straight from neverland

after months of waiting. i finally have it. *stupidly giddy laughter* thanks, dear! ^__^

***
yes. it is straight out a flat five. without hesitations. although i must admit 30% of that rating is based solely on my bias for the band (hehe. review ko to e! baket ba?), the other 70% is based on pure merit. the reason for that grade - apart from the now well-known fact that i am such a fanwhore of them - is that they've proven their worth as progressive artists. while retaining that distinctly udub sound, they were able to experiment with and integrate new elements into their music for the fourth album.

it is a coming to a full circle of sorts, and then going beyond. some of the riffs would seem familiar, as well as themes. Life Is Easy, for example, with its smooth reggae beat, is reminiscent of Sailin' from the Influence album. both also talk about the joys of being in the beach, although the latter is with a sexier .. erm... objective in sight, while the former is more on a personal and individual level of enjoyment. The lines "riding on the curl/ straight into the shore/ take it easy, take it easy/ under the sun/ having fun cuz life is easy/ life is easy" hint at songwriter/lead vocalist gabby alipe's newfound romance with the surf. meanwhile, their first single off this album, Guillotine, sounds like a track that crossed over from Embrace. it's got that aggressive Alert The Armory feel to it, from the lyric's forlorn surrender down to lalay's almost furious bassline.

the progression, then, comes in a delightful package of surprise in the form of track number 7, Evidence. Udub got soul'd. yes, they did soul. kinda. jazzy soul. funky-jazzy-soul. i was taken aback initially, and it took a good few seconds to realize i was still listening to the same album. for one, the sudden shift in mood and tempo came with no warnings at all. secondly, i guess i just wasn't imaginative enough to foresee that they could do soul. jazzy soul. funky-jazzy-soul. it's rather easy to picture them playing reggae tunes, but jazzy ones? not so much. still, they pulled it off, and i loved the way the sexy vibe meshed well with the song's lonely emotion. i would now say it was a good transitional piece - a warning or a preparation if you will - for their other notable fresh juice: Inside the Mind of A Killer.

how is this funky-jazzy-soul track a preparation for Inside the Mind of A Killer? because the latter track had kat aggarado of sino sikat guesting in the vocals, and Evidence's style kind of mirrors that of sino sikat's musical inclinations. if you have no idea what am talking about, look them up. it's danged high time you do.

these two tracks, i must say, are like fish out of water. but they're good fish and they're surviving great out of the water. in hindsight, i realized that these songs, which certainly will put you off track for a minute while trying to grapple with the sudden change in ground and sound, provide that same kind of breather from jon's stimulating guitar leads, lalay's efficient bassing, and janjan's hypnotic drum-poundings much like Give and Two Things did for Birth, Quiet Poetic for Influence, and A City of Sleeping Hearts for Embrace.

but for all the nakakacardiac-arrest lyrics and well-arranged songs' worth, my favoritest pick of them all would be the heartbreaking The Fight is Over. prior the release of the album, i've already heard this single, thanks to the live videos put up on youtube. as i was immersed and used to the more upbeat tempo of the live versions (which were criers in themselves already), the album version's more mellow approach proved to be more heart-wrenching. much, much more. maybe it was because the guitars weren't as demanding here, and the drums were more subtle yet calmly persistent. maybe it was because you could almost quite literally hear gabby's heart breaking on his sleeves soaking wet, as well as lalay's backups that were hauntingly yearning. maybe it was the floaty fluidity of the riffs and how the melodies just blended all together - straightforwardly yet oh so painfully sweet. it was heartbreak mush hotel at its finest, but devoid of the nakakaumay na keso factor. maybe it was all that. or maybe am just lovesick like that.

at the end of the day - ten tracks, actually - i say that urbandub's under southern lights is a dazzling display that every fan should not miss, and every unknowing listener should discover. i am glad they were able to successfully go beyond the pinhole that they were relegated in with their preceding albums - sounds-wise - and that they proved their words true when they said they had new materials coming out, while at the same time keeping true to their identity that fans know and love. we already knew them to be versatile, and this one just compounds that fact even more.

the two years of waiting, down to the last few minutes before i finally clutched this album right in my own sweaty palms, have been nothing short of worth it. oober. with this one, they definitely made waiting fine.