known songs. If I choose to look at it as indie pop rock for what it is, “Jamaica”, “Awake”, “Daffodil”, “Wander”, “Window”, “Facade” and “Windowsill” are very catchy and well written songs on this CD. However some tracks like “Life” and “Jennifer” stuck out like sore thumbs on this otherwise quite interesting CD. Still all in all this sounds nothing like their old mojo. When I listen to the whole CD as a whole, I couldn't help feeling bored and restless. There is nothing that makes you sit up and pay attention or lulls you into a mode of relaxation. It sounds like just any other indie pop/rock. That however shouldn't stop any rabid collectors of local music from getting one of the rarest, most elusive release from one of Singapore's best bands, although this sounds nothing like what they were famous for.

Concave Scream- Three CD

2009-03-07T03:41:00.000-08:00

CONCAVE SCREAM- Three CD
(Concave Scream 1999)

I'd sort of written off most music since '99; that year of uncertainties, paradigm shifts and doomsday prophecies (don't smirk, watch out for 2012). I had always watched with anticipation, keeping my eyes open and holding my breath, steadily observing the stream of evolution to ignite a revolution of a grand proportion, being the epic addict I am. Also, being an Aquarian I seek changes, in a good progressive way, otherwise I'd rather get stuck in the rut of good old familiarity. Unfortunately the state of local music culminates to a point in '99 where the well of inspiration runs dry, with a dearth of melodies that tickles the heart and a sickening entrapment within the pentatonic scales of rock n'roll, forever reinventing the same wheel and exploring new frontiers within their miserable box. Postrock and whatnot, when nothing can be juiced from rock music they moved on to do a perversion of classical music. What happens everywhere are devolution, regression and stagnation.

Well, so where does that leave the third (this time self-released album) from Concave Scream? This band is no doubt one of my most favourite Singapore band. They had something very special in their earlier works, the gist of a darkly intense, deeply emotional and melodically wonderful nature. Those guys always wear black and they seemed so anti-radio. Well, “Three” here sees a departure of their angry emotionally charged dark passion, and they make dreamy pop rock that have almost every moment screaming the radio favour of the month. No longer angry as before, the so called maturity also possibly sees them running out of ideas. Their lacklustre rendition of very typically modern Brit rock inspired droning sometime bordering on pussified shoegazing, sounds too often like sound which you can't remember after a while. Which is sad considering the fact that these guys used to mix U2, New Model Army and Slayer into a very potent concoction. Some tracks like “Near” and “Fiction” had promising starts, that unfortunately leads into the same endless dream pop drones loop. My most favourite track on this albym is ironically an instrumental, “Rewind”. It has got fantastic fret tappings, New Order/Joy Division kind of riffs and it did hark back to the earlier adventurous days of this band.

The album should be a good release if you are not me, because it has just got that very accessible pop/rock quality and you can't fault these talented musicians. “Three” saw them moving closer to the spotlight out from the miserable gloomy place known to the few sober drunkards as the underground and of course in the process alot more people heard their songs and some people probably would not mind downloading some mp3s into their collection. Though this release does not do it for me, I actually bought this album, because Concave Scream still holds dear a place in my heart. 1999 is a year best remembered for bands moving forward with gaining new fans and leaving many old fans stranded, while aimlessly trying to find that new sound and shedding away the formula that made them famous.

Bird Brains- Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich CD

2008-11-24T20:03:00.000-08:00

BIRD BRAINS- Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich MCD
(Phlegm Records 2002)

I read that the ostrich's eyes are bigger than their brains and like chicken they are not really clever. So if you want people to seriously take you as imbeciles you can call your band Bird Brains, which has made these bunch of goofy grindsters words made flesh. I can recall back in '91 their supreme piece of senile cakewalk lunacy, the “Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich” demo was praised and murmured to pedestal high, extolled by many of the most happening zines and column inches as one of the extremely brilliant Singapore demo release of that time. Of course anything exceptionally brilliant from the local music scene has to find its place in my collection so I made an order of this tape together with a bunch of other “interesting” demo tapes. I had that cassette with the funny comical coverart and I relished with immense satisfaction the intense vomitting drivel of self-depreciating gibberish sonic boom speedy grinding hardcore noise silly-birdcore. I think of them as Singapore's version of the superbly silly speed thrashcore band Old Lady Drivers meet Nausea. Then again we have our own Impetigo (Singapore's legendary grindcore overlords Demisor) and our very own Napalm Death (another legend by the name of Martyrdom). From the late '80s to the early '90s grindsters rule like nobody's business from Bedok and Geylang to Forum Galleria and Jurong.

Bird Brains was formed in early 1989 as Plague and Morbid Deformity before Boh joined the band and adopted the moniker Bird Brains. By then the group consisted of Boh Burhan (guitars), “Blurp” Shawal (vocals, guitars), “Rotten Senile” Isa (bass) and “Toothache” Isham (drums). They switched from their earlier death metal influence to more grindcore style heavily influenced by Filthy Christians, Napalm Death, Sore Throat, Old Lady Drivers and even Sham 69 and Extreme Noise Terror to quote a few. Well, most of my cassette tapes have reached their journey's end and rot and fungus became them. Fortunately with the advent of CD technology many of the old analog classics are etched nicely onto those pieces of compact plastics. The “Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich” CD I am reviewing unfortunately does not have the actual demo recordings on it. Instead, it consisted of their cult demo re-recorded and remixed in 2002. They've also got many new tracks thrown in, as well as the most true to form remix of their 1993 track “Genital Mutilations” taken from the “Made In Singapore” (MIS) Volume 1 Compilation tape. So in the end to be honest with you, I've got a lukewarm feeling about this CD.

All the nice important tracks from “Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich” are inside, like “Baseball Maniac”, “Bird Brains”, “Nightmare on Bird Street” and “Free The Sky” and yet they all sound somewhat different and more technical as compared to the mindless harmless fun on their old tape. The new tracks are not too bad, like “Dead Drunk Society”, “Filthy”, etc, although we see them moving towards a more sterile, “serious” and brutal direction, a continent away to what normally entice me in lo-fi amateurish fun grinding. Well, to each his own, I am just not into brutal, heavy technical modern metal. What can I do? I can only wet my pillow and nod my head approvingly to Carpenter's “Yesterday Once More”. The Bird Brains I fondly recall are the bunch of loony misfits making funny faces and sticking their tongue in cheeks. Well, many years on, the once funny dudes are yearning to be taken seriously, and the band photos in the insert liner are looking too solemn for my liking. I guess the balloons are popped and half the fun are lost. “Why so serious?”

Fection Dasche- Eternal Transgression

2008-06-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

FECTION DASCHE- Eternal Transgression MCD
(Independent Voices Productions/Fection Dasche 1994)

This '90s EP was made by a bunch of Singapore dudes who suffered hangovers from the '80s. And this EP is just up my alley as I still get my '80s hangover deep into this millenium. As obscure as it might be, “Eternal Transgression” is widely regarded by critics as a one off surprise that is uniquely beautiful for their time. The weavework of good synthpop offered by this band can seriously challenge and tantalize the ears, and it is only sadly brought down by the fact that this release is even too short for MCD standard, leaving the fervent romantics at heart craving for more of its deliciously dark, poignant melliflous synthesizer music.

When '80s and synthpop is mentioned concurrently it might bring about some chagrin for those “Euro-trash” skeptics who tried to put their Modern Talking episode into a quiet grave. However, Fection Dasche obviously didn't fall into such trappings, as it is a passionate tribute to the genius that spanned from the pensive electronic tweakers that spelled big names like Depeche Mode, Alphaville and Camouflage, in which case the first and the latter plays a particularly big role in shaping the ominous droning minor keys of the band. “Eternal Transgression” is dark, moody and yet very catchy with its enticing melodies and strong, complex arrangements.

The MCD consisted of three songs, namely “Eternal Transgression (Remorse Version)”, “Dreams” and “Modus Operandi- Sector 1293”, all produced in 1993, of which the the second one was originally conceived way back in 1987. “Eternal Transgression (Remorse Version)”, the title track, is in my opinion the strongest track on this EP. Listening to it open is like a mysterious soundscape unfolding, with a buildup of minimalist keyboards stacking into layers of wondrous symphony as soon as the drum machine kicks in. It is bouncey, danceable and dreamy, somewhere reminescent of the works by early Thompson Twins, Camouflage and a more electronica New Order down to the melancholic vocals. (In case you've downloaded the “Dreams” MP3 sample from Joe Ng's excellent blog site, it is actually “Eternal Transgression (Remorse Version)” not “Dreams” as stated). “Dreams” began with pulsing bass keyworks, kind of like a menacing Depeche Mode appetizer before it materializes as a solemn synthpop number that draws closer to a more Camouflage sound. “Modus-Operandi- Sector 1293” is an instrumental outro that is played with piano setup, kind of like those little Depeche Mode fillers (though not as dark). Maybe sentimental, thoughtful and somber is the keyword to that instrumental piece.

The band Fection Dasche and their EP would have continued to dwell in relative obscurity if not for the fact that this MCD was dug out from the vaults and given a second lease of life online. Maybe one can fault the band for fading away too fast, or the fact that this MCD was released in too few copies. “Eternal Transgression” MCD was self released by the band, limited to an exemplary of 500 numbered copies. For the few people who got hold of this release, it feels great to have a cult release in the hand. This release was originally launched in a package (with a Fection Dasche T-shirt!) together with other electronica bands like Club Ecstacy during a promotion in mid '90s given the amount of attention to many up and coming local electronic talents, and it was all sold out ever since. BUT GOOD NEWS FOR ALL! Fans of Synth Pop, New Wave, New Romantics, EBM or just about any electro misfit androids might want to check out this band's Myspace site at: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=108648692 because they actually manage to dig into their own vaults and found a couple of this MCDs left! So hurry up and get it while they last!

Zircon Lounge- Regal Vigor

2008-06-03T08:50:00.001-07:00

ZIRCON LOUNGE- Regal Vigor 12" LP
(WEA Records Pte Ltd 1983)

Zircon Lounge's game are the aesthetics of decadence; a deconstruction of the plebeian Singaporean fable. Their poetic prose and pose built a post-modern consciousness in a doomed romantic backdrop of Singapore as Dystopia, with soundscape of very cold and bleak nature and a dire undertone seeping. “The vigor of the deepest despair, where despair was strength itself...”, a statement that harbours the “way of life, a regal vigor” in all essence which is this very album that transcends local music to a whole new level of expression. “Regal Vigor”their debut LP, released in 1983 became the first drop of ink to smudge the clean slate of Singapore music and tainted it forever ever since. Their New Wave sound is a new creative pastiche of art in the higher order and their gut-level catharsis exorcising pain, angst, ennui, and celebrating joy, triumph and desires, causing a reaction to an otherwise sterile machine and setting off a chain of successive “waves” that touched the hearts of many a then young Joe Ngs, Pat Chngs, etc. Chris Ho's dejected visage on the red (= revolution) album cover speaks of subtle subversion that sees him becoming the Singapore Rebel.

Originally formed as Transformer, Zircon Lounge, got together on this album as a unit featuring the legendary Chris Ho on vocals, long time collaborator Yeow Tan on guitars and vocals, Woo Huay Pin on bass and Chung Shih Loong on drums. They started out as a bunch of clean cut dissidents before spotting rocker's locks sometime in the mid 80s and of course Chris Ho later became X'Ho and experimented with different outlooks in his various transformations. “Regal Vigor” also featured a string of “guests” like Jacintha, Anita Sarawak, Dick Lee, etc playing different roles, spreading their talent in almost every tracks on this album. I would say that despite a lot of reference pertaining to Lou Reed, straight down to two covers of “Sweet Jane”, the band is actually making a dark Coldwave sound that thrives on dread and almost gothic romanticism. I can hear some similarity to The Psychedelic Furs, Sad Lovers and Giants and most notably The Chameleons, right down to the solemn croonings of Mark Burgess which is actually Chris Ho on a parallel universe.

This LP features mostly original composition, but there is two “Sweet Jane” covers of Lou Reed and a Romeo Void cover “Myself to Myself”. The first “Sweet Jane” cover includes notes from “The Thief's Journal” by Jean Genet, a philosophical justification of vice made into virtues. Here Zircon Lounge narrated their yearnings to invert the system of ideals that is made from this republic, to realise an outsider dream. The second version of “Sweet Jane” is Zircon Lounge's own interpretation of this song, without bearing too much semblance to the original.

“Shivers, Shivers” starts the LP on Side A with a long piano intro, so typical of many New Wave bands and leads into a uplifting post-punk number joined by a good amount of tenor sax. This opener is actually very different from what is to be expected on the rest of this album, as this one has a certain positive, radio friendly vibe going on. Now, “Myself to Myself” is the first penumbra in the shadow of the moon, with technical metallic guitar pickings accompanied by ghostly lead guitar wailing in the soundpicture. This Romeo Void cover cast a hypnotic spell, which brings a more early The Cure touch to it. Now, “Savior” is interesting. The bassline that starts the song is very similar to Depeche Mode's “Tora Tora Tora”. This ballad is written like a sociopathic obsession, with Chris Ho's edgy vocalisation of “maybe I know you, maybe I hate you, maybe I want you (maybe I need you)”. “Tight Rope” is the darkest moment on this album, a very creepy song that begins with menacing pulsing bass, thumping cold forceful drums, plenty of scary guitar feedbacks and Chris Ho in his werewolf motion. Here Zircon Lounge is bordering on Bauhaus territory with its strong gothic fixation and surreal imagery. Side A ends with “Sweet Jane/Notes from “The Thief's Journal”.

“4 Hours” is one of my most favourite from Side B. Here the music flirts with the naughty SM bondage groove that reminded me of Visage's “Night Train” or “The Anvil”, those leather trannies, peacock punks and blitz kids. The keyboard passage is robotic and Kraftwerk-like and the guitar riffs are pure funk licks. Great track to dance along to. On “Chanachai”, there is a greater emphasis on melodic songcrafting, which sees a more traditional riffwork in a standard rock setup. Here, Chris Ho took on a more airy vocalisation, not as heavyweight like the Side A numbers. “Cover Your Eyes” is a normal romantic ballad whereas “Strangers” is a really great folk-structured (think Leonard Cohen) crestfallen torch song which speaks better with its melancholia and the sad, surrealistic way Chris Ho carried it out. The last track on Side B is the aforementioned Zircon Lounge's interpretation of “Sweet Jane”.

Speaking of the band and the debut album's reputation as undoubtedly the first New Wave band in Singapore, there is no question that “Regal Vigor” is an important benchmark in the history of Singaporean music. This album is also the first in the sense to offer an alternative voice to the many standard lounge rock cover bands that saturated the night joints on our island city. On a more crucial note, Zircon Lounge conceptualised a revolution in the attitude of local musicians, elevating and pushing artistic expression beyond the boundaries confined by the media controllers and media slaves. “Regal Vigor” was pressed in vinyl LP and cassette tape format by WEA and there was not a sign of CD reissue from any company. This vinyl LP (or even the tape) is even impossible to get in the early '90s, as they simply seemed to vanish without a trace. Which is really a pity because this album is simply too important to not be heard by anybody who calls himself a supporter of Singapore music, notwithstanding the fact that the LP comes with a very excellent presentation and layout. When most of Singapore cannot get access to an important musical legacy like “Regal Vigor”, there is definitely something going wrong here.

Various Artists- Left of The Dial CD

2008-04-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

VARIOUS ARTISTS- Left of The Dial CD
(Tim Records/Odyssey Music 1994)

Inspired by The Replacements' song of the same title, “Left of The Dial” is a local music compilation featuring previously unreleased tracks, better-sounding demo recordings and a few already released songs from some of the best Singapore indie bands around that time. This release should not be confused with another compilation that pays tribute to The Replacements, or the 4 CD boxset featuring radio unfriendly 80s bands. The name implies a jibe at how radio stations tend to conveniently “forget” to play local songs. It is therefore apt that the Padres' “Radio Station” is included here as an ironical tribute. Joe Ng made a statement with his sartire of the general attitude towards radio stations, djs and listeners with his amiably unstable vocals, backed by Ben Harrison's trademark expressive guitar riffings. Culled from BigO singles club MCD from 1993, this song is perhaps one of the most anthemic of that era, revolutionary.

Mortal Flower has came a long way since their debut demo “Bathing In The Perspirations of My Ideology” from 1989. Opening track “Atone” is very much the latest and last offering from this band, who had since shifted their style from more of a Cure-inspired goth rock to a more angst-ridden punk-pop sound. This song is supposed to be part of a forthcoming album “Unplucked”, but so far it's been more than a decade since we last heard any sign of life from this band. Sideshow Judy is a good band, but I have to admit that they sounded rather amateurish on “Spaceship Dog”, a track taken from their debut demo “Eye Matter”. Sideshow Judy sounds like a very jangly bright pop-rock bandl led by singer/guitarist Pauline Chong who didn't quite master enough vocal control on this song, which says the same for almost 90 percent of the Singapore vocalists. However her vocals has greatly improved over the years. Daze offered “Release”, a new song which is somewhat disappointing in comparison with their debut EP. I mean “Sexy Little Boy” was a very big hit, and there were many expectations heaped upon this duo when they made announcement of new material, hence the letdown, but this melodic little pop jangle is at least decent, though not awe-inspiring.

More disappointments coming this way from The Pagans' “Star Love”,which sees a huge departure from the heavenly atmospheric shoegazing from their debut. Although Morris' voice had improved quite alot, the music fell from heavenly grace onto more mundane realms. But once again, still a good jangle enough for appeasing curious fans. Things picked up nicely with The Lilac Saints' “Gina”, a very refreshing and beautiful ballad from a very underrated Singapore band. This song was earlier featured on New School Rock IV compilation CD. Lilac Saints never fail to write instantly chiming music that sounds so melodiously delicious. “I Love Singapore” first appeared on Watchmen's “Love” EP, but had since appeared under The Crowd moniker. Performed by the multi-talented Kevin Matthews, this song bursts with wry observations and sheer irony, driven by Ben Harrison's screaming guitar riffs of subversion.

