I was supposed to be working today, but I came upon a copy of the Eraserheads tribute album and couldn’t resist writing out some thoughts on it. As you’re all probably aware, Ultraelectromagneticjam is a collection of covers of various Eraserheads classics. As with any tribute album, it’s unlikely that any loyal Eheads fan will enjoy these songs quite as much as the originals, but you can’t fault these guys for trying I guess.
I’ll go over the really terrible tracks really quickly:
- MYMP - Huwag Mo Nang Itanong
- Barbie Almalbis - Overdrive
- Spongecola - Pare Ko
- Kitchie Nadal - Ligaya
- Cueshe - Hard to Believe
- Isha - Torpedo
As you’d probably expect, the MYMP, Spongecola and Cueshe covers are all awful, but for different reasons, i.e., MYMP is a show band, Spongecola needs to stay in high school and Cueshe needs to break up. Meanwhile, the three female vocalists, Kitchie, Barbie and Isha, demonstrate how little they understand the songs that they selected and each produce a track that is in-line with their respective sounds, but are totally out-of-line with what the songs are actually about. I actually like Barbie a lot, but people need to realize that Overdrive can never be covered by a female. Not only is the vocal range totally different, but the theme is too totally "lower-class, early-20’s, blue-collar male" that it’s an awkward fit for any female vocalist.
The ok tracks are as follows:
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South Border - With a Smile
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Orange and Lemons - Huwag Kang Matakot
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Imago - Spoliarium
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6 Cycle Mind - Alapaap
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Paolo Santos - Magasin
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Francis M - Superproxy 2K6
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Rico J. Puno - Ang Huling El Bimbo
These 7 "ok" tracks are mostly ok because the songs were a good fit for the people covering them. I was surprisingly enamored with the Rico J Puno cover of "El Bimbo"; he fit this song’s cheesy, retro-feel to a tee I think. 6-Cycle Mind’s "Alapaap" and Francis M’s "Superproxy 2K6" were pretty cute. I should probably mention that the Orange & Lemons cover is really bland, but I guess that might just be a matter of personal taste. These guys try to get creative and insert a riff from Julie Tearjerky towards the end of the song; I guess they’ve gotten pretty good at borrowing riffs from other songs (hehe).
And finally, the good stuff:
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Radioactive Sago Project - Alcohol
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Brownman Revival - Maling Akala
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Sugarfree - Tikman
Radioactive Sago Project, being the Cake of the Philippines, can cover any friggin’ thing and hide behind spoken-delivery, a 3-piece horn-section and a bluesy wah guitar. "Alcohol" is fairly average RSP fare, but it’s a freshening change of pace in this context. Brownman Revival is probably the only band on this collection that was able to develop their song at their leisure (the "Maling Akala" single came out months before this collection), so it’s easily the tightest track of the bunch. Meanwhile, Sugarfree’s "Tikman" is compelling in that they didn’t try to do anything fancy with the song; they recognized that it was perfect the way it was and didn’t try to re-work it in any way.
Which brings me, in a roundabout way, to the point of this review. Ultraelectromagneticjam is not so much a tribute as it is a reminder of just how good the Eraserheads were; none of the tracks here come close to supplanting the originals, just as none of the current crop of bands come close to the level set by the ‘heads all those years ago.