BY ROME JORGE, LIFESTYLE EDITOR, THE MANILA TIMES Tuesday, 01 December 2009 00:00
At first glance, Sinosikat’s second album entitled just that—2nd Album—forgoes the most endearing quality of its highly acclaimed self-titled debut CD. They have seemingly eschewed the streetwise sass of their lyrics. But the spunk is still there—just cleverly hidden. Kat Agarrado delivers a vocal performance worthy of a soul diva on its first track irreverently entitled “Toilet.” In “Mr. Musikero (Pwede Ba?),” they let the classic Pinoy funk tune speak for them. Still ever so funky, the bass takes center stage in songs such as “Acid Funk” and “H.S. Romance.” And just to let you know they haven’t forgotten their rock credentials, “Wherever You Are” blows you away with its powerful driving beat, compelling guitars, fiery vocals and heartrending piano licks.
The vanguard of the Pinoy soul movement still talks dirty and gets funky, albeit with much more subtlety.
This time, there’s so much more said. And it’s said ever so softly.
Bassist Philippe Arreola and keyboardist David Starck now join vocalist Kat Agarrado, guitarist Nick Azarcon and drummer Reli de Vera to create a lush new sound that borders on progressive. Arreola brings with him the infectious bass-driven funk rock he honed with Kapatid. Frenchman Starck, schooled at the Centre International de Musique in Paris and honed in New York’s jazz scene, enriches the band’s sound.
Together, the new Sinosikat is more than the sum of its influences. They sound nothing like them and nothing like their former selves.
In this new album, their words are introspective and the arrangements are a restrained display of jazzy virtuosity. They have mellowed out, emotionally and artistically. They have grown. What they demand of listeners is a new level of sophistication. They no longer feel the need to grab you by the lapels to get their point across. Instead of playing songs that are in-your-face candid, they present an album that needs to be carefully pealed like a lover clamoring for tender seduction.
The best way to appreciate their music is to talk to them intimately. Inside Starck’s cozy high-rise flat, the band gets up close and personal. And like their album, they mix irreverence and insight.
For Agarrado, she went back to her soul roots. “In 2007 after the album, I took a sound trip to funk, old school, blues, gospel. Ella Fitzgerald, Amy Winehouse, Aretha Franklin, etc.”
Even with her lyrics, Agarrado revisits the past. She reveals, “‘Toilet,’ the first track, I wrote that when I was still 19. It was a long time ago. And then we arranged it. They did help me arrange. Actually it was the first song that we made for the album.” “H.S. Romance” revisits high school infatuation and “Mr. Musikero (Pwede Ba?)” pays homage to Sonny Nicolas’ OPM classic while taking listeners on a trip down memory lane.
“We wanted this song in the album because it’s groovy and the way it was arranged was good. And the message was very timely because since everyone wants to be a musician nowadays, everyone wants to be in a band. So I think Pwede Ba? is the perfect message to the next generation of musicians,” she shares.
In this album, the band isn’t afraid to bare its vulnerability. Agarrado reveals, “A lot of songs are really about love. How you get there, when you’re there, why you’re there. There are different themes about love so we’re taking different styles for the songs that we write. So we do something a little harder, a little softer, it depends on the mood.” The album’s last song is an unabashed tender love ballad titled “Nung Iniwan Mo Ako.”
“The second album is about heartaches. There are people who part ways,” Agarrado confesses. Arreola reveals that his composition “Wherever You Are” was inspired by being away in Boracay. “All the songs are autobiographical,” Arreola confesses.
On its first album Sinoskat made itself heard loud and clear. Now, Kat Agarrado, Nick Azarcon, Reli de Vera, Philippe Arreola and David Starck make themselves known by bearing their heart and soul.