The Ordinary People, how aptly named. They had this very down-to-earth approach to their music, which reflects well on “Shining Through”, a track taken from their debut album “It's A Weird Existence” CD from 1993. Nothing special nothing bad, just simple melodic pop rock. Now Livonia is a more sophisticated outfit. They have this special gift in offering surging melody that sounds cerebrally pleasing. “Backseat Star”, taken from their debut demo “Self”, is a perfectly written indie number that ascertain the good prospect of a band that even know how to dress to please. The Dongs on the other hand is more of a demo-level punk rock band with their “Rebel Girl”, a simplistic three chord affair taken from their cute looking “We Is Grunge” demo and sounding like a trisomy 21 from crossing The Ramones and The Dead Milkmen. The Oddfellows dug “Addiction” from deep inside their vaults. Originally a forgotten recording with just drums, vocals and guitar, additional bass and percussions were overdubbed at TNT studio to make a special appearance on this compilation. The last track on this compilation is “In Desire” by The Nude Pool. This band is made up of members from Mortal Flower, Raw Fish and Pink Elephants. This song loops a Er-hu sample, a chinese stringed instrument and managed to create a very darkly mystical atmosphere which slowly builds up in mental intensity. A psychedelic headtrip to end the compilation. However, there is alot more things going on inside this CD. There's two hidden bonus tracks on the compilation. One track sounds like Humpback Oak and the other is an instrumental version of The Oddfellows' “Your Smiling Face”.

I've shot down many bands on this release, but am I going to give up on "Left of The Dial"? Au contraire, this is one of my most favourite local indie rock compilation of all time. All the inconsistencies, amateurish arrangements and demo hisses make this one ever the more charming, because the sheer naked rawness of the material here oozes the kind of passion, sincerity and soul that is sadly devoid in this age of technicality and superficiality. These are bands that had over the years toiled hard to lay the brick on the Singapore sound and that by definition has certainly shine through in this release. A testimonial to the adventurous past of Singapore indie rock. And collectors, please do take special note that this CD is one especially tough find because almost nobody I know has seen it after all these years. Yet, the history of Singapore indie rock are all contained therein.

AWOL- Midnight In June CD

2008-04-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

AWOL- Midnight In June CD
(BMG Pte Ltd 1993)

AWOL is a band that upon initial listen may not seem instantly gratifying, but their music had souls filled to the brim and with patience one will find that it is a very rewarding experience, their down to earth sensibility so very humanely comforting to weary ears. The exceptionally clear lucid productions of this album is a well deserved treatment for a group of serious musicians whom exhibit professional attitude in their music. I've come to know the band leader Lenny Garcia from my old Boys' Town alma mater and he is an individual that displays the finesse of conviction and tenacity that are crucial in getting AWOL on the pathway through to produce such proficient piece of art. In 1993, they released their debut album “Midnight In June”, which comes expectedly like I predicted.

For those who remember, the AWOL moniker was frequently mentioned ever since they contributed two songs for BigO's New School Rock II CD compilation, namely “Postcards” and “Claude's Dog”. Their adult oriented rock (AOR) made them sound older and more matured than they actually were, and the whole seriousness of the sound scheme set themselves strata above many amateurs from the Singapore bandwagons, having got invited to play in many venues with many headlining moments. Formed in 1989, AWOL also known as “Artistes Without License”, consisted of Lenny Garcia (lead vocals, guitars), Christopher Toh (lead guitar, vocals), Kevin Netto (bass), Fin (drums) and Colin Teo (keyboards). On “Midnight In June”, Dominic Wan was roped in to perform guitars on “Someday”. Musically the debut album rich in soul, is deeply steeped in earthly hue, a little mundane but nevertheless warm and catchy. They sound like they were influenced by U2, Crowded House and REM, but they were also closet Megadeth and Testament fans according to their bio. There are many strong numbers on the CD, with some of my favourites being the energetic “Tear Down These Walls”, the moody yet uplifting “Midnight In June”, two songs with very motivational U2 gist flowing through, “Still Building”, a song inspired by the Hotel New World disaster (for those who never lived through the days, Singapore actually suffered a serious deadly building collapse back in 1986), the infectiously solemn reggae number “Russell The Cat”, the two improved tracks originally from New School Rock II and the beautiful shimmering acoustic number “Someday”, which sounds like Kansas on “Dust In The Wind”.

The band took themselves seriously and it showed on their masterwork, but unfortunately the nuances, conditions and mills of the Singapore society did not permit continued existence of this band and that's the last I've heard from them. So in all technicality, they were literally AWOL this time.

Impiety- Asateerul Awaleen CD

2008-04-26T02:51:00.000-07:00

IMPIETY- Asateerul Awaleen Digipack CD
(Shivadarshana Records 1996)

It's about time I write some metal reviews. I've been writing many reviews on local indie rock and recently suffered an overdose from it with dreams of guitar parading boyscouts haunting me. How often do you not conjure up images of Singapore indie boys as folks who tread a fine line from the sterile Xinyao dudes? Is Joe Ng in black the scariest thing you've seen? Singapore music of course is not just about a bunch of clean cut nerdy people playing in a band and singing "yeah yeah yeah". And if you look hard enough, we actually have many really, mean gritty bands that can never be found on your regular BigOs. This bigoted publication is not your underground bible. I would love to respect BigO, but when they compared Black Sabbath to black metal, I've totally lost respect of the editorials. When one carefully peel deep in between the crevices of the fat Singapore underbelly, one will discover a very exciting scene known as underground metal. And the sheer amount of demos churned out by these bands far outweighed those cute looking alternative demos with artsy pretension. Most importantly, with strong interest from the international metal community on South East Asian metal scene (because the tropical heat makes some good fiery metal), Singapore metal bands by any measure is actually very much more popular overseas than the most commercial Singapore pop/rock/indie. And this band I am reviewing, Impiety is actually way bigger and more popular overseas than Dick Lee and The Quests for that matter. Their music is heard by inhabitants from the North pole to the South. Singapore metal was an actual LOCAL EXPORT that is truly in demand. People overseas will not give a rat's ass to see a rare Humpback Oak CD on eBay at USD$4.99 “BUY IT NOW”, but many would gladly bid the rare Impiety- Skullfucking Armageddon picture disc all the way up to US$216.66 without hesitation. It takes a metal fanatic of more than 20 years to really appreciate this pot of black gold and yes, my background is metal. Not your average dude who look angry in a metal t-shirt but very much more than that. You're only beginning to know me.

How can I not include Impiety in Rock In The Fine City? While your average Singapore nerds are clueless about a genre known as black metal, Impiety, which is a black metal band, is ironically the most famous Singaporean band outside of Singapore. Seriously how long have you been in ignorance and hiding? In this closed society, the average plebeian is blanketed from reality. Even Beijing uncles know about their extreme death grind underground, but the average Singapore nerds are living in Mediacorps entrapment. Ignorance is however pure bliss especially for the more prudish, because the actual ideology of black metal draws from all that is dark, occultic, violent and quintessentially anti-religion. Not your average shocking cock rock heavy metal superstars. If you are even offended by Depeche Mode's "Blasphemous Rumours", then black metal will probably make you get a cardiac arrest. I know this topic can be controversial, so for the sake of objectivity I will not take sides here but solely focus on its musical merits.

Actually black metal has been around for a pretty long time already. Those so called "metal historian" conveniently see black metal as the tail end of an evolution or mutation in heavy metal music that stems from thrash to death and then black metal. However, even before Venom (so called black metal godfather) came into existence there is already many signs of black metal tendency in many early bands. In Singapore, there are many black/death metal bands by the turn of the late '80s and early '90s. Bands like Abhorer, Beheaded Nasrani, Thartarus, Euronymous, Libation and the band in review here Impiety, are some of the unholy names that released demos that pledged allegiance to the dark. Incidentally, Impiety is the moniker with the greatest longevity and influence, and currently they had earned a status as the godfathers of Singapore black metal. Black metal however is recently getting very trendy in Singapore, being the darker choice of fashion for idiotic emo kids with gothic inclination, and even Chris Ho has professed his new found love with this music and how he thought of it as the “true alternative” but still most Singapore nerds could not tell if this is different from that heavy metal noise they detested. Well by convention, black metal usually meant sped up metal with lightning fast drummings and frenzied evil chords with blasphemous lyrics sung with Donald Duck-like guttural vocals by musicians who wore scary makeups and spikes and leather and Impiety is pretty much that. Very violent and noisy for the uninitiated. You might want to do more research on black metal as currently it is the most varied and versatile genre in music with way more creativity and originality churning forth in logarithms than those so-called postrock bands. I know Shyaithan, the band leader of Impiety personally, he being a close friend for many many years, and he is of course much more normal than your typical rock stars so try to envision them as the perverted evil cousins of Kiss to see the whole point and change your biased perception.

“Asateerul Awaleen” is Impiety's debut album on CD and they had already made a good name for themselves in the extreme metal scene with their cult demo tape “Ceremonial Necrochrist Redesecration” from 1992 and 7” EP “Salve The Goat: Iblis Exelsi” 1994 all of which sits comfortably in my extensive metal collections. Nowadays being considered a legendary and influential local metal band, Impiety has an impressive discography that spans more than twenty years in existence. Originally conceived back in 1988 as Sexfago by Goatlord Cunt-shredder (early pseudonym of Shyaithan) and Roslan (later formed Tetragrammaton) and Gaddafi (from Mayhem Force) because of the band leader's love for two Brazillian blackened death thrash bands at that time Sextrash and Sarcofago, they played an early primitive version of blackened death grind much alike Beherit and that two aforementioned Brazillian bands. Then sometime in 1992, Shyaithan hooked up members from Leviathan (another cult legend in Singapore), Infidel and Libation (pre-Itnos) to release the debut demo and this time they were more brutal and aggressive playing low registered grinding black/death metal like the Canadian Blasphemy. The EP was released two years later on an actual record label Shivadarshana and it was a covetted cult item of extreme desecrating black metal gem (and also lived up to its controversy because of a statement made by Shyaithan against the Norwegian black metal scene at that time). “Asateerul Awaleen” came forth with a set of new lineup which included As Sahar (a nationalistic Malay black metal band) members and is equipped with a new music direction that led Impiety further away from the basal primitive aggression from older school. Technically I would say that this album is right in the veins of a typical second wave black metal sound, somewhat close to the Dutch Funeral Winds and many Norwegian bands at that time.

The CD opens with a very creepy epic intro titled “Dzuul Ar'Shil Jaheem”, which is actually sampled from the Conan soundtrack. After the brief foreboding moment of impending doom settles in, the album kicks off with a raging fast classic Impiety number “Anal Madonna”, with its evil chords evoking Bathory, and Shyaithan's wicked Donald Duck-like vociferations and snarls. Don't read too much into the title though. I personally would say the highlight on this album is “Magick-Consecration Goatsodomy” which is my favourite track of all time from Impiety, and it had appeared in a slightly different more deathly version on their EP. This one has alot of wicked grooves ala Celtic Frost, which offers many variations deviated from a more straightforward sometimes monotonous blasts of the black traditions. The album closes with “Blasphemyth... The Seventh Goatspawn” which is a very short fast grinding track as the band eagerly concludes the somewhat short album.

Well, of course I still love my local indie rock and all that but I hope that the average Rock In The Fine City reader will expand their horizons from within their small closed arty farty circles and to actually see the REAL world out there, where reality is only a fine line away from brutality. While this may not be the best release from Impiety, it is indeed a good starter for blur little Kafka-expounding indie sotongs to see beyond their three chords and converse shoes. Anyway, this first version I'm reviewing is long sold out from the defunct label, but the title was recently reissued by Agonia with updated cover and sound. So look under your bed and deep inside your toilet bowls, and head down to the nearest underground to check out the biggest Singapore band you never knew!

S.U.D.S.

2008-04-25T23:31:00.000-07:00

S.U.D.S.

S.U.D.S. thrashing funcore

S.U.D.S.- The Demo 1990

The last time I saw Daren Lauchengco (nice, funny name by the way) he was peddling his killer artwork at Vivocity and I have to admit that I was totally amazed by the sheer talent he has. For your information, he illustrates very dark, morbid, surrealistic and psychedelic stuffs which is outsider underground art of the highest order. I later found out that he had a website and you might want to check out at: http://dlauchengco.spaces.live.com/ . I knew that he had contributed to comic coverarts for the MIS (Made In Singapore) cassettes compilations but you have to see his recent dark stuffs that simply defines cult. Anyway, he used to head a cult band that went by the name S.U.D.S. and they had released several highly acclaimed demos which was listed as the most outstanding demos by the local underground presses. S.U.D.S. was formed in April 1990 as Die Laughing and it boasted the lineup Daren Lauchengco (vocals), Nizam (lead guitar), Azlan (drums), Amin (bass) and Imran (rhythm guitar). They were influenced by the bottom heavy rock/metal bands like Black Sabbath, Soundgarden and even Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and they labelled their music as “Funcore”, which sees a heady mixture of punk, blues, metal, hardcore and funk in their first demo “The Demo” released in 1990 while they regressed (or should I say sought the early roots ) to classic rock sound ala Led Zeppelin with their “Invasion of The Killer Suds” demo 1993. It is indeed sad that the band is another closed chapter in Singapore music underground history because this band will hit this sad state of local rock right at the funnybones.

The Padres- What's Your Story

2008-04-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

THE PADRES- What's Your Story MCD
(Odyssey Music Pte Ltd 1994)

This EP by the Padres was once feted as the biggest thing to look out for in Singapore music. With a cast of big names like band leader Joe Ng, Ben Harrison, Patrick Chng, Evan Tan (and a host of ex-members who were just about the whole Singapore scene), “What's Your Story” would have seemed like the second coming, the great expectation...revelation to the radioheads in the island city. And mind you, it's Joe Ng, the Godfather of Singapore music whose lost, confused and sad puppy eyes belie the realistic business savvy opportunist. We can't blame Joe for his pretension nor can we fault his passion for local music, he had to play the underdog mythical anti-hero to fit the bill because it is always a romantic notion to root for the struggling bohemian and to that effect he did drew an audience to witness the motley of Singapore misfits who can rock. Joe was pioneering frontman of electro-gloom duo Corporate Toil in the mid-'80s before pioneering the alternative all-stars outfit of the Padres. To quote a response from Koh Nguang How, artist-photographer regarding this release, “I'm a big fan of Corporate Toil. To me, the Padres lack identity”, he actually said it quite right. However, while this is no David Bowie, the Padres made this a really fun record with alot of energy and sheer wit.

I love Corporate Toil. Industrial experimentations bordering avantgarde. They may sound like the most amateurish demo level band from the underground but they had so many interesting ideas that really sounded way ahead of their time. Now, Padres is your beloved indie alternative rock, a genre that molests the same three chords from the time of the Beatles and to quote from Bjork, it's boyscout guitar strumming rock. They made their first appearance on BigO singles club (in a different lineup) with an EP featuring two songs, namely “Radio Station” and “Angel”, which is a legendary release that stamped the alternative mark on Singapore music. “What's Your Story” is a vast improvement from the aforementioned, with exceptionally poignant performances from the gifted and musically proficient musicians.

The youthful energetic vibe here is satisfying. This EP is jangly, poppish and somewhat drunken, with the distinctive whiny voices of Joe, which is off key, tone deaf yet hugely appealing in an idiot savant way. It is like putting on the Pogues and ridiculing Shane MacGowan yet liking him at the same time. Music-wise this is your favourite alternative rock but at times it really bears the mark of Dinosaur Jr meets Jane's Addiction with its crazy twirling technicolour guitar swirls courtesy of Ben Harrison of Electric Penguins fame and the caffeine driven drum poundings of Mr Pat Chng of the Oddfellows! The MCD starts off with “Joni”, a nice mellow ballad which could have easily graced the Oddies albums. Up next is “So Sorry” which really kicks off the first sign of upbeat delirium. Here, Joe offers a sartirical scenario of guilt, regret and the excuses of life in modernity which evinces the impotency of the word “sorry”. “Teenage Story” is one fun song which is best summed up with the chorus, “When you're lonely, and you're horny, then you're sorry, what's your story”. My most favourite track off this MCD is no doubt the high energy charging frenzy of “Mary Said” which boasts the most insane slide guitar solos that squeals and screams so much life and mischief. The two aforementioned tracks were featured on John Peel's session on BBC by the way. Finally the MCD closes with an acoustic ballad “Whenever Her Heart Sang”, where I was shocked to hear Joe's voice trembles, almost on the verge of crying. Haha, emotional stuff.

Like Joe's prophetic words “We're so young....” (from Radio Station), this EP came from a youthful time of fun and laughter, peace and joy. Now those bunch of Padres guys are in or near their 40s and time still goes on, and we can only hope that the young at heart will take heed and never let the fun ends.

Sepia Memories 3

2008-04-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

SEPIA MEMORIES (Page 3)

Anesthesia /Opposition Party (New School Rock Lineup)

Demisor /ESP

The Pagans

Nunsex/The Wildflowers

Global Chaos/The Mother

Concave Scream- Erratic CD

2008-01-05T07:08:00.000-08:00

CONCAVE SCREAM- Erratic CD
(Springroll Creative Entertainment Agency Pte Ltd 1997)

I'm sure I will get railed for suggesting this album as emo but that is aphorism. Intense ardor of emotion is exuded from here like a broken man cut adrift and drowned in drama, in my word, the true emo before the current swank. I am a very big fan of this amazing album because they have managed to create very personal music that stimulates every point of palpitations on your temperamental humoric territories with nothing but pure emotions. “Erratic” according to the band is odd, irregular, uneven, eccentric; following an irregular course according to Concave Scream's dictionary. However, the band did not fall victim to the old sophomorism syndrome after the hugely successful debut and instead they reinvented the old wheel for a ride of their lifetime. Much has been praised about this album, simply because like all great works of art, it inspires many reactions. My reaction is that this album proved that Concave Scream had transcended Singaporean music to higher plateaus, marking the passing of a “rock like our heroes” era into the “make our own music shine” era. Make no mistake, “Erratic” can only be performed by Concave Scream and it's not easy to drop comparisons anymore, where I am tempted to throw U2 and New Model Army out of the window. Because this is simply Concave Scream where it stands.

