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Tama Na Ang Drama (2023 Deluxe Edition)

by Ang Bandang Shirley

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Iyong (2023) 03:24
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Pait (2023) 04:40
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Ginto (2023) 01:58
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about

"Ang Bandang Shirley didn’t break through with Tama Na ang Drama. That distinction belongs to their debut record. But as with skipping stones, that first contact with water is just that: a trigger point. Pebble touching pond. Suspension of submersion. When TNAD came along, that rock’s already got a rhythm going, and it’s both because and in spite of the first move. That said, in Shirley’s sophomore outing, mimicry gives way to affectation, and feeling eases into deliberateness.

“Nakauwi Na,” arguably its biggest number, no longer sounds like the work of a band self-conscious of whether it’s got something stuck in its teeth. It just is. TNAD is indie rock for the post-Eraserheads generation, poetry for the microblogging set, bar rock for people unsure of what rock is anymore but like it anyway. The Shirley of TNAD is, also, a band that’s like a show you can hop onto anytime, with episodes you can watch in any order, with characters devoid of back stories but remain compelling AF.

When you spin “Iyong,” you’re simultaneously doomed and saved, its stop-and-go cadence keeping you a certain kind of sad, the kind that holds hands with relief but is wary of its promises. When you get to “Taksil,” you’re seething but resigned, plaintive but vindictive. Even as you chance upon left-field favorites—the bittersweet “Acid Reflux,” the punky-quirky “Saan Na?,” the candylike “Polygonal Graphs”—you get the sensation of being emotionally accosted.

This isn’t surprising. After all, Shirley, at their core (despite seemingly explicit evidence to the contrary) is a band whose material you have to contend with. The songs go down easy, the melodies have a resolute agreeability, but the sentiments haunt you when you least expect it. So, yes, we contend with what these tunes end up doing to us, and where we stand on love and loss, and how we cope and celebrate despite freshly minted bruises.

The deluxe version of Tama Na ang Drama, therefore—more than a reimagining of (what I feel is) an important touchstone in Filipino indie—is a necessary revisiting. Co-producer Joey Santos’ remasters are a subtle stab at just that, shining a light on other frequencies previously downplayed, dowsing the numbers in more updated sonics while keeping the originals’ oddball charms. Santos, ultimately, is reverential of the record’s role as “snapshot” of a strong time in Shirley’s existence as a creative unit.

“It’s a look at Ang Bandang Shirley as an indie band on the rise. It’s also a segue to the band’s greater commercial success and critical acclaim which followed on Favorite,” Santos says.

That said, the newest iteration of TNAD is, also, a redefinition: in two “extended” versions of key numbers (“Iyong” and “‘Di Na Babalik”), singer Debb Acebu and bassist Paolo Arciga are given much-deserved opportunities to render their takes as canon, and they’re no slouches either. Modulogeek and Nights of Rizal, more than being Shirley-adjacent acts that beautifully frame their rich history, also offer up brilliant remixes (“‘Di Na Babalik” and “Tama Na ang Drama,” respectively).

Again, they’re much like a series you can watch in any order, but it’s great to be shown the logs. At this point in the band’s existence, where they’re watched by younger audiences who weren’t legal during their mid-aughts lead-up to indie greatness; who have not seen a show with Owel Alvero, Selena Davis, or Jing Gaddi in the lineup; I’m giddy at the prospect of a possible new convert discovering Shirley for the first time with this reissue.

With tunes as fine as these and a lineup that remains as dynamic as ever—singer-songwriter-guitarist Ean Aguila, guitarist Joe Fontanilla, Acebu, Arciga, and more recently, drummer Miggy Abesamis, who assumed the drum throne upon Zig Rabara’s fairly recent migration—the snapshot is naturally different but surprisingly familiar."

- Aldus Santos
Author, "The Demo Versions"

credits

released September 22, 2023

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about

Ang Bandang Shirley Manila, Philippines

Very friendly bunch of ordinary guys and gals who like eating good food, and making music!

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