“Erratic”, how appropriately named. To err is human, and this album is too human. No quaint adventure into surrealism or high-minded spiritual poetry, this work speaks to you soul baring in your face matter-of-factly from the implicit lyrics to the heartfelt and raw edgy passionate dark atmospheric and gritty melancholic music that really drips with so much emotions that make one fall to his knees. Seriously this album is best enjoyed on your knees because you will quiver the moment the opener “Caged” wrench your heart into strips with its extremely dolorous guitar riff played by the legendary Pann. One thing that also comes immediately to mind is how incredible the production actually sounds. The punching metallic guitar sound and the powerful drum wave runs with extreme clarity and heaviness, accentuated by the dark rumbling bass. After immersing in the powerful texture and the agony of the wailing lead guitar the tortured vocals of Sean broke into the soundpicture.. “tonight ends too late”, setting open the pandora box of misery that follows throughout the course of the album. The sheer engagement of the music is like a key that fits one's afflicted heart making for a really spine-chilling shudder.

The metallic background of Concave Scream (especially Pann since he originally came from a death metal outfit Silent Sorrow) shines on the second track “In Your Face” which is nothing less than in your face in every literal sense of the word. There is enough moment on this track with its punishing riff execution chugging heaviness. Confrontational and anguished. Next comes the moment, the legendary cult number “Driven” which is a very sad ballad played to mid-tempo. I cannot remember how many times I've played this song to death because every moment of it is pure genius. I'm sure when Concave Scream penned this they would have realized that this is a definite hit material. I really felt tempted to drop a Police and U2 reference here but I shall keep my mouth shut (or my fingers away) for a while. The haunting rhythm is laidback and gloomy at the same time, like picturing yourself driving all alone on the highway. This song may be written as something simple like suffering a breakup but the nuances and accents really makes a good suffer. One of the best track ever that got Concave Scream very famous.

“Shattered” is a creepy gloomy number played with sedated repetition of dissonant notes played on acoustic guitar that gets sadder nearing its climax, joined by funereal violin line that accentuates the darkness and the wistful harmonization of vocals. Concave Scream can really play some of the darkest, saddest music and if you want more of the sad acoustic guitar driven suicidal folk ballads you can also find them on “Fade”, “Grey” and “Hush”. “State” is a more upbeat atmospheric rock song with a more dreamy edge, with airy modulated phaser guitar rhythm and a hypnotic drum pattern. Other songs which follows similar patterns are “Shallow Water” and “Gone”. “Down” like “In Your Face” is another more metallic song on “Erratic” but while the former is angry, this track paints a picture of fiery dread, with its cascading doom metal notes. Some of the other raging metal tracks are “Manipulator” and “Prey” which has a very interesting horror soundtrack influenced intro.

Really, every Concave Scream tracks are masterfully crafted, memorable and proficiently executed. But the band gets its biggest prize for having found their own sound. Every Concave Scream songs I noted have those really brilliant lead guitars that play creative melodies (and amazing fret tappings) that transcends above the mundane nature of many standard rock bands, exploring unconventional scales that seamlessly meld into the emotive rhythm guitars. And those painful tortured vocals, effortlessly hitting the right notes at the right change of temperament in the flow of the album. I can't say enough how much I love this album. “Erratic”, like many Concave Scream titles are unfortunately out of print and very rare, and to date I don't see any effort by record companies reissuing these monumental albums for the sake of common decency. Thankfully, the band managed to outlive the common destiny of many dead Singaporean bands with their deserving longevity in the local music scene (if there is a scene at all).

Watchmen- Democracy CD

2008-01-03T05:37:00.000-08:00

WATCHMEN- Democracy CD
(Odyssey Music Pte Ltd 1993)

1993 was the year we saw the Singapore presidential election being contested. But alas what “Democracy” is here to stay but the power of pop from The Watchmen, whose name was inspired by Alan Moore's comics? Earlier that year they made their first CD appearance on BigO's “New School Rock III” compilation and had their brisk bask in spotlight when “Orchard Road”, one of the featured tracks was aired on radio and made into a music video, notwithstanding the fact that the mastermind Kevin Matthews penned his first music since 1979 and had released a couple of demo tapes, one of the most notable mention being the cult “This Savage Garden” demo which had garnered very positive acclaims. But what really paid off the twenty years of tormenting artistic accidie was a Perfect 10 Number One hit “My One And Only”, from this very debut album that I am reviewing. This song was the perfect pleasing paen of love in a simpler time 15 years ago when I was a impressionable teenager easily falling in love. While “Circling Square” had me falling out of love but enough of that. I can't name off my head any local songs even barely grazing the Perfect 10 top ten spots besides “My One And Only” and if it was that successful we owed it to the power of pop! Pop by definition means popular music and if Watchmen could make real pop then who really cares about the underground?

While most Singaporeans choose to make a premature drift into retirement upon hitting the 30s, the more seniorly Watchmen were only just reaching their musical primes. “Democracy” definitely sits well with the older music fans as they paid homage to the bluesy country/folk rock sound for a more jaded generation. However, this unit perfectly captured the timeless quality of those bands with a modern, even relevant gamemanship that stokes the good spirit of our heartlanders. Just listen to the upbeat Motown merriment and get versed with the quirky protest on the opener “The Highcost of Living”. Doesn't “the more you pay, the more you have to pay!” strike you all too familiar? This is up my alley! Watchmen are virtuosos of gentle and catchy incredible harmonies, and often time the music reminds me of a hearty cross between The Beach Boys and Elvis Costello even right down to the pitch perfect vocals from Kevin Matthews (who also just about handled most instruments on this album).

“My One And Only” is simply one of the best Singapore composition ever. But this album is not just based on the merit of this track. Indeed it is chock full of memorable songs. Most of the songs are rather light pleasant numbers that goes easy on the ears, like “Angela Part Two” (dedicated to Kevin's wife) with its bright enticing tropical-like winds, “Details”, a laidback gentle acoustic number akin to Gram Parson's country/folk visions, although “Mister Ong”, one of my most favourite track off this album carries a dark undercurrent which belies its upbeat rhythms and jovial harmonica punctuations. “Bus Funk” sees another side of Watchmen with what else but pure funk of the James Brown school while dishing out on an interesting ride on bus service 14 to selling away parents to buy a car, haha typically Singaporean. However, not all is bright and sunny on “Democracy”. “This Savage Garden” is a rather plaintive introspective number that meditates on existence and its equivocal escape. It starts out with a soundscape of ambient intro before giving way to 10cc-like piano keys painting the whole sound picture with a very foreboding imminent doom.

Just like the Force Vomit review I written two days ago, this album review is long overdue. “Democracy” is one of the best written Singaporean album that will sadly go into oblivion given the lack of attention from many of Singaporeans who don't care about local music, which is ironic in a sense that they had a Number One hit on radio, voted by who else but Singaporeans themselves. Anyway, c'est la vie life is indeed an irony. Like Singapore as a democracy. So don't take the album cover painted by Eric Khoo too literally...you're one squashed powerless mozzie in the face of tyranny-saurus rex.

Convent Garden

2008-01-01T02:33:00.000-08:00

CONVENT GARDEN

Convent Garden (Jay behind the mischief)

Convent Garden- Convent Garden Demo 1992

Ever since the advent of industrial music, the local underground community had seen a surge of musicians from the marginal techno frontier creating post-industralized/apocalyptic visions upon our Metropolis. Zircon Lounge conceived the cold wave, Corporate Toil toiled the tradition and in the early 90s several cyberpunks came into the picture, bands like Avant Garde, Rocket Scientist, Kim, The Raw Fish. But there was one band that refused to label itself as cyberpunk and acknowledged its key influence to lie in iconoclasts like Einsturzende Neubaten. It's the strange strange world of Convent Garden, a one man army from a dark visionary by the name of Jay. He had previous outings in Trip, but the sound on Convent Garden proved to be his most proficient vision of a futuristic electronic age. On his debut demo released as a self-titled in 1992, ambient electronical music are spawned from a fusion of abrasive cold guitars and hypnotic drum machines. And to add to that, vocals from the depths of biomechanical hell (think Giger). The demo begins with "Deception City" with a Journey vocals sampled backwards and it is a black humoured satirical poke at politicians. The track that made this demo famous was "Dreamscape", an ambient piece with nightmarish effects. In the current musical climate of boyscout guitar jangling kids, the future of music seems to point at the past.

Neural Vibe- Mantra CD

2008-01-01T01:22:00.000-08:00

NEURAL VIBE- Mantra CD
(Snakeweed Records 1998)

“Mantra” is one exceptional local album that explores the rainbow coloured spectrum of spirituality in music, a rousing blend of psychedelic swagger and metal fusion. Psychedelia of this age is a placebo but Neural Vibe hit it right on the spot with its potent medicine. Neural Vibe's debut album so excellently provides an esoteric, cognitive landscape of surrealistic passage for deep meditations, yet drives a point with a tremendous energy experienced in the metallic riffings and all the rage. This exceptional album is another excellent product from Leonard Soosay's Snakeweed Records catalogue which has once again defied convention and found individuality. Check out the label my dear readers for some good headswim for this new age.

Anyway, Neural Vibe is essentially an ethnic fusion tribal metal band with strangely superlative presentation and a perfect package both music and sound-wise. The music has an inclination towards magical Indian-styled raga which can be felt in the carnal scales played. However, the guitar replaced the sitar and the drums is played like the tabla. They manage to make the ethnic/rock fusion interesting, without sounding like a Culture Vulture struggling with too many kitschs. Vocals-wise the singer sounds like Chris Cornell on a lower register meets a higher register Eddie Vedder when he's subdued and Layne Staley when angry. Music-wise there is two very big distinctions. One part of it is like Indus Creed, with more Shankar in it than the formulaic rock in which the former is known for. Such influences are found in more LSD-induced tracks like “Free My Soul”, “Beyond” and the environmentally-conscious nature trip of “(My) People Are Trees”. The other part is more metallic, which can range from the sometimes Indian vibe on Soundgarden, to the full out brutality of Soulfly and they are found on “Vicious Cycle”, “Applewhite” (dedicated to the 39 star trekkies of the Heaven's Gate), “Kamadewa”, “Apart”, “cpw201”...

It scarcely lets up from there. I'd always maintain that there are some bands in Singapore who manage to steer in line with their own orientation and settle on unique niches. Neural Vibe is one of them but it's been a good ten years ago since this album was released. Sometimes I feel that yesterday was more exciting than tomorrow and it appears to be the case here. Let's see if I can get my dirty hands on some funny mushrooms with Neural Vibe on full blast to go back several notches in time and I'll tell you the result when I'm back. Keep your fingers crossed.

Starfish n Coffee- Ghost MCD

2007-12-31T23:32:00.000-08:00

STARFISH & COFFEE- Ghost MCD
(Ex Nihilo/Knightsbridge Communication 1996)

Horror of horrors! True Singapore Ghost Stories, Damien Sin, Black Powers, and then Starfish n Coffee...aargh... what have you, many bad attempts at horror from a past decade of bad taste in Singapore. I guess the curiosity in all things dark and scary have always been an inherent interest in most human beings not exclusive to bored Singaporeans, and it was predictably realized in the heydays of the 90s when horror literature was churned in sheer bulk at its peak to feed hungry ghost readers who sometimes cannot discern a real spook. Maybe Singaporeans are just easily scared. I remember that almost every book fairs back then were haunted by scary looking eyes staring out from black volumes. But trust me the contents are anything but. Someone said that Asians are not creative. If it is Singapore horror I so very much concur. So far we're really kidding ourselves with these boom of lame works that adds to the mountain of mediocrity. I don't mind genuine spook, or even amateurish b-graders, they are funny, but contrived attempt to appear serious is cringeworthy especially with the aforementioned. And what if it's not even scary at all? It's a real nightmare for unsuspecting consumers. The foreign talents can do better by teaching us real horrifying lessons, something which I very much hate to say but have to admit anyway. Anyway, many opportunists did cash in on the boom and this CD was one of them.

This CD was conceived sometime in 1996 by Knightsbridge Communications to commemorate their horror story books titled “Souls- True Ghost Stories” (in the tradition of all the “true ghost stories” in Singapore and not much different). The band on this CD was known as Starfish n Coffee or Ghost, in whichever way you look at it, still a bunch of unknowns. I even thought the band was haphazardly put together for the “Souls” books from the mess I gathered of this CD. Now, this CD from the look of it is supposed to make you think you're in for some scary treat. Read on and you'll be scared and perplexed.

So what's wrong with this CD? First of all, the CD is listed with nine tracks. And I expect nine songs that will scar my soul. However, only the first two tracks, namely “Ghost” and “Bloody Valentine” are actual songs. The rest of the seven tracks are spoken words and conversations which lasts an average of one minute each; the story is about one guy trying to poison his girlfriend and she returned as a ghost... and I dont even laughed at this one, I grimaced. Is this supposed to appeal to morbid teenagers who cannot get enough of reading "Souls"? Mediacorps could even do better. Secondly, the meat of the CD: the music is halfway decent, not scary music as the cover and theme would have suggested, but just plain lame mushy cock rock ballads that you won't remember after playing. Seriously I will feel ashamed to play something like that because 1996 is not a year remembered for Steppenwolf. To its credit, Ah Boy from TNT was featured here on lead guitars. I seriously cannot find any better things to say about this CD and I don't even understand what is the whole point of this CD. What were they even thinking? Haha, this is as weird as playing the ET game on Atari or that LP with giraffe on the cover titled Taiwanese aboriginal disco (and yes the vinyl actually existed!). Scary eh? Whoever would have bought this CD is an idiot and yes the joke is on me.

This CD is an anomaly of Singapore music and the review is made for historical archiving and to serve as a warning for potential idiots. I can see the detractors of local music sharpening their knives.

Force Vomit- The Furniture Goes Up CD

2007-12-31T22:18:00.000-08:00

FORCE VOMIT- The Furniture Goes Up CD
(Leaf Records 1998)

Happy new year to you and welcome to the fourth year into Rock In The Fine City! Wow, time has indeed passed so quickly before I was even certain I am older and my pastimes are more limited. On new year's day today I could have been at the beaches but here I am rather slouched on my cursed chair of idle and listening to some really fine music that made me think of the beaches. The surfing sound of Force Vomit, might I say the ONLY surviving band in Singapore nowadays with such tunes that smell of sea brine. Those irresistibly wicked twang thangs are long overdue sounds that should be heard on the beautiful island of Singapore. That reverb-drenched magical sound of surf resonates most naturally here because sea waves, coconuts and tropical tans are our birthrights, although we do not really have a bastion of real surf riders here. However, we used to have bands in Singapore swimming in the muddy waters of psychedelia folk and freakbeating to surfs and releasing vinyls that became serious collectors' items. But the growing resign to mundane chords of conventional rock music erased the trippy fun and made up the standard riffs of many a standard alternative rockers in Singapore. Until a disgustingly named ripsnorting entity of a legend by the name of Force Vomit put the fun back into the Singapore rock sound and became a force to be reckoned with vomit, not in a disgusting way.

Force Vomit was formed in late 1993 and this motley crue of treble spankers had released a couple of critically acclaimed albums and demos. Here I am reviewing their groundbreaking debut album “The Furniture Goes Up” released in 1998, featuring the classic lineup of Dino (guitars, vocals), Alvin (bass, vocals) and Neng (drums, vocals). Having already garnered fame (and notoriety) with their classic anthem “Spacemen Over Malaysia”, this CD was met with some of the wildest responses from both sides of the Causeway, and the band could equally revel and suffer the consequences for sounding so far ahead from the norm because speaking on behalf of the Singapore side of the Causeway we had some really narrowminded fools and wise guys with mind of an endless ocean. Nevertheless they surfed right above the radar with their brand of asian surf-punk that defies the gentle ripples of The Ventures or even The Pixies for that matter. They had much more quirks in their formulas to conjure up a really wicked concoction of abrasive punk rock and asian surf sensibility. Not to forget their intelligent social commentaries which packs a hidden punch/agenda.

The whole CD almost crackles and pops vinyl nostalgia, so damned cool and retro with astonishingly catchy melody that lies so abundantly easy on the ears, played to rich reverbed guitars on spring reverberation units, fat basslines, a cynical vocals and freak surfs drums. “Riot For Madame Chia” sets in with modal tonalities like a drug-induced dream out of Dick Dale. Many tracks here are pure surf bliss of The Ventures and The Chanteys order like “Surf Ratz”, “Hey Turbo” (with psych Malay-folk ethnic sound), “Tadika Cupid”. Many of their rocking moments are also set in appetizing punk numbers like “The Return of Mona Koh”, “L.O.V.I.N.G.”, “Welcome To Panic Stations”, “Mona Koh” firmly entrenched in the Ska, surf punk aspects of The Dead Kennedys and the more abrasive wildness of The Pixies. “Revolution NTPS” is a more eclectic mixture with a boogie set to the melodies of Seals & Crofts' “Summer Breeze”, heavy metal ala Iron Maiden and a very caustic The Pixies. “Spacemen Over Malaysia” is of course the greatest highlight in this CD with its ultra-cool asian surf melody that makes for a great crowd pleaser sing-along and its subtle social commentaries, but it is not listed in the album, only to be found hidden behind the last listed track “Mr Trampoline Man”.

Seriously I hardly have any time in the world. Those precious idle moments are divided between visiting the beaches and writing review on Rock In The Fine City. Or I could also go down to Sungei Road for some useful trinkets. But at this point I felt rather satisfied, because I've been sitting on writing a Force Vomit review since the start of Rock In The Fine City and procrastinated for four donkey years. Boo, shame on me for the last four years because Force Vomit is one of the greatest band from Singapore. Ok, I seriously mean it this time.

The Boredphucks- Revolution 69 CD

2007-08-04T06:12:00.000-07:00

THE BOREDPHUCKS- Revolution 69 MCD
(Phucktunes 1998)

The old Boredphucks rocks like a Chinese motorcycle. Very fun and yet very dangerous at the same time. And of course with alot of grime. This band thought most other Singapore bands suck except for Humpback Oak, Force Vomit and Stoned Revivals, and they knew how to curse in four different languages. So what else can I say, this is simply my kind of band. History lessons reiterated, this was the band that later became The Suns. Although I do not really adore most new school punk to begin with, this band simply outdone itself by making the FUNNIEST album in the entire history of Singapore music, topped only by their debut album “Banned In Da Singapura”. I mean how often do we hear “funny” music in stiff faced Singapore? Unless you are the special child that feels tickled by the “singlishness” of Kopi Kat Klan, you surely would be in for a surprise. Mind you this is not some high brow funny stuffs, indeed this is so low it's even close to being retarded. But it stokes my sick sense of humour so here we go. Like mentioned earlier on, the band did curse alot, but this is no sheer controversial gimmick to their integrity. They seriously rock funny, because they were probably sick retards to begin with. Whenever they mentioned “fuck” or “cheebye” they did it with that special kid moronic nasal whine that seemed so mentally ill.

“Revolution 69”, how aptly named. In stiff-faced Singapore, this kind of band is very much frowned upon, if there is even any of such band at all (ok there used to be a funny Sesame Streets-obsessed grindcore band by the name of Bird Brains). It's understandable some cursings are mandatory in rock n'roll lingo but The Boredphucks are vulgarities personified. They didn't get away with it. The authority gotten fed up with their sewer mouths got them rounded up to the police stations after one controversial concert and the band earned notoriety from bad press (one newspaper, one nation, one Singapore). But somehow this notoriety seemed to give the band an even larger cult following than before.

Anyway, when the band let down their guards, they sounded like the docile sheep in wolves clothings of Bad Religion, Green Day and NOFX, meaning the pussycat known as the new wave of melodic pop punk. But the band thrives on attitude, and it manifests itself in the suddenly insane twist in the midst of a normal punk 1,2,3 go rock n'roll. So this is the sheep with wolf heart. A spirited youthful jangle of punk when played to the local context rips a riot, as the chorus rings with “speaks Singlish like Zoe Tay” in “Zoe Tay”. Omg they were making fun of our Queen of Caldecott Hill. Haha. Unlike “Banned In Da Singapura”, the “ugly” side of Boredphucks are usually not apparent when you're least expecting, with standard fare punk rock songs like “Sex Saviour”, “Ballad of Tabitha” (when the least discerning got through the lyrics), but the band unleashed their ware at the most unexpected of timing. “Grunge Car”, another omg experience with the rather disturbing falsetto, the gritty and amusing conversations littered in between the song, and the funny way “grunge car” morphs into “ganja”. What a trip, haha.“Shutup!” is a misogynistic anthem for all the silly male adolescents across the island with a generous serving of Malay and Hokkien curses. Girls may swoon to The Boredphucks with “Time I Fell In Love”, a romantic acoustic guitar driven ballad baiting the unexpected into unknown territories. “Baby you and me rule...”, when the whole intention was to get laid. Seriously do we really believe that they are keen to show their soft side? Au contraire, the band has alot of mischiefs up their sleeves. And this is not even the end.

The highlight (I mean THE HIGHLIGHT!) of this album lies somewhere hidden far away from the squinting censor's eyes, in the revolutionary world of number 69. On track 69 lurks the real sullied self of The Boredphucks in its full glory. This is what made Boredphucks one of the most uniquely rotten band in Singapore. This is “Ai Sio Kan Mai? ”, which when translated literally to English actually mean “Do You Want To Fuck?” This rotten punk classic opens up with a theme that might strike a chord with some of you. They were playing the “Shanghai-The Bund” theme in the most wisecracking way imaginable. A word of warning to the self-righteous moralist... this is perhaps the most vulgar song ever written in Singapore. From head to tail the song is laden with Hokkien vulgarities, where “na buay chow chee bye” ends with every verses. And “chee bye” was at some point tapered into a long romantic croon which simply feels so wrong and so weird at the same time! The best part about the song is how it was written as a very campy parody of some nightclub Hokkien blues played to very sleazy effect.

The Boredphucks, albeit the rotten notoriety here, gave Singaporean music fans alot of beautiful memories with their tongue-in-cheek ingenious humour and crazy antics. And who could imagine three sex-obsessed adolescent punks making such a heavy indentation on the musical landscape of Singapore and beyond? Some time after The Boredphucks passed on, the trio became The Suns and hit it big in a much more liberal and accepting climate of Australia. Some time after Wayne Thunder (the drummer) passed away, and all the good old fun seems like history. It will be a long wait for another Revolution 69 coming our way.

Humpback Oak Tribute

2007-07-23T03:12:00.000-07:00

A TRIBUTE TO HUMPBACK OAK

Back in 1994 I was a rather melancholic rebel in my teenagehood and sought refuge in the arts, particularly in music. I had a bunch of cliques jamming at the then Viva Studios near my school, and somewhere in the midst they were like talking about Humpback Oak and how great the band is. I heard the name long before, but never gave much attention to it because I always felt The Oddfellows was THE band. The very next day in class my friend lent me a copy of Humpback Oak “Pain-stained Morning” cassette tape (back then CD was a luxury) and when I heard the tape, I suddenly realize that local music can seriously rock better than the imported sounds on the radio. I kind of used Humpback Oak as a reference point and got interested in playing music (well, indie music to be exact, as I was very into death metal earlier on), and sought a bunch of my Boys' Town buddies to play in bands, influenced by the sounds of Humpback Oak. Because that was for the first time in my life, have I ever I chanced upon a local band that had such strong material, that even out rivalled most of the foreign acts. The bands music is like a rare occurence across the southern sky, an anomaly by chance and which will fizzle away like fireworks in the dull sky. This band strengthened the renaissance of Singaporean music of the 90s into its primes. From then on, I am always the fervent fanatic of Humpback Oak, haunting their gigs, bugging the band and now after three reviews of their Cds, writing up a tribute to THE GREATEST BAND IN SINGAPORE.

Early formative years of Humpback Oak circa 1991

Humpback Oak was formed in late December around 1988, with Leslie on drums, Vincent on guitars, Daniel on bass and Charles on vocals. This was like history unknown as it is understandably unimaginable these days to imagine the frontman Leslie Low relegated to the pounding kits, but he had actually been playing drums for quite a while already, back then in Twang Bar Kings. At around the same time, this cult hero had been secretly writing and performing his own material under the Jug moniker. Initially they played only covers, mostly Stills and Nash vein of country-style folk as well as the mandatory Bob Dylan. Charles however left a year later after joining to explore new musical dimensions, and hence Stanley was roped in to play drums while Leslie switched to handling guitars and vocals. With the classic lineup, they started doing original material around June 1991, with their very first demo “Mojo Sessions”. At that time, the Bob Dylan influence was strong in the band and the songs they sang were mostly about miners and hobos, until former bandmate Don Bosco Anthony (DBA) from Twang Bar Kings pointed out in his reviews in BigO. This prompted the band for an approach closer to local context and there is no stopping ever since (indeed they earn the title as the most local sounding local band). Around October in the same year 1991, they released second demo, “The Songs Will Always Be There”. The demo is essentially a progression from their first, with the appearance of such classic tracks like “Fear” and “Void”, touching into early Pink Floyd/Syd Barret territories. DBA in his review of this demo pointed out that “but it's about time they struck out and believe in themselves- even the inside sleeve message is a blatant piece of laziness”, but also admitted that “Humpback Oak have an interesting grasp on writing perspectives and an ability to sidestep mundane chordal cliches”.

1992 Gig/Moths & Bagpipes Demo 1992/The Songs Will Always Be There Demo 1991

The abovementioned demos are next to impossible to find as they were released in a batch of 20-30 copies but not so for the third demo “Moth And Bagpipes”, pressed to the exemplary of a 100 and released in June 1992. I had the good fortune to get my hands on this one thanks to the great help from Humpback Oak (when I discovered Humpback Oak in '94, the demo was long sold out from Skoobs). This demo is way much more professional both look and music wise. The cover is printed great for '92 standards and the music definitely sounds better than the old tape dubs I also have of the earlier demos. The Neil Young influence were big on the band before they gotten more depressed with Red House Painters. Tracks like Can You Find The Time, Deep Door Down, Trip To My Neighbourhood, Bull 1 and Bull 2, Moth, Circling Square and Oval are excellently performed and some of the songs made way to the debut.

Humpback Oak "Pain-stained Morning" Era

Chris Ho got interested in the band and introduced them to Jimmy Wee of Pony Canyon. From then on its a progression through high history. In 1994, “Pain-stained Morning” was released, and Humpback Oak suddenly became very famous. For the first time people started paying attention to a local band, with admiration and respect and the radio had extensive radio plays of their songs. This debut promises and delivers alot. It has all the package and the flair of a truly legendary artpiece and the songs are indeed written and performed with an exceptional touch that defines classics. Of course I've professed enough love for this album so I'll leave it at that. Up next they came up with the second album “Ghostfather” in 1997. This album is perhaps the DARKEST point in Humpback Oak's career, both music wise and image wise. This album is widely regarded as an eulogy to Leslie Low's late father. At this point, Leslie had also attained a kind of metaphysical cult status with his style of poetic brooding troubadour that makes the image instantly appealing. Some time in 1999, they released “SideASideB” and decided to call it a day. At that time Springroll Music was also headed towards a downward spiral, hence this album did not make it to alot of people, becoming a great rarity in the local markets. Musically, there is some transformation that paves way for the jazz-infused rock happening in The Observatory. Subsequently Leslie ventured out into his solo projects and Humpback Oak became history.

Humpback Oak Discography

Well, for some sick reason I almost contracted the disease of Humpback Oak= Leslie syndrome which is inevitable some times because he managed to snatch most of the limelight during his days in Humpback Oak, which seriously did not do justice for Stanley, Daniel and Vincent, the underdogs of the band. They were truly underrated. One has to understand that without them, Humpback Oak would not even be where it is today. So thank you guys for giving us a great decade of the BEST SINGAPORE ROCKING.

The Oddfellows- Teenage Head CD

2007-07-05T22:44:00.000-07:00

THE ODDFELLOWS- Teenage Head CD
(Tim Records/BMG 1991)

It is hard to put this legendary album into perspective now, but The Oddfellows laid blueprint for many Singaporean upstarts to come. When it was released, no other band combined such uncompromising power of pop into the unbridled spirit of melodic rock, the sheer ethos of the rocking screaming eager for life, youth and idealism. Time plays a strange relativity, the good rocking from these guys seemed as refreshing as yesterday but it had been a good 16 years. But the mountain stays the same and the moonglow hasn't changed, “Teenage Head” will forever remain as the touchstone of Singaporean indie for generations to come. It only seemed like yesterday I was this impressionable youth confounded by Patrick Chng and gang rocking away in Boys' Town back in the vague misty recollection of 1990. I was by then of course familiar with most abandoned rock against establishment and a handful of Singaporean namedroppings, but the sheer energy of that performance took my breath away. The way Patrick commanded his presence was almost metaphysical and cult-like, yet at the same time brash and earnest in a very personal heartlander way. The music literally goes straight into my Teenage Head and captivates me like never before, a bit of surprise and a bit of envy. Life becomes hopeful at that point, what with after witnessing the proficiency of this local unit, I became eager to play a part in the good rocking. It never turned out the way I wanted but this story of failure is not laden with regret.

Undoubtedly when “Teenage Head” came out it brought along a whole new dimension of possibilities. It had been quite a while since local indie musicians had an album to call their own, the very last being Zircon Lounge's “Regal Vigor” LP released in 1983. Those lost periods in between consisted of a smattering of Gingerbread, Tokyo Square and the ubiquitous Dick Lee. Before things seemed too unbearable, BigO appeared from nowhere to simmer off the elevated heat of our tropical shithole and heralded a new wave of Singaporean music movement which played a part in propelling The Oddfellows into limelight. This dimension of possibilities became known as the great renaissance of Singaporean indie back in the not so distant '90s. Over that period there had been extensive airplay over radio of songs like “So Happy” and of course that asshole song promptly removed called “Song About Caroline”. After having witnessed how good The Oddfellows is, I was the first few lucky bastards to actually score for myself the very rare “Teenage Head” CD, and is a fervent follower of this band ever since, tracking down every offerings in their discography.

“Teenage Head” featuring a young Elvis Presley on the cover encapsulated the very spirit of the movement with all its raw energy and sincerity. Here, Patrick Chng ropes in long time member Wai Cheong and Abdul Nizam of The NoNames on this record, and put together the unique adolescent anthems greatly inspired by legends The Replacements, specifically on their second effort “Tim” (which is incidentally Pat's fledging label as well). The yearning melody belies its despairing, wistful lyric of teenage futility, the way it speaks to me is not partial nor approximate, but spot on, the teenage poetry belies great wisdom from the brains of Pat. The college rock quality ala The Replacements and REM is tampered with an overwhelming “Singaporean touch” which adds to the sheer appeal of this album.

When “More of You” rolls on the modest, heartfelt approach grabbed me by the balls and never let go. With the lines, “sweet as the wine, cold as the night...”, Pat speaks of the beautiful memories and spirit of '87 as old friendship is revisited, the nostalgia creeps in and he made an album. “Riding In Your Car” is a rather sad melancholy ballad about teenage confusion, loneliness and impossible love, very much in the spirit of The Replacement's “Swingin' Party”. Here one never gets enough of Pat's nasal whining, because the dripping pain is so perfect. “Your Smiling Face” was a hit back then and I remember they had a video with the late Bonnie Hicks. This is a gutwrenching song about infatuation, simple, naive and wide-eyed like the young Elvis or Patrick at his most dumbfounded. “Merry Go Round” is upbeat, snotty and brash, rearing the raucuous spirit of punk with a good smearing of teenage angst. “World of Annie” has got nothing to do with John Denver. This song is played entirely on acoustic guitar, an earthly earnest number waxing the misunderstood teenage outsider even alienated by her parents “and her mama couldn't understand 'cos she just talks and talks and talks, and her papa couldn't comprehend why she is happy to be sad...” Very simple and beautiful. “20 Years” is perhaps written specifically for us old fogeys who still find joy typing away nostalgia on the internet. It laments the inevitable fate of growing old, which Patrick was probably facing through in his mid-20s crisis, the bitter number makes me equally sad and submitted to the fact that this Teenage Head is just as historical as my youth. Even the young at heart is waning abit. “So Happy”, is a highlight of the album, and it even made its way to a single put out by the band (which of course has its place in my collection). This time round, instead of a beautiful melody that belies sad lyrics, this is the other way round. The bitter irony of a happy prose is performed with the regressive incendiary strings downcasting low fire. “Here I Fall Again” is a slow ballad about lost innocence and the losing end of a loser youth, miraculously soaring and uplifting in its own sad way. “Lost My Head” is the song where I lost my head to The Oddfellows! This is the potent “devil may care” anthem of idealistic youthful punk rocking, coupled with its catchy chorus and wicked jangles, head bobbing recklessness that is so captivating at the same time. “Two Trains” is a goofy ballad played entirely on acoustic guitars again, but in a drunken way like hillbillies doing folkmeister. And of course hearing Pat whistles after some whinings is as refreshing as a detox after a meaty diet. And last but not least, this is mandatory listen. This is THE Oddfellows song. Here it is “Song About Caroline”. This is the infamous asshole song that incensed some conservative squarepants in the early '90s. And yet the radio did play this song much to my surprise, given the rather closed climate back then. This song is of course really about Caroline being the asshole, she caused much dismay to the music fan Pat as he questioned “where is my Big Black tape and Sonic Youth? She lost that too...”. But here he rounded up in a self depreciatory manner... “Caroline is an asshole and I'm a fool.” Of course this is made solely for the sake of good rocking and all is forgiven I believe.

Nevertheless despite the fact that I am the only one now painstakingly doing a writeup on this album (siew kum hong aka limabean is another big fan who used to do big tribute to The Oddfellows with reviews and articles, etc, but I bet he have better things to do these days as an MP), the sheer impact of this album on the whole of the local indie scene is immeasurable because without this bold gesture back then in the climate of prudish plebeians, we would probably still be rocking to some Dick Lees and Tokyo Squares. Interesting enough, Pat asked “will I ever have a place...will they just forget my name?” in “20 Years”. Oh well to answer that, it's been 16 years and yes, we still do remember your name. Thank you very much for all the best in Singapore rocking.

Humpback Oak- SideASideB CD

2007-07-04T23:32:00.000-07:00

HUMPBACK OAK- SideASideB CD
(Springroll Music Pte Ltd 1999)

I've been particularly enthusiastic hence prolific in writing reviews these days so here I take this opportunity to round up the much awaited last in Humpback Oak's discography, the ever elusive “SideASideB”. However, from this point onward much of the mojo cannot be relieved because Humpback Oak is truly dead. I lamented how much magic was lost with the band's tiresome reunion on Rock for Wayne concert, and I wasn't even that interested in The Observatory or even Leslie Low's solo projects for that matter anymore. Much of the better memories were etched in the past and the name Humpback Oak is forever associated with the mystifying allure of "Pain-stained Morning", "Ghostfather" and "SideASideB". Humpback Oak, not just Leslie Low, but as a band will never be replicated, replaced or reunited. “SideASideB” is the genuine swansong, elegy and tombstone for, in my humble opinion, the greatest band in Singapore. And yet this release is not heard by many, including fans of Humpback Oak because Springroll folded up soon after the CD was pressed, which really trickles down to little exemplaries on this small island.

The title “SideASideB” holds multiple meanings to it. Some material here can be regarded as the B-sides from the Ngee Ann Poly/Ghostfather sessions. These songs are cleaned up efforts from their last outings and are largely acoustic guitar driven and based. These songs ironically are grouped in the “SideA” of this album labelled under “Here Comes The Nausea”. On the flipside “SideB” are experimental tracks to be consumed separately. These songs are made to sound like an avantgardish transcendance from the normal “oaksongs”. They are a natural progression steer headed into Soft Machine-like psych/jazz-folk fusion that led to the formation of The Observatory. Frankly speaking, this album does fall short of the kind of “atmosphere” found in the epics of “Pain-stained Morning” and “Ghostfather”, but it is good enough to conjure up the last visions of a world weary band intent to call it a last. And for the first time in the history of Humpback Oak, this album has protest songs.

SideA kicks off with “Kingdom”, with that familiar acoustical lure into its protest folk allure. This song sings of the very kingdom we are too familiar with, in a typical Dylan-esque twist that makes reference to alot of time the “seeds sown in disarray” and “bound for an island far away”. The highlight, in the good haunting way we know of Humpback Oak takes form in “Judas & I”, a very brooding and unsettling track that melds lost faith, betrayal and hurt into a wonderful concoction of really depressing passage like their earlier hauntings with “Deep Door Down”. Dejected folk crawl, through the darkest of Labrador Parks, Changi and Fort Cannings. “The Mist” is a gentler folk passage backed by the misty backing vocals of Meow, making the song a rather trippy experience to headswim. “Game For Blues” and “The Last Homegrown Lost Boy” are almost reminescent of “Ghostfather”, the carryover feeling of emotional folk rock experienced in the “Christ In Black”, delivering the same tortured cries of despair where we find the normally mild Leslie howling. “One Hell of A Country” is one funny track. The familiar folk instrumentation is there, but the vocals do some wicked rapping here, which even goes into X'Ho territory at his "rappiest". The simpler life ends and then comes a disjointed interlude to a whole new experience.

Here on, SideB has the acoustic guitar replaced by tweaking Fender Rhodes, creating a multi-dimensional soundpicture with experimentations in textures and most of the songs have a more upbeat nature than those on the SideA. SideB begins with “Lost Boy Or Girl”, a bluesy androgynous number that speaks and plays the confusing uncertainty, undecisiveness and irony of existence. “The Recycler” and “Technohuman” are two harshly modulated tracks with murky gains, the experience uplifted by the strong pulsing presence of the bass guitar. On “Modelcitizen”, the vocals was processed through harmonization and sounded muffled, perhaps to fit in to the repressed image created for this song. Another highlight track of this album, this song is an angst-ridden track voicing repression, “sure I'll like to be sexual, but I am a modelcitizen, good job and pay” and “I am a product of an experiment”. “Any Last Words” waltzes its way through with the passive progressive vibe of Pink Floyd, before the band made their final offering “One Big Happy Family”. An intense political rocking with such catchy chorus, “One pretty government, one big happy family”, making a witty closure to the whole Humpback Oak affair.

I believe this is pretty much the end, the journey's end for this bunch who would like to go down in history as felons united. I think the only misdemeanour of this band is the refusal to go on and make more albums. But alas all better things in life have shelf lifes, and maybe this should be more or less expected when they asked the fans in return, “any last words before expiration?” They heaved a last bit of consolation, patting us in the shoulders “take a deep breath, you deserve it”, and gracefully closed up the last good chapter of Singapore rocking, and when you look back you'll find yourself acquainted with a worthy force to reckon with, the last bastion of hope for local music. 1999, a thin filament over the millenium and changes beckon, and what we are left with are memories of the past. One might even count the end of Humpback Oak as the demise of Singaporean indie music. But life goes on. Thus since, the members ventured out into the wilderness of the real world and Leslie Low moved on with The Observatory and his solo projects. What's rest is history yet to be known.

Zircon Gov Pawn Starz CD

2007-07-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

ZIRCON GOV.PAWN STARZ- Follywood CD
(XY Recordings/Universal 2004)

This is good stuff so I have to review it. This is not your average new run-of-the-mill fucked up local darlings with emo penchant; this is the unholy reincarnate that used to shock people with their scary cover of Tokyo Square's cover of Chyna's “Within You'll Remain” done with deadpan vocals . Surprise surprise let me present to you Zircon Gov.Pawn Starz! Finally they had landed, trespassing onto Singaporean shores after nearly two decades of hiatus from their time as great pioneers of underground music in the form of Zircon Lounge. And what a fucking great debut this is. Long time members Chris Ho (X'Ho) and Yeow teamed up with Suzanne Walker (as Sue Sue Law) to come up with throbbing gristle of “art-punk/electro-enfant” audial terrorism. This “art-punk” sounded nothing like the new wave of “Regal Vigor”, but its a fucking cold industrial heavy duty electroclash for generation alienated, the signs of any life being the flowing stream of social conscience. OK, this is quite a mouthful... the album features Chicks on Speed, Peter of Coil, MIA and remixes by Futon, Ashidiq & Kiat, Case and Eastward Project. Not of much importance though besides garnering international recognition, the covers of Motorhead and The Queers will suffice.

“Follywood” is the obvious wordplay of Hollywood (or Bollywood) but this actually meant something much closer to home. Where else but our own Mediacorps? The album is the catharsis of the forever opinionated X'Ho's favourite pastime, that is bashing our grand media monopoly (a creation by this “farce-ist regime”) and the installed kings and queens of Caldecott Hills. And not forgetting meaningful political diatribes. Also please do check out his “X with an X (Me All Good No Bad)” CD with what is really the genius political sartire if you cannot get enough of his sexy radiotime persona.

“Mouthless Fish” is really mocking fun at us and our subservient attitude and how we “barely breathed, get armlocked, gripped and squeezed and we still live”. Well, yes Mr Ho indeed vampires are aplenty here on this democratic republic island but we are actually quite good at complaining so how about calling us “Ball-less Fish” instead? Musically a coldwave almost too totalitarian assault upon our sour kana face. Sue Sue Law told off all the Fann Wongs and Zoe Tays on the electronic cover of The Queer's “Drop The Attitude, Fucker”. Oh and how can I forget the “so bad so sad” Christopher Lee, this is a middle finger salute for our beloved national highway star and his heroic saga. “Media Whore” is another parody on the products of mediacorps and it's about the same old story but let's shove this into the face of dear Chris (the Lee one not Ho) again. Squeaky clinical robot disco rocks “Digit Nation” like Kraftwerk's “Computer World”, hip swaying to “keep on swinging” as the dreamland utopia is transmitted into human literacy but this is but a dream. Oh and they did a cover of Motorhead's “Nightmare/Dreamtime” which in the good tradition of X'Ho had it made into “Nightmare (On 8 & 5)” with predictable but fun content.

Highly idealistic with an equally futile cause, this can be treated like a guerilla insurgency in music, where the terrorism strikes fear in our hearts not for the sheer terror of it, but it instills and warns of bleak, terrifying possibilities. But they had a vision, “Zircon-nation is the betta Utopia: a beautiful and humanistic digital future”. For me, my vision is “we are but our own follies”. 66.6 rock n'roll.

Anesthesia CD

2007-07-02T23:05:00.000-07:00

ANESTHESIA- Anesthesia CD
(Tim Records 1993)

Low crass rotten youths eat into the underbellies of the fine city, and in every putrid corners we had some racket of subversion ready to spread dissent. In the name of good fun, Anesthesia is the obscure punk experiment that made some quiet noise in a small part of early '90s. Maybe all was forgotten save for the few nuclear ghosts left behind in the shadows of Singapore rock n'roll. Not many people take some bunch of young punks singing about AIDS seriously, particularly in Singapore that's it. But they were given a brief lease of life with their debut album put out by who else but Patrick Chng of Tim/Oddfellows fame.

They were ready to convince you about the ills of this society, with what could be seen as an idiot savant measure to talk sartire. Maybe it is because of this simple beauty in amateurism that this punk CD could be enjoyed. This is not good enough to start an anarchy, which is really not their intention with this release. They went the anti-fashion punk pathetique making silly references to everything from trying to sound smutty on the alphabet songs “My A2Z”, preaching safe sex on “Aids” and discussing street brutality with “I Shot The Sergeant”, all with their funny accentuation or bad pronunciation. They traversed the lofi puke punk sounds of Subhumans and sometimes even Red Hot Chilli Peppers funk, not to the same effects like Stompin' Ground or ESP though.

This release has not much redeeming values for the average non-punk listener, and it is also not the best in its genre in our local arena. However, the band can be appreciated as an obscure piece of Singaporean music antiquity to be checked out due to the rarity of this CD. But even coming from a person with non-punk background like me, one can get an important rare insight into the clandestine underground of Singapore, rearing its true raw self; sincere, rebellious and ugly.

Sepia Memories 2

2007-07-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

SEPIA MEMORIES (Page 2)

The Oddfellows /Do Not Ask! (pre-Radioactive)

Band of Slaves /The Black Suns

Krush/Corporate Toil (Joe Ng)

Humpback Oak/The Padres (1st Lineup)

Zircon Lounge (w/ Chris Ho)/Abhorer

Humpback Oak- Ghostfather CD

2007-06-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

HUMPBACK OAK- Ghostfather CD
(Springroll Creative Entertainment 1997)

The curtain fell and the pervading darkness enveloped the stage, blurred the vision and poisoned the mind. Everything became darker, bleaker and sadder it’s almost overkill. I predicted this introspective fold into the deeper recesses of the human soul wrecked by strings of events tied to its existence when Humpback Oak announced its second offering “Ghostfather”. I expected this as a natural progression to the stronger call for catharsis, he Leslie Low the troubadour (note how much it spells like trouble) would be too eager to show. This thin poet of existentialism somehow managed to turn this dramatic experience into a tragic intimacy. He is an interesting character study because the sheer complexity of his poetry grips your consciousness with huge dosage of empathy before one realizes that he is a master craftsman of tragedy. The fervent listeners were offered a glimpse of the tumultuous currents in the poet’s mind and given a boat to sail the meditation. Rest assured that this is not an easy ride, but when you sail its transient transit you will draw up the completion of life, its futility and its essence, like young Siddhartha on pilgrimage, or Jesus Christ on trials. Incidentally the demise of Leslie’s late father influenced this work, which all the more makes it more personal and depressing. Get ready your prozac and proceed.

The second album is iconoclastic, kafka-esque and indulgent. Humpback Oak probably did not expect this to be an accessible work in the tradition of “Pain-stained Morning” either. And they probably also understood that creating really moody pieces of work is their second nature. This is art, and this is not instantaneously attractive unless you have the right faculty to fathom the beauty in its essence. The caustic sound of the album reminds me of the murky depths with layers to be explored. This adventure in soundscaping is rather not common as it involves creating thickly enveloping ambience that still bears clarity when the musical notes are played at lower, heavier registers. Humpback Oak was heavily influenced by Red House Painters and it shows on this album with its droning folk-inspired guitars strumming in hypnotic repetition. The long brooding passages unfold myriad of emotive surge that ripples across its phlegmatic flow.

When “Scared Scarred” began, one can sense the eventual loss of innocence impending. While the debut album still holds some bits of redemption, here it is a barren land of the futile. The vocalisation sounds resigned as he whispers the one last torch song to his “beautiful blistering blind find”. Note the way of the lyrical play, this one is a poetry for a very forlorn longing, jaded and gentle. Musically it traverses the lost art of sensitive singer songwriter folk of the enigmatic Nick Drake and more recently the equally tragic Elliott Smith.

Religion has a prevalent presence between the debut album and this. The expulsion of an old “new reason, new freedom” leads to the final nihilism painted in “Christ In Black” for faith tested failed right at the doorstep of Leslie. As much as he questioned, he had to reach the conclusion that the silence is imminent. Swam steeped in the black currents he reached for “Balm”, a respite for his long meditations as he explained how to “take a break, a recreation of my depression and devotion”. It does not take a Freudian expert to see the desperation of this poet. “Home” is an indication of the subtle political inclination that blossomed on their third album “SideASideB”. Here the vocalist questions the value of his existence right at home here. The album of course has its lighter notes with “If I Go Wrong” and “Stressed Out”, both songs which came to terms with the absurdity of it all, dancing about architecture with its tongue-in-cheek sartire of miserable living, like a lazy shrug of defiance.

“I am a Jug” is a passage into psychedelia, tripped out in the same blood streaming through Jefferson Airplane's “White Rabbit”. Here the trip makes use of metaphorical symbolism with a fixation on the morphing of objects before coming to the conclusion that “I am a Drug”, a wordplay of the title. Incidentally, Jug is also the same name of Leslie Low's solo project band after he left Twang Bar Kings, prior to joining Humpback Oak. “If I Am Weak” plays the imagery of altruistic anti-hero, before the tyranny of the weak turns wicked on “Cursed”. Funny enough, “Bridge” is also another track which sees more of the altruistic anti-hero here, this time in a selfless yet helpless yearning to fix right the dire and bleak world we're living in.

The highlight here “Ghostfather”, the title track is the root of this bleak creation, the very same ghost that haunted and tortured this poet into such doom and gloom. The song is interpreted as an anguished eulogy to Leslie's late father, yet you can feel an immense regret, loss and sorrow welling up in his trembling vocals. The strain, the confusion one can also feel and smell and what with the unsettling “I live with my mother, I live with my ghostfather” line. This is pure genius. “Drop of Soul” could very well be the soundtrack to the real 12 Storeys, playing the predicament of unfortunate Singaporean tragedies that happen on daily basis as the cogs of society turns in cold precession. In the song, the vocalist plays the narrator to the dead suicide victim, saying “there's not a drop of soul left in there.” The twist to this tragicomedy is that the narrator is none other than the victim, his ghost staring helplessly at the broken body of what once used to be. From a death in HDB setting, comes a metaphorical death in the sea with “Oh The Load Heavy Don't Float”. This is rather the last stage of innocence lost as finally the last figment of memories faded off, washed into the infinitude of darkness as all is gone away. “Pain” closes off the album as an epilogue to the philosophy of it all. One finds wisdom in “pain is a void that life borrows”, which pretty much summarizes the whole experience of this dark journey.

From the lengthy reviews you could assume that “Ghostfather” is an exceptionally deep, profound and masterful work. While I was initially disappointed at the fact that this is not “Pain-stained Morning part II”, over time this CD has become one of the most spinned album on my stereos. And undoubtedly this is one of the most important album in the history of Singapore music.

The Boredphucks CD

2007-06-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

THE BOREDPHUCKS- Banned In Da Singapura CD
(Phucktunes 2000)

To add to the posthumous sniff to this album, I was at the “Rock For Wayne” tribute concert few days ago to catch them bands paying tribute to the late Wayne Thunder, a well known musician amongst the local independent music circles who passed away couple of weeks ago. Of course being someone adamantly narrow-minded and old-school I was only there for the few, most notably the last Humpback Oak reunion, Force Vomit and Electrico. I felt out of place amongst them emo and neo-goth crowd, I felt so old. And I didn't see anyone particularly quite get the meaning of this concert, treating this as another event of fun and laughter, peace and joy. The moon phase's not on full so we did not get the chill, but I bet Wayne would have felt equally out of place. The spirit of rock n' roll was simply not there.

So everybody misses (or claims to) Wayne except Zoe Tay who probably had the last laugh, and the future of The Suns remained uncertain, but still life goes on. Here, out of respect for a great personality who would probably beat up those emokids if he's still alive, I decided to revisit the great Singaporean punk classic from The Boredphucks, appropriately titled “Banned In Da Singapura”.

This debut album by our favourite phucksters had Wayne turning up in the pseudonym “Sir Richard Tulan” and of course along with the other dudes “J-Bob” and “Sig Lendonn”. This album is a tongue-in-cheek sartire against censorship, never quite the same testy reaction expected since The Oddfellows sang about some asshole. They were perhaps bored, laden with raging hormones and mischiefs but they served up some of the most memorably punk ethos engrained in the immortality of compact discs. The songs and profanities are of course spewed forth from the sewage pipe with humourous lyricism, and every one of them is literally littered with fuck. They were uniquely Singaporean because they traded vulgarities in more than four different languages (with the necessary Singlish lingua franca that connected all races here) which evinced the interesting multicultural vibe of our garden city. They should have been given a medallion on racial harmony day but this cannot be seen through the short-sighted narrowminded range of the censors' eyes.

Musically they bore the snarky goofy touch of classic punk ala Sex Pistols, meets a dash of Naked City grind and madness, some coccaine-induced reggae and mushroom-triggered psychedelia, alot more Oi in veins of Sham 69, dirty nasty AC/DC hardrock and god knows what else. “Boredphuckin” rocks in pentatonic chords like a perversion of a jailhouse rock, with the mean street spirit parading for spars. “Ballad of Tabitha” is the fare of verse chorus verse The Clash/Ramones before the trepidation of college rock sets in slowly. “Kita Nak Seks” is a mishmash of reggae, surf punk and mod stirring sleazy lyrics in some of the most effective combo I've heard, with the “cao ang moh” line as particularly enlightening. “Old Man Kaupeh” is one of the most interesting filler I've heard with the dudes impersonating our dear old local heartlander doing his round of whining and “kao beh kao bu”, while “Cheryl” is a porn dub with twisted banjo playing and moaning “I love the Boredphucks!” “St.Pat's Classroom” is their tribute to the irritating teacher and it is summed up with “Phuckda Skool” in its glorious vengeance! Note: This CD has a hidden track, check out at your own discretion!

This great band like all cults of yesterday lived too fast and died too young, and of course Wayne is dearly missed by all people from under the radar, left of the dial. But life goes on, you're still going to pay your bills, worry about your CPFs and Zoe Tay still has her last laugh. Anyway the CD reviewed here is the original and it has went out of print within the few years it was released. Since then BigO has reissued the album with three bonus tracks. Get it before it's too late.

Do Not Ask- Just Play It CD

2007-06-25T03:54:00.000-07:00

DO NOT ASK- Just Play It! CD
(Pony Canyon Singapore Pte Ltd 1992)

Singapore's music scene had been seriously screwed and skewered by its industry for a long time since the '70s, and if anybody can remember there was actually one record company that sought reconcilliation between the drifting factions in the '90s, a Japanese company by the name of Pony Canyon. They (and Paul Zach) taught us locals that we had some heroes amongst us who can actually rock, sometimes better than a foreign artist with extensive radioplay and suddenly we saw local faces on CD covers. Of course there were certainly some cautious calculations on their part, and albeit low profit margin, they put out some damn fine acts with professional treatment (meaning expensive studio budget, and their trademark thick CD booklets).

Do Not Ask (DNA) was on their catalogue CS00020 and they certainly did Pony Canyon and us locals proud with a one of a kind treasure of an album “Just Play It!” released in 1992. DNA, led by the local rock goddess personality Dulcie Soh started writing furiously for their debut album since 1991 when their song “One More Night Alone” was featured in an SBC (Singapore Broadcasting Corporation) documentary. At that point DNA fitted just right in the bill with their complete package of hard rocking attitude leather jackets outfit and what not, and they even had their personal stylists. Before grunge took off in the later parts of early '90s by storm, DNA was perhaps the last bastion of genuine “true old school big hair” hard rockers who actually can play their guitars.

Rock N' Roll was growing lamer by the day and most of '90s radio rock staples were actually commercial love songs played with electric guitars. DNA however drew inspiration from the prime movers, with marked influences from the femme fatale of rock n'roll Vixen, Lita Ford, the god of wankers Joe Satriani and the mandatory Led Zeppelin and Uriah Heep. Not as wild as Edgar's Fault and not as creepy as Elaine Kang this band treaded Adult Oriented Rock territory with heavy edge, apparent in tracks like “Rockin' Radio” and “(Another) Sad Story”, “Steal My Heart”which has the right amount of attitude to do a Heart. They also did not shy away from the soft side, with sparse amount of keyboard synth sound to go they created some really atmospheric numbers that epitomised the free spirit that is the rock siren of Dulcie Soh, like “Edge of A Dream”, “Flame”. “One More Night Alone” is pure synth based ballad with Dulcie's haunting melancholia seeping through a crestfallen vocals. Towards the end of the CD they did a cover of The Rascal's “Good Lovin'”, bluesy but also surprisingly modern.

After the debut was released Dulcie shed her rock image for polished sophistication and along with most of her bandmates, except Jeff Long, the core member of DNA. One year later she got Herey Teper on bass and together they formed Radioactive, a band that was immensely popular back in the early '90s with really out of this world hits on radio (pun intended). All the rest is history. This CD “Just Play It” may be an especially tough find these days, much rarer than the most covetted Humpback Oaks and Lilac Saints, but it is an essentially mandatory listen for anybody remotely interested in the transition of rock n'roll's former glory in the history of Singaporean music. For we don't quite rock like this anymore.

A Tribute To Singapore Indie Music

2007-05-15T01:58:00.001-07:00

A TRIBUTE TO SINGAPORE INDIE MUSIC

Welcome to Rock In The Fine City. This is a uniquely Singaporean music blog that gives a retrospective look at the tiny island city state republic music scene of the past and archives what remains of its precious moments. This project was started in 2004 out of my passion for local music, the need to extol and justify its values, to quench the curiosities from the growing interests of music lovers on the local scene, to appease my distaste against the music industry of current and to kill the boredom during my undergraduate days. Most importantly, it is my conscientious effort to commemorate these underrated talents before they become lost forever in the everchanging landscape of this great cultural void, to show the world that yes, we had a glorious scene in Singapore.

Singaporean indie music in the period between the early '80s to the late '90s enjoyed a second renaissance that revived the lost spirits of rock n' roll not heard since The Quests. During this period, which I strongly regard as the true prime of Singaporean music, saw a great number of outstanding talents emerging from their underground hideouts bringing along exceptional qualities that made Singaporean indie exquisite in its own right. During this period, some of the greatest rockings were created, adding sparkles of life in the stern, lifeless backdrop of conventional Singapore. In most of the '80s, these bands were already staging guerilla warfare underground, undetected by the radar of masses. Perhaps the regular radio staple of commercial pop had its waning foothold among the younger generation of idealists who needs a more challenging stimulation than Dick Lee and Tokyo Square. Visionary intellectuals sought expression to convey their revolutionary ideas to their audience. However, in a closed and prejudicial society in those days, it was difficult to be heard. Anything "different" were deemed subversive by the herd of plebeians who cannot comprehend art beyond superficiality, who is satisfied living a boring existence without intellectual stimulus. That was when like-minded intellectuals started the underground movement.

Back in the days of old it was difficult for most local bands to get proper equipments and kits to play and record music so they had to "do-it-yourself" (DIY) and what they lacked in productions and sound quality they made up for with better song-writings and drive. Since they’ve got nothing to lose, and armed with an inherent rebellion against normality, they got bolder and experimental. Through this selection process the status quo was gradually shaken paving way for the emergence of talented "true" artists who lived the integrity of their music and created a whole new musical expression, perhaps giving rise to its unique "Singapore Sound" identity. That was how the history of most genres of indie music was revolutionized and written. That was how we got excellent bands like The Oddfellows, Corporate Toil, Opposition Party, Humpback Oak and Force Vomit delighting us for the large part of the late '80s and '90s.

But, albeit the great talents, these bands were severely underrated by the same herd of plebeian masses brainwashed into the refusal of intellectual stimulus, cultural pride or "changes" as to speak. The same bunch of people who took the Straits Times as literal truths, who is judgemental on the "different", who would rather hear music for enjoyment than to listen to and feel music. But most importantly it could be attributed to the great deal of insecurity and inferiority complex stemming from post-colonialism. These same masses with lack of self esteem could not imagine Singaporean music as anything better than the next foreign band with extensive airplay on radio, even though such situation happened many times. Try playing Concave Scream to a typical Singaporean dude/dudette and hear his/her response. Usually positive. But try telling them that this is a Singaporean band. Negative. And with the typical condescension "I don't support Singapore band, Singapore bands are no good". They stereotyped and condemned Singaporean music because they had been brainwashed by the same authority that condemned rock n' roll since the '70s. They hated their own cultural identity because they had their own culture put down by the same authority. Eventually Singapore will become void of cultural identity if these plebeian masses stricken with pinkerton syndrome continued to looked up to the west (or in some cases northeast asia) and despised their own cultural legacy. That sadly made the influx of local talents going nowhere but to fade away into obscurity.

However one might ask, "So why do you only feature old Singaporean indie bands from the past? Wah lao you so old fashion. Nowadays got a lot of young Singapore bands what? Since you lagi support Singapore so much, you should put more effort into the young bands mah." To answer that question, I will say that the state of the local indie music movement has reached a stage of stagnation, and the same ethos, passion and sincerity were all lost causes. And many local bands nowadays had become faceless masses playing insipid songs, a bunch of great pretenders and opportunists. Their music failed to stimulate and challenge my mind, or at least to touch me. Those feelings are gone. Maybe I am biased, maybe I am just nostalgic (=old fashion) but the spirit is long gone.

When indie music hit the radio, corporate interests followed, and in their world blinded by statistics and profit margins, they recognized the market for music that don’t follow the norm of regular radio staples. That’s when big words like grunge, alternative, nu-metal and emo were tagged onto bands mass marketed as such. Without the selection process applied, most of these bands turned out to be another faceless product from the music industry. This is worse off in Singapore because in our little proximity the trend hits like an epidemic upon our impressionable kids with the desire to be part of the bandwagon and of course commercial frauds like Superbands cashed in on this. We suddenly get a mushrooming of “indie” bands from all over the island and the ugly birds nest emo-influenced mess of a haircut becomes the teenage fashion norm.

The so called “indie music” and “underground” in the current local context are much abused misnomers that cannot really apply to many of these new bands which claimed to be. I mean how independent and underground can these bands go when every mean to making music is easily accessed. Nowadays any Tom Dick and Harry Lee can record some trash and put it onto myspace, and got readily accepted because being “indie” is the cool? Instead of living the music, the process of song writing, playing and recording became recreational hobbies for the bored kids sick of playing LAN gamings. I am sickened to the core whenever I bought a new local flavour of the month and got disappointed by its insipid pretentious garbage. Yes, I can tell that this Singaporean band is trying to sound like the next My Chemical Romance but they failed miserably because this is not music written from their heart, just another trendy bandwagon ride. I am sickened to the core too by the self-congratulatory attitudes of these new bands (AND OLD BANDS) congregating in their cliques of bourgeois bohemians acting intellectual and whereby the only competition is to outdo each other in being more fashionable and misunderstood. Of course I have to admit that there are still genuine musicians (e.g. Kelvin Tan) from this era that worked hard for their music below the radar and they greatly deserved all the rapport and support, but bands like these are not dime a dozen.

The reason why I relish the good old Singapore indie pop/rock could be partially traced to my formative adolescent years. Being the rebellious kid I sought art that defied normal convention. I read subversive literature, watched surrealistic movies and listened to music that dares to be different. It was back in old school days somewhere in 1990 in a gig organized in Boys’ Town, that I suddenly saw the brilliance of local music because The Oddfellows kicked my ass in all the right places. Their sheer energy, the catchy songs and the stage antics surprised me, never knowing that a Singaporean band could give such high standard of proficiency and appeal in music. Then before I know it, I realized that I’ve been listening to the songs from the same band I saw a while ago on radio. Inevitably I went beyond my usual fodder of My Bloody Valentine, Sepultura and Sonic Youth to check out local bands rocking their soulful tunes. The craving was intense, I bought nearly everything that local bands put out and would always be pleasantly surprised and delighted by their pieces. When I ran out of CDs to buy, I checked out demo tapes, and soon discovered the whole legion of the underground. Whenever there was a gig somewhere I will turn up to catch them bands playing. Some are downright crappy, some are awe-inspiring, but all nevertheless enjoyable. My adventures in the local leftfields eventually led me to Humpback Oak’s “Pain-stained Morning” which is the pinnacle of achievements for any Singaporean musical group, being the kind of album that made many eager young upstarts to play in a band and record a demo/album. It's no secret that this is my most favourite album of all times.

So relish the good old days and be proud of your Singaporean rockers while you can, it will not last forever.

About the Author

I go by the pseudonym of Sojourner in Rock In The Fine City and I wrote all the articles, designed all the layout and made my own tea. Needless to say, I am a great fan of music, be it indie, punk, metal, jazz, classical and avantgarde. I read alot, draw alot and made a little music. In the real world I am a professional in the life sciences industry and I am an avid investor. In the virtual desert of the internet I pretty much spend most of my time on Rock In The Fine City. Hope you like my effort here. Keep on rocking in the fine city!

Sepia Memories 1

2007-03-10T19:22:00.000-08:00

SEPIA MEMORIES (Page 1)

Mortal Flower /Stompin' Ground

Silent Sorrow (pre-Concave Scream)/Twang Bar Kings

Daze (ex-Twang Bar Kings/Mortal Flower)/Birdbrains

Swirling Madness/Band of Slaves

The NoNames/Rocket Scientist

A Tribute To Opposition Party

2007-03-10T02:06:00.000-08:00

A TRIBUTE TO OPPOSITION PARTY

Opposition Party- Brain Fucked 7" EP 1992 and Nightmare Visions Demo 1991

What better ways to commemorate the godfathers of hardcore/punk/thrash/death metal than to pay my tribute, homage and dues to the legendary Opposition Party, which as the name implies, is as subversive as it gets. There was not much excitement on radio, even something as revolutionary as new wave (or ugh new romantics) picking up at that time, experimentation is not tantamount to explosion. The very explosive personality Francis Frightful, one dysfunctional Toa Payoh boy decided to give the local music scene a kick in the arse with some "raw fucking punk rock music" and thus the band was conceived in late 1986, consisting of Francis Frightful, Terence Terror, Willy Wanker and Vernon Vengeful. Back then there was already a staple of metallers from Mat-rock transitions, like Rusty Blade, Stukas and Nuctemeron, but Opposition Party decided to break new grounds by going all extreme and controversial (with their leathers and spikes and of course bad hairday mohawks). At Anywhere Lounge's "No Surrender" gig, on 30 May 1987 organised by BigO, they tore the stage apart with their puking hardcore punk sound with songs like "Boring Pigs" and "Masturbating with Missiles", which sets a new standard for many an aspiring skins punks thrashers and what not. Subsequently the lineup went down to three concrete forces consisting of Francis (vocals,guitars), Evan (bass, vocals), Michael (drums). Lee Piau (guitars) came on as frequent coalition member.

Opposition Party "No Surrender" Gig 1987

Opposition Party 1989 Lineup

I first got to know the band when I got lucky and scored a copy of their Brain Fucked EP back in poor school days. Musically, they were some of the rawest and ugliest I've heard, practically very simplistic and rumble-and-drone kind of Disorder, GBH-fueled hardcore. The EP was released in 1992 on a French label "New Wave", but the material was from the '80s. Here I find Francis making desperate calls and statements in the lyrics insert, pleading support from international punk scene as the "situation is really fucked-up in Singapore because there is no punk scene at all". It was around the turn of the '90s that they got into more speed thrashcore hybrid ala DRI, English Dogs, even Sodom and you can read about it in the reviews of "New School Rock I" compilation elsewhere in the website. By then, there is no stopping the band as their sound simply got heavier and heavier. After a couple of many more demos and compilations features, in 1995, they released a very killer death thrashcore metal cassette tape titled "Reborn" and I had the privilege to hear it. There was a couple of lineup change as they got one japanese guy Kazuo (bass), Ray Aziz (drums) and Danny Lim (guitars) where the last two guys are the most influential on the band’s transition to thrashing, as they were the death metallers from Silent Sorrow. So to go with the flow they suddenly spotted long blowing locks and metal jackets. They also featured one the very killer song "Lonely Realm" in the opening scene of "Mee Pok Man", which went very great with the Geylang shotups. *(I lost this tape and would appreciate if somebody can trade/sell me a copy). In 1999, they came back with a four song EP titled "OP 1999" to announce their comeback followed by "EP ver 1.0" in 2000. This time round, Danny left and was replaced by good ol' Lee Piau on guitars. Now they sounded rather more brutal, though lesser on the death metal sound and more to technicality and high-speed. As of 2006, they released their very first full length CD, titled "Zombified" on Pulverised Records which showcases over 20 years of impending death.

Opposition Party during Reborn-era 1995

Opposition Party- EP Ver. 1.0 MCD

On many grounds I was influenced by Opposition Party. They had the unrelenting, "don't give a fuck" kind of attitude and perseverance which pretty much moulded my teenage rebellious days. I used to play in a couple of extreme death and thrash metal bands back in the past and I had always looked up to this legend as inspirations and reference. They proved that no matter how badly the world seems to be at odds against you, if you make an effort to speak, fight and/or shout out loud, to desire change, it will "eventually" not always fall into deaf ears and bend over to you. By the law of dharma that happened when they swam against the tides back in 1987 a period when everybody was ignorant, hostile and apprehensive of raw underground aggression, and they soldiered on, oblivious to complains, threats and indifferences. And they have gotten where they are today, setting a legacy that spawned hordes of eager metal, punk and hardcore devotees in the ever flourishing undergrounds of Singapore music.

Opposition Party- Chaotic Years 1989-1995 CD and Zombified CD

ANY LAST WORDS?

Swirling Madness

2007-03-09T23:23:00.000-08:00

SWIRLING MADNESS

Swirling Madness circa 1993

Swirling Madness- The Right To Play Demo 1992 and We Are What We Are Demo 1993

Singapore had a very colourful past when it comes to underground hardcore and metal music. Ever since the advent of Opposition Party and Anti-social Kiosk, legions of hardcore skins and punks had made their marks and impacts upon the local scene. In the heydays of hardocre with cult acts like Stomping Ground and Global Chaos, Swirling Madness came into existence along with Four Sides with their frenzied brutal hardcore anthems, taking the local scene by storm. Formed in 1990, they were originally a quartet Jacque Chong (guitar), Glenn (bass), Rizal (vocals) and Ray (drums). Jacque was a rather famous personality amongst the underground as ironically, a metaller with long hair playing straight-edged music as well as dabbling in local music journalism and media. They had several demos, titled "The Right To Play" and "We Are What We Are", with the latter seeing the departure of Jacque. Musically, they are influenced by Sick of It All, Quicksand, Sodom and Slayer. Their songs are very funny, ranging from drunken "Gimme Some JD" to misogynous "Woman", but their hardcore carried strong messages of positivism. The only negative thing is that the band was rather short-lived.

Sugarflies- And That's Why CD

2007-03-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

SUGARFLIES- And That's Why CD
(Springroll Music 1998)

Somethings happen, somethings don't. An all-female power duo like this don't come often, maybe once in a pink moon, before becoming a part of historical archiving in Rock In The Fine City. They were school girls waxing lyrical proses about relationships and lovelorn school chapters ala Teenage Textbook, a little tragic and a little wiser but they were also the very femme fatales with guitars and attitudes that is of course charismatic in their special ways. Miasma of newfound power from two Indigo Girls and bra-burning slipped into Singaporean shores and took rocking to a higher strata of Mussolini headkick. Sugarflies originally started as an outfit of three in 1994, but since then June Koh (vocals and guitars) and Stella Tan (also vocals and guitars) stuck as the original poster girls. On a sidenote, the two girls are real babe materials, having witnessed them performing and taking my breath away at calibrated palpitations. For recording purposes, they had aid and abetting from drummers and bassists which included big names like Patrick Chng, Ray Aziz, Evan Tan and Farizwan. Sugarflies to me is like a whiff of fresh air from a rather musty music scene full of self-congratulatory in-breds. They make unique and beautiful music that separates them from the copycat masses and released one of the best indie album in 1998, titled "And That's Why".

On this release, they play irresistibly charming numbers that make one reminisces the good old days (especially school days), when all is ingenuous, kinder and sincere. They colour old photographs in sepia with a generous dosage of wistful dream-mongering, from the very strings that conjure magic and with their hearts that speak passion. I can close my eyes and feel the emotive tremors in the voices which is rich, matured and wordly, yet having a subtle school girl idealism. The vocals serenade in low key, hitting the range and feel of Natalie Merchant, and even Karen Carpenter at the lowest. Musically, the girls weave wonderful melodies with their trusty guitars that make dream pop in its delivery with a garage college rock background. Think of the melodic jangles of Catatonia, meets the shimmering soundscape of Lush with a heart for nostalgic Singaporean beat and you're almost there.

The album begins with "Sunday Night", which is a wonderful starter with its calm, reflective and dreamy quality, and the guitar melodies feel like stardust. The vocalist heaves gentle sighs, a very poetic and elegant way to address regrets and loneliness. "What About", one of the best track on the album is a 70s-pop inspired oldies track that gives the same warm nostalgia that makes the knees go weak, like Linda Ronstadt's "Blue Bayou", or a Carpenters number, which easily depicts the vesperine of our lovely island in the past. "Conversation" all the way to "School Bus Song" are more upbeat numbers that evokes Blondie-spirited rocking, which completes the indie soundpicture that the band draws. In between are many stand-out tracks that have made its way to compilations and other forms of media, like "Yoshiki", "Circle Song" (which some people see as a parallel dimension to Humpback Oak’s "Circling Square"), "Telegenic Babe" and "Radiostar"

Sugarflies never fail to deliver the sweets, but they didn't live long enough round the turn of the millenium and died like the sweet little thing is the fly. The passing of time is sad, because it reminds you that your memories are just an unreal figment of the past, and nothing will ever be as good as the past. You can address regrets like June Koh all over again, haunted by nostalgia but some day some time you may choose to let go and transcend past your Zahir out of samsara into a blazing future ahead. But if you are like me, still tied down by the memories of affectionate rocking from The Oddfellows, Humpback Oak and Sugarflies alike, then hang on and dream on. I have a balm from Edgar Allan Poe... Is all that we see or seem...But a dream within a dream?

Stoned Revivals CD

2006-06-28T06:37:00.001-07:00

STONED REVIVALS- Golden Love Songs From The Evil Island of The Handsome Cannibals CD
(Music Street 1999)

The late 90s had its little irksome retro renaissance; those tortoiseshells, bellbottoms and ugly dyeprints made a brief comeback, and poofed away faster than rapping "depeche mode" in one breath. Surely this is forgotten history as inconsequential as Fandi Ahmad. "Golden Lovesongs From The Evil Island of the Handsome Tropical Cannibals" is much more of a mouthful and while this is not exactly Wednesday night Mambo material, Stoned Revivals was actually quite the stoner thing revived. Quirky cheeseballs were the game these stoners played when Singapore indies lost its special flavour to the alternative flu, having another kindred Force Vomit as an equal standing honorary mention (Esam surfed here every now and then). The handsome ones were actually veterans of the local scene, made up of Esam (vocals/guitars), Kamal (bass), Syed Ahmad (drums/guitars) and syed munir (wah wah and the sexy Fender Rhodes) and they also love to go by the pseudonyms Mc Skunk, Iron Lung, Dr Blue and Mr Moon. The small parts that make up the repertoire includes guest musicians doing all stuffs from flugel horn and trumpets to turntables and didjeridu (for the special mojo). Where did this band stand then? They stood where the car chase left off with "Spanish Fly", the opening instrumental that has the boogie woogie kicking off. The band is indeed high on blaxploitation, kinky afros notwithstanding to complete the bling.

Musically I would be tempted to call them eclectic, but they pretty much stick to the funkalicious formula, cooking up the sleazy soulful love potion 69 in the veins of Isaac Hayes, Kool and The Gang, Curtis Mayfield and the rest of everything cool and not square from the 70s. Almost everything on the album is blaxploitation to the max, maybe except for the vocals, which unfortunately is stuck in the modernity down to the Madchester inspired whimper. The track "Loose Boogie" in fact hearkens back to Isaac Hayes belting out lush sensual soundtrack that evokes Foxy Cleopatra. "Run Ichiban" is the full funk-out, infectious funk licks and a cooler than thou disco vibe, that will surely please fans of Boney M, especially with its stellar cosmokeys. "Traci" is another outstanding number with it's The Ventures and The Shadows based surf riffs gliding up a wave, half expecting to walk and don't run, but this is the damned police car chase for fuck's sake. "Mr Moon's Confusion Groove" is a light refreshingly paced nice guy more in tune with those of Bill Withers and Earth Wind and Fire kind of pulses. The band's other influences came into light with The Door's inspired "Shoe", a great Chakra opener that has the same acid in the veins, "Mondo Magick" in the Stevie Wonders trip and "Stoned Alleycat" is a bossa to the Sade before turning tango!

Their stance is ultimately all thing bluesy, funky, disco, soul and boogie woogie down to its second nature, but there is also too much of a hiphop, bluegrass, freakbeat, rock n'roll and even heavy metal all condensed into this tiny silver platter. Not a boring "yeah yeah yeah" kind of Singaporean rock n'roll. So who says Singaporeans are a boring bunch? Maybe that will depend on one what kind of Singaporeans in question here, but the whole bloody point is: please get this album. There has been no better soundtrack to do the Singaporean Shaft than this marvellously beautiful debut album from Stoned Revivals, and act fast before things get too tribal with The Bushmen (it already did). By the way, this if offtopic but I believe the evil island in the album title is no other place than Singapore. Anyway, to quote an interesting line from the band, "the long overdued album by these self proclaimed tropical cannibals is done, full of pseudo spandex complexities". Haha, well enuff said.

Pink Elephant

2006-06-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

PINK ELEPHANT

Pink Elephant vintage shot

Pink Elephant- 18 Minutes In Wonderland Demo 1992

Formed in the martian sweatshop in 1991, Pink Elephant lived a rather short but meaninful existence in the ever changing landscape of the Singaporean indie underground. Their presence was like a fresh breath of hope when bands were going stagnant outpacing the blasts or sashaying to the British faggotry because they played in the endearingly dysfunctional offbeat folk fogey way. The lineup of this wonder unit goes like Dennis (drums), Cher Wai (guitars), Clement (guitar, bass, programming and vocals), and Redmund (vocals) and they had their first public showcase with the famous Gang Bang tape compilation of Singaporean indies. In 1992, they released their best effort to date, namely the "18 Minutes In Wonderland" demo, which had earned itself rave reviews in the local column inches. The demo is a mishmash of different influences stemming from their impressionable youth, with strong Bob Dylan super-imposed over beat-happy, note-stringy Shamen, and maybe Morissey singing to Tracy Chapman, or even Jesus and Mary Chain. They had several tracks that just leave one bewildered, like the wonderfully wistful "Gone Forever", the quirky "Surfing Martian", and of course the title track, which echoes folk on acid, or perhaps what they called psychedelic folk. Excellent stuff, albeit a slightly weak production. But Pink Elephant is now more extinct than the bloody Dodo.

Dread

2006-06-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

DREAD

Dread circa 1989

Dread- Awesome Terror Demo 1989

This one is simply a riot. Featuring death metal gangsters from Haig Road and Bedok in the rank of Sulaiman (guitars), Roslan (guitar and growls), Zulkifli (bass) and Jumadi (drums), this abomination saw the light of the day from the middle of '88 although from some other sources the inception went as far back as '86. Singapore did have its very fervent followers of metal and hardcore pumping important staples that mould the outcome of the underground. Indeed, music of such genre garnered much better support from local fans than the indies that forever fared steeped deeper in the underground. For that matter, Dread were considered as sort of a cult death metal band based in Singapore, and they were one of the earlier pioneers in the league of Nuctemeron, Anathema, Profancer and Abhorer. They delivered "Awesome Terror" in '89, a tape hissing ear-spliting distortion and mangled noise deathcore with such intense numbers like "Torment, Scream & Death", and "Infernal Bloodlust" influenced by the South American scene. And this hideous noise was made way before bands like Silent Sorrows and Mutation dabbled with technical death. Regardless of the racket, their noise never hit the radiowaves.

Mortal Flower

2006-06-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

MORTAL FLOWER

Mortal Flower circa 1991

Mortal Flower- Bathing In The Perspirations of My Ideology Demo 1989

Although they lived through a rather short existence in the Singaporean underground, they did send a strong ripple of hormonal waves across the island state, cooking up much of the crust in the topical punk arena. Emulating the anti-hero of their personal heroes, they fired up their brand of punk rock by all pariahs Sex Pistols from the old world and The Replacements from the new world alike. Formed in 1988, the lineup consisted of Kow (vocals), Edward (guitars), Adrian (keyboards/vocals), Gallan (bass) and Simon (drums). In that time period, a demo was recorded in 1989, aptly titled "Bathing In The Perspiration of My Ideology", indeed a youthful statement bewildered, inspired and struggling in the big dangerous frontier known as the real world. They quoted influences from Japan, Can, to Riot, Sex Pistols, Jesus and Mary Chain, like almost anything punk and posthumous. Musically, they stick tight to this guaranteed sound of syncopated sing along and melodious punk'd. At the turn of 1989, the band disbanded, followed by a two year hiatus before reshuffling to a new lineup consisting of Desmond (vocals), Razin (guitars), Adrian (bass) and Simon (drums). They bloomed like a radiant flower but wilted and finally faced mortality like any band stuck too much in the formula of sincere rocking.

Concave Scream- Concave Scream CD

2006-01-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

CONCAVE SCREAM- Concave Scream CD
(Coast-2-Coast Music 1994)

The debut from Concave Scream is built on an audacity not founded in an average HDB dweller. Concave- (adj) curved like a segment of the interior of a hollow sphere; scream and it will rattle louder within its dimensional constrains. The band had surprisingly gotten this far, after airing Democracy in a place where people are ruined by libel suits. But scream while you can because you are young and angst-ridden, which was very much what Sean and Pann were, audial terrorists of the lion city. Take a sneak peek at Pann if you can, and you may see a burly guitar executioner from the death metal band Silent Sorrows. Nevertheless my fellow mate Chris Sia, who was also into all music subversive, passed this CD to me to get me off my death metal hooks and Ive been a convert ever since. Well, to his credit, he was the guy who took the pictures of the dejected duo in the album.

Concave Scream is considered a legend in the scene. One living testimony for the bands success is attested by their longevity in the music business. When all else fails, a band with enough intelligence to reject the norms of grunge and British goofiness of that time gladly took a trip to the leftfield and came back with some interesting colours. In the case for Concave Scream, they launched their painful ode to existence with the right kind of colours that do not include red and white. Yes, and heaps of greyness. Here, the band revisited the hauntingly surrealistic post-apocalyptic lingering of Joshua Tree era U2, coupled with the militant beats and hypnotic guitar melodies of say New Model Army. Sean also sounds like hes got a couple of Pearl Jam CDs in his collection, which starts a very spooky reminiscence in the hobo jangle of Cradle. Whereas Pann had his ghost of Slayer creeping up towards the end of The Last Song, which he failed to exorcise (hey, hes still sporting long hair these days). The drum machine done up here by Shue Mann didnt conjure up much power to do intense double pedal bass beats for a full metal treatment.

When it comes to playing out the melancholia of a creepy U2 and New Model Army, the band seemed almost like a complete genius/revisionist. The album moved at a heavy, pounding tempo with highly dynamic energetic rhythm, yet never vulgar or offensive, as the extremely well crafted lines run in perfect synchrony, with a very dark undertone. And the best aspect about them is, they wrote the songs themselves. Sean delivers confessional lyricism, which comes quite nicely accentuated by his cracking vocals which doesnt seem to go flat, but achingly belting out much pain and angst, sounding futile and hopeful at the same time, like a desperado at the Speakers Corner. Insanity kicks start the inevitable downward spiral, and upon hearing the sheer intensity of the song, youll swear that the barbed and concertina wirings in the album photoshot could have easily been taken from the world class institution in Buangkok View, Hougang. In Democracy, the vocalist muses Try to force us to our knees, we will never surrender. The spirit of non-violence was so cleverly spoken in a time when all seems peaceful and calm. Do you know what I mean? If you do and bear the same sentiments, let me know. At Erase, the band folded into introspective space and reflected upon a state of lost reality, with a very engaging torchsong which sounds quite apt in anybodys breakup. Take it that when people are young (like once they were), affairs of the heart did matter. The last notable mention goes to Futile, overflowing with ingenuity which easily ranks first place in anybodys heartspot. I have to mention this, because you dont get to hear such good music often, at least from a Singapore band. The first thing that strikes me is how sad the violin piece sounded. Here, Concave Scream employed S.C. Lim with her weepy violin playing alongside folksy acoustic guitar strumming, which kind of evokes the immortal spirit of Humpback Oaks Lucifer, but still. Here, the vocalist croons At the crossroads I stand, with no choices at hand/ Im close to despair, tell me when will this end. Sometimes when this is played to the right effect, you just cant help but break down and start breathing funny, especially in our dire straits.

Funny how I can still remember a middle-aged taxi driver uncle commenting about his future home when we passed by that world class institution in Buangkok View, pointing his finger at the complex and jokingly implied that there should be it. After which he gave me some scary statistics of new residents ending up there. His words were murmured, like screams curved into concave spaces, he Edvard Munch knows best. What you can do here is to let Concave Scream hit your stereo and vociferate to your lungs capacity while you can, because you are young and angst-ridden, just like yesterday.

Various Artists- New School Rock MCD

2006-01-02T18:02:00.001-08:00

VARIOUS ARTISTS- New School Rock MCD
(BigO Project 1991)

And then it was about time when Singapore music had to emerge from the underground. BigO was already heralding the wave by the power of media and 1991 was the time that they saw dividends in investing a fair sum to etch and chronicle the most important periods of Singaporean music onto a timeless platter known as Compact Discs. When the CD was first introduced, in a specially marked up issue of BigO, there was quite a fervent response from locality. The Oddfellows were already gaining notoriety with their infamous asshole song, which had a rather generous serving on the radio waves in the early 90s; Opposition Party were serving thrashing slews to the heightened ecstasy of rabid fans in many concerts and this Corporate Toil would become that thing known as Mee Pok Man and Padres. There was much feel of excitement and revolution, and this dynamo certainly paved way for that burst of local artists onto anticipating crowds in the mid 90s, the renaissance of the Singaporean pop/rock music. Never mind that it was a certain well choreographed business plan, it still have its effect in making a worthwhile mark and many a diehard Singapore rockers. Each of the aforementioned bands contributed two tracks to this compilation, which made up a total of 6 home baked numbers. Also notesworthy here is that the coverart was drawn by the impact artist Jumali.

Well, what better way to say Mari Kita than Patrick Chng spewing his homegrown whines. Here, the Oddfellows kickstarted with pop punk opener Lost My Head and that crowd favourite Song About Caroline, which was incidentally that asshole song I mentioned earlier. The Oddfellows were perhaps the most influential band to ever walk within the local shores, to the same effects of mentioning The Pilgrims of Malaysia, or Sex Pistols of UK. They were the first indie band to gain any commercial successes here, notwithstanding the fact that bands like The Quests and Zircon Lounge were as indie as they get. One can simply attribute to their simplicity in delivery, their catchy numbers, and the fact that their innocent naivety (or as it seems) in the music garnishes an instant appeal to the band. If its about Caroline being the asshole that she is, then The Oddfellows make no qualms with the exclamations. Their music is laced with memorable hooks and sing-along quality not heard since The Replacements and Husker Du, that makes great gigging material.

Opposition Party offered their sinister brand of thrashing deathcore in two painful servings, namely Impending Doom and Crawl Out Alive. To sum it up, the band almost seemed out of place in this compilation, due to the fact that not even many fans of local indies can easily acquire admiration of metallic hardcore punk. To simply call Opposition Party a hardcore punk band is still largely an understatement. Their music is a metallic powerhouse charged with the thrashcore quality of DRI, meet the old-school punk of The Clash, and even the death thrash of Kreator. It takes a well educated underground adept to make a more accurate synopsis. Their material rocks my world to say the least.

Corporate Toil is the oddball of the bunch because they do not offer any rocking experiences, much to Joe Ngs regrets. This was his brainchild before striking Suede poses in The Padres, or flashing butt as Mee Pok Man. This band played rather cheap casio-sounding synth pop, with industrial beats and mandatory loopings, much alike a watered down version of Skinny Puppy meets a dysfunctional Coil. They came up with two tracks Hope And Requiem and King Eric. As much as Joe struggled with bad talents and off key singings, King Eric is actually quite interesting. It is driven by the kind of bass groove that compels you to put on a badass shades and swagger down Bugis street, chewing your badass gums. This song incidentally referred to either Eric Khoo or Eric Moo.

As always, true Singapore music, no matter how good or bad it is, gets right into the heart of the matter. For that matter, this was the New School Rock like the way it should be, because it had rewritten the textbook of Singapores rock music ever since.

Humpback Oak- Pain-stained Morning CD

2005-08-29T02:40:00.000-07:00

HUMPBACK OAK- Pain-stained Morning CD
(Pony Canyon Entertainment 1994)

"Down to the low life, well do I like it? No finer time to be alive." Or so, said the tortured crooner of Humpback Oak, with that familiar, desperate voice that reaches out from the lonely corners of the HDB units into every drowning holes of nocturnal enclaves. I drink to that, with a chill for that good old nostalgia of my teenage years and the solace I found in the dejected chapters of "Pain-stained Morning". Yes, I was that kid in the backrow, and I swore to my checkered jackets. Part of the curriculum involved desktop graffiti and exchange of CDs and cassette tapes. And one evening was spent dumbfounded, wearing the filmsy "Pain-stained Morning" tape of my friend. Of course I bought the CD eventually. For the very first instance, my eyes were drawn to the morose cover, which cannot be explained better than a really painful, screwed up morning, dead cat fetuses and all. Evenings became sessions that turned the depression of a melancholic youth into uplifting experiences, with myself shut within an enclosure, a little beam of light to break the total darkness, cigarette between the lips and Humpback Oak unfolding the pain in its poetic proses. The rich and infectious bleakness they've woven is the drought to wallow and drown into, the bitterness leaving memorable aftertaste like mana-like sustenance. The best thing about "Pain-stained Morning" is that I can relate my life at that time to every songs put out by the melancholic merchants, and feeling a familiarity in its unique Singaporean sound. It just speaks to you in a personal way, when you feel left out because you are not living in Seattle.

This is the band's debut album, but the unit had existed well six full years before it, made up of four blokes from SJI (mortal enemies of my alma mater) namely leader and bassist Daniel Wee, drummer Stanley Teo, guitarist Vincent Chin and the well known main lyricist/lead vocalist Leslie Low who had past outings in the Sonic Youth inspired outfit The Twang Bar Kings. They cited their influences from The Beatles to Jesus and Mary Chain and in my opinion the debut has a particular appeal to fans of guitar-based pop/rock of R.E.M., CSNY, Crowded House and especially The Church, but laden with more guitar flairs, folk, local spirit, sadness and calm. One listen and you'll understand that these guys eat nasi lemak for breakfast. The strong Singaporean identity is an advantage, but also not to forget their gift of weaving mesmerising sadcore that hooks the listener deep into their sepia-tinted creations. The guitar rhythms have a laidback mellowness, and melodies are rather bright and enticing, yet the undertone of the music has that subtle undercurrent of foggy shadows and clouds. The vocals are also rather relaxed and mellow, never really adding up to serious emotional upheaval or lamentings which can water down the flow in excesses but rather guide you through the chapters gently. There's no need to catch a breath in its lengthy expanse, since it glides gracefully with sublime ease, simple but intricate. One can feel the utmost sincerity, passion and elegance that make their pain seemingly enjoyable.

"Deep Door Down", the second track off the CD is really the first song to set the dark mood in, with the laidback brooding guitar lines unfolding in the X and Y of the stereos stimultaneously, engulfing the listener in a surreal passage of lonely forlorn, and I can picture a trip through the twisted interiors of Labrador Park. The vocalist croons "turn a corner and I see, a person looking/ there behind me there's another person staring/ am I freaking or am I strange...rearranging my brain...", which grapples on morbidity and schizophrenia, descent into his insanity. That guitar line is the making of legends! This happens to be my most favourite track and it made me not wanting to return the cassette tape to the anxious bugger who also managed to makan my Stone Roses tape. "Lucifer" delves into the unspeakable, the unholy yet omnipotent darkness that pervades the lyricist. On the subtle note, I can feel that he's casting a personal exorcism upon his innermost struggle; an expulsion for the temptations of "a new reason, a new freedom". The track shares a rather similar kind of laidback touch to the former only with the addition of a creepy-sounding electrical violin warping the senses. A good track for a fine reflective moment too. "Finer Life" is a tragic insight into twisted human relationships, misery and questions the blurry grey between right and wrong. Musically, this track exudes a local/asian feel from the unique scales the guitarist is playing on.

"Swansong" is more upbeat than the aforementioned tracks but it certainly isn't less painful. Floating brightness, casual strides, mesmerising melodies make the suicide theme a tad mild, but also more beautiful. Once again, it narrates an encounter; this time a mysterious call from a lady in the middle of the night sought advices from the narrator on suicide. "Then the line went dead/ she never called again..." ends on a tragic note and he's suddenly being overwhelmed with a sense of guilt, "saw her in my head for the first time". "Circling Square" is an endearing torch song tipping on grace without being overladen with diabetic-harmful saccharine typical of masses' "love songs". The simplicity, sincerity and passion of the song, combined with tender vocals and an ingenious beauty of composition makes this track a major favourite of mine. Love "don't see the need to complicate", pure as that. This song became the anthem to all that infatuations I had in my teenagehood. "Lower Girl" elevates the mood with more upbeat rhythms, the groovy surf-lines conjure The Pixies in the sleazy night lounges of Katong. The lyricist proclaims an obsession with the girl who happens to be way higher up than him. All she needs is to "be my lower girl", as hopeless as it may sound. "Crow" equally touches on obsession, but with hurt and pain manifested in both directions as relationships turned away from the fruition of love into the destructive cycle of "I turn to persuade you, pursue you like a prey". This song has a certain grandiose to it, as the instruments (for the most part, guitars) are layered into a rich hue of sounds, converging into a soundscape of ambience and the deliverance is driven by delirium (note, intense passion). Another frequent number on my playlists, no doubt.

With material this strong, it came as no surprise when the songs became frequents on the radio back in '94/'95 and chances are that bespectacled girl across the street knows how to hum to "Circling Square". Humpback Oak became THE BAND from Singapore with this debut release, making many young eager upstarts swearing to the local waves, which included me in the process. "Pain-stained Morning" is the landmark in the history of Singaporean music and no matter how much you are brought up with the latest MTV fodder, you cannot be blinded to the sheer qualities of this effort. Regardless of what you skeptics hold your opinion to, their music has become a living legacy of our heartlanders. I myself will attest with my heart. Do you have pain-stained mornings? Yup? Great, then you must be a Singaporean.

Various Artists- 12 Storeys Soundtrack CD

2005-07-29T04:15:00.000-07:00

VARIOUS ARTISTS- 12 Storeys Soundtrack CD
(Springroll Creative Entertainment Agency 1997)

"You did not make this place, had no hand in poising there; twelve storeys against the air. You only live here, and living alter its space..." (Simon Tay)

Empty providences, propping concrete skeletons and soul, "12 Storeys" is an austere reflection upon the average heartlanders of this island metropolis. The sophomoric film by Eric Khoo of the "Mee Pok Man" fame is a collective tale of urban tragedies; depicting a day in the life of the sad, mundane existence of your very average residents living in the cramped government housing known as HDB flats. Apart from great cinematography employed in it, the film succeeded in digging deep into the Singaporean psyche and making sociopolitical commentaries subtly, reflecting on the apparent destitute of the forgotten "losers" trapped in the dark recesses of urban alienation, in between the four concrete walls. The film was played to full houses in overseas film festivals and received positive acclaims, but this greatest cinematic moment in Singapore film-making made a quiet fizzle within the local shores, barely making an impact on a herd of self loathing robots who had long forgotten conscience and identity.

This review takes a look at the soundtrack of the film, which is a collective effort of some of the best bands in the Singaporean music scene. The soundtrack features samples of dialogue taken from the film, and is used to mould a conceptual context to the album. And many of these are selected from the highlights of the film, with the infamous Cantonese nagging of the amah, the bickerings between the siblings and the yelling of the Chinese newlywed. Kevin Matthews of The Crowd/ Watchmen fame is responsible for composing the backbone, the main themes of this soundtrack, and if the viewer can recall, the light morose tune "The Playground" creeps through the opening quietness into a montage sequence of various shots from the wee hours of a quiet morning, from long shots of the apartment block's exterior into close up shots of different Singaporean residents in the privacy of their concrete quarters. The "12 Storeys Closing Theme", is a reprise of "The Playground", which sees the night crawling in, curtain drawn... and dreaming another tomorrow. There is a tongue-in-cheek sample of coffeeshop uncles' Hokkien conversation tagged behind the closing theme, including several dialogue that were previously unavailable on the film, and it is definitely mandatory listening material for anyone who understands Hokkien.

Humpback Oak takes the lead with their acoustic melancholy in "If I Am Weak", "Stressed Out", and "Bridge". These numbers, characteristic of Humpback Oak's gentle, sepia-tinted suicide ballads, made frequent appearances throughout the film, as a dreamy prelude before suicide. "Stressed Out" takes a light stride, a mere shrugging shoulder acknowledgement to the state of being and society. The casual, hearty and laidback vibe of this song is beautifully augmented with the gentle voice of Leslie Low. Leslie also managed to hook up with the forever 27 rebel X'Ho with a brooding acoustic moment "We Are Always 1/2 Way There". This folksy angst-ridden tune sees X'Ho and Leslie lamenting the futility of society and falling behind in the cog and mills of the ratrace with 'there’s a future, no one knows where'. X'Ho also hooked up with Martin on "My Perfect 10", a soulful hip swaying groovy tune, and let's hope that it does not refer to that radio station. The next track pops up a sample "how many times you had sex with him.." Well, May Yee tried explaining with the cover of Watchmen's famous "My One And Only", which is a watered down version of the original, hardly doing justice but not surprising considering that this is the maiden singing feature from the model casted in this film. Jacintha carried her upbeat versions of Kevin Matthew's "12 Storeys theme", a dance beat-charged pop number with catchy hooks and ecstatic rhythms. Her other track "Charge me Your Fare" is a diva material in the making, accentuating her marvelous voice through the same charged up dance rhythms. Yeow also attempted a "12 Storeys (Dance Mix)" which delves towards the techno spectrum, with pulsing bass beats and complex synth layers and loops. Following Yeow, Najip Ali belted out a very engaging trip hop number "Moody", which has a very loungey ambience to the whole package. One of the highlight of this album is The Lilac Saint's "Wasting Time", with their very elegant, dreamy pop rock, which has some very exceptional melodies intertwined in the composition. The beautiful harmony of this piece, works in the same casual stride like Humpback Oak's "Stressed Out", a lazy shrug. Stoned Revivals came up with their brand of old-school boogie "Goodil", which showcases their excellent talent in original, cool and slick deliverance with very catchy psychedelic hooks in the chorus. And who can forget the good ol' The Oddfellows with their exclusive feature "Breach", which rocks the house with their simple, catchy pop punk, reminiscent of The Replacements on prozac. Last but not least, The Sugarflies gave us melodic indie pop rock with its beautiful "Wrong Again", with melodies that linger in the thin breeze, with the crisp delicacy of a feminine touch.

Ten days to go before the 9th of August, and what better way to evince the spirit of the nation with anthems from the voices of Singaporeans? No fanciful extolling of blind faith and 'feel good' confidence. The discourses of the state and the ideology of the nation are put in the question mark because the people cannot stand up for Singapore anymore. These are the genuine outcries from suppressed voices desperate to be heard. Yet, they are still dreaming for a better tomorrow. No other soundtrack to your unfulfilling life comes better than the "12 Storeys Soundtrack" because it is quintessentially Singaporean, and the essence of it is tragic.

"Stand up for Singapore. :P "

The Mother- A Dark Trip On The Ill Tip CD

2004-11-19T07:56:00.000-08:00

THE MOTHER- A Dark Trip On The Ill Tip CD
(Zer0 9er Productions 1998)

"When you don't particularly like someone, you will call him something like 'the sister' or 'the boss', so in a similar way, I chose the name 'The Mother'...", or so said Razali, the frontman of The Mother. Well, well, the band does indeed sounds like a culmination of bad childhood. And this Mother-ship will surely take you through a dark trip on the ill tip. Garnering slight fame after their sepia-tinted depressions on the "Flush After Use" compilation CD from 1996, the band has since developed their brand of dark and gloomy non-conformist shoegazings to new ill territories in metallic trip hop . Speaking of non-conformism, the band is an unlikely meeting of four musicians coming from very different backgrounds. Nigel Hogan is the ex-Padres guitarist, Nazim Mahat a metalhead, Bobo a rap-enthusiast and this Razali a fan of rojak.

They are musically influenced by The Smiths and Ned's Atomic Dustbin, but they have drum beats that has a distinctive Beastie Boys touch to it, and the string plays are somewhere between U2 melodic lines and doom metal. The opening track "Fooling The People We Know So Well" is an instant brow-raiser with its nusantara-moans/overtone, and the trippy beats. And the My Dying Bride-like rhythm guitars, oh my god. "Your Face" is quite a highlight on the CD, with its U2 jangles taking unexpected twists into an Arabian torch song, although not quite in same veins as the thorough U2 treatment on "Watch The Sunset", which is a very catchy, grooving track in its own right.

The other half of the CD is made up of "incomplete work" and "instrumental". I don't quite get the meaning of "incomplete work", since those supposedly half-assed tracks are running without glitches from head to toe, except perhaps sounding a tad raw and unpolished. Well, there is actually only one "instrumental", titled "Ecaf Ruoy", and it's given the "voodoo touch" by Randolf. Well, to tell you the truth, this "voodoo touch" is nothing more than "Your Face" played backward, nothing more nothing less! Uh huh, The Mother are a funny bunch.

A summation of the listening experience is an immense negative sensory overload, not in a bad negative way, but rather in a dark negative way. The Mother succeeded in casting a gloomy spell with their dark mongering and lewd fantasies (try to ask the band for their full lyrics). Well, when a band calls themselves The Mother, you'd have expected half of the claptrap up their sleeves. The CD comes as a heartfelt recommendation for those adventurous/eclectic listeners who don't mind flirting with a bit of darkness at somewhere near the ill tip.

The Pagans- Stereokineticspiraldreams CD

2004-11-17T05:55:00.000-08:00

THE PAGANS- Stereokineticspiraldreams CD
(Tim Records/Odyssey Music Pte Ltd 1993)

The ethereal, airy voice evokes a Bilinda Butcher moment in an identifiable swirl of surrealistic art-noise, only that Morris is very much a male vocalist in the lineup. Well, for sure this "Stereokineticspiraldreams" is intended for a beautiful confusion, fury on collision course with seductive drift, an androgynous gesture of sexual rush of sound. The Pagans is perhaps one of a kind in Singapore, the few dreamy shoe-gazers that actually work fine in the not so poetic settings on the Singaporean shores. The band members were widely renowned in the local scene as prima donnas, and some people unwittingly dropped a Suede comparison but these guys are our very own rock dandies, with a well baked Singaporean accent to boot.

This CD is the debut, and the very last we're ever going to hear from this unique Singaporean dream-meisters. The CD looks as impressive as the band itself. Packaged with lush plastic sleeves folded over the booklet, with drawn psychedelic symmetry, this is a perfect dream treatment for a perfect rock band. Such designs can easily make the most unforgiving listeners swoon to its sinful aesthetics. "Prog-Rock Space Opera" takes lead in the trip, cascading phenomenally extraterrestrial guitar sounds over an impossibly dense soundscape in the parade of anxious drum beats. The monumental bassline and the second guitar complemented the contorted leads, so much so that Kevin Shield's presence is felt. But hey, what we've got here is dear Morris, Edward, Rick and Edwin. Well, Morris losed himself in this blurry orchestra of sound and he never once oozed a drop of machismo, because he preferred tip-toeing through the clouds.

When "Sandy Crush", "?" and "TV Babe" (this one goes to Jacqueline Meishi Schatz? Where is she now?) comes along, more subdued rhythm takes form and licked through fragile melodies with a romantic echo. Almost elegant, glittering with angel dust, The Pagans succeeded in pushing the delicacy of the songs with a non foreboding crush, that is heavy nevertheless. They traversed the same Utopian realms as My Bloody Valentine, but played a different kind of heavenly pipe. The urgent rush in other songs like "DHL" and "Precious 7" ride the same titillating waves of other shoegazers like Ride, with showy drumfills hitting each climax in the pulses.

There are additional materials in the CD to please. The last few tracks are taken from their cassette EP titled "Hideaway" from '92 (or fondly dubbed the tortoise shell cassette). The music here is less sublime, holds a better clarity, and some of it is way cooler and slicker than the full length, especially in the weary torch song "Gone", a melancholic crestfallen pavement walk with a touch of the detached British cool in the dissonance of the melodies.

The Pagans was a band that lived a bigger than life presence, and were almost set poised to deliver paradise with their otherworldly symphony, but their presence are never to be felt in the radiowaves, or anywhere in a closed radar range. What a god-damned pity, because this band can serve detractors of Singapore music a listless shoe-gazing.

Daze- Sexy Little Boy/C'mon Allison MCD

2004-11-15T04:35:00.000-08:00

DAZE- Sexy Little Boy/C'mon Allison MCD
(Tim Records 1991)

"Rock 'n' roll never looked so good... this is sexy little boy". If these words still endear to you dearly, oh my you're getting old. It meant much more back in '91, than it does in this millenium and any bands caught attempting this line again looked as awkward as Black Eyed Peas doing punk recitals. But back when Daze made such exclamation in "Sexy Little Boy", it sounded like the very last breath of hope from the good old days of Singaporean punk/rock, permeating with enthusiasm and exuberating spirit of youth. Indeed, it gave a whole new meaning to life and music at that time. The bouncy delight of a hit that was "Sexy Little Boy" formed a cheerful brightspot in my hazy memory, reminiscing the days when us angst-ridden punk boys were prancing along to the catchy rhythms and reciting its lyrical prose. It might sound weird but the infectious song became an anthem to our ideals, to our dreams, and to the faith put in Singaporean music. The song rocked our world so much that we almost tore apart the walls of Boys' Town.

To call Daze a punk band is naivety at worst. This is a melodic post-punk outfit stuck with punk ethos, but they are not your typical run-of-the-mill Echo and The Bunnymen progenitors. Two veteran musicians consisted of the lineups, from Mortal Flower (Adrian Ho) and The Twang Bar Kings (Don Bosco Anthony) respectively. The aforementioned bands were big for their times, stirring up much beautiful noises and other mischiefs since the late '80s. This collaboration however did not led to a fare of The Cure vs. Sonic Youth handshake and subsequent masturbations. Daze had whimsical melodic guitar riffs played over a lively synchronized mechanical beat and with Adrian's deadpan vocal, and they could be way cooler than The Smiths, if not for the fact that many of our preconceived notions of Anglo-Saxon cool were already taking form. The best tracks like "Sexy Little Boy" and "C'mon Allison" subscribed well to the ingenuity of such delivery and they are clearly not totally subservient to overseas standards, but could be found breathing the kopitiam Singaporean style. The track "Marilyn" however, is performed with less concerted delivery, having only vocals sung over acoustic guitars and humbly recorded in Fort Canning with Leslie Low (of ex-Twang Bar Kings henchman/Humpback Oak fame) in the backpicture. This only proves that Daze was not all about lumbering around techno age although they could come very close with their "latest rage mix" treatment of their hit single.

Now, more than a decade after, this MCD and its sexy hit single has taken on more meanings, rearing a different kind of perspectives. Perhaps it has got something to do with age, but the joy that revolved the hopeful anthem has died, now sounding sad, futile and regretful. This part of the lyrics, "...I was once a sexy little boy, but now, I'm just an ordinary guy", has become more apparent, a bare boned reflection that once echoed the naive heralding of youth and Singaporean music, and its sad desperation has actually taken a real form. I can't help but now look at the music with a cynical angle, and saw the actual meaning to the message that Don Bosco Anthony and company were trying to bring across. In another word, like a chilling revelation befallen upon me, I know that I'm just an ordinary guy now. But at least I remember the days when we once embraced youth.