Up Dharma Down, Ang Bandang Shirley, and more precious comebacks
There’s always risk in making a comeback album. One wrong move might botch your legacy in exchange for a few cash-ins. An underwhelming reception might spiral into a series of flops. But there are artists capable of transcending the zeitgeist: risk-takers who have built their brand by releasing compelling records that thrive in a landscape often compromised by commercial demands. Lucky for us, they are here to stay and turn the beat around this 2017.
Now in its 11th year, Up Dharma Down shows no signs of slowing down. Buoyed by a string of commercial endorsements, lucrative gigs and crossover radio hits, Terno Recordings’ top band continues to be relevant as ever even without releasing any album since 2012’s “Capacities.” This year promises to reinstate them on top of the game with the rumored release of their still-untitled fourth album. Sigurado, an understated funk-pop ditty which premiered on Spotify a few days ago, serves as the record’s first single. It also marks the first time they’re using the moniker UDD instead of Up Dharma Down — a hint that they might thread into unforeseen direction in terms of branding and music.
Aside from UDD, Ang Bandang Shirley is poised to return with a new album called “Favorite,” the follow-up to 2012’s “Tama Na Ang Drama.” So far, they’ve released two singles prior to the official launch of the third LP due this March 2017: the rousing anthem Umaapaw, which topped various year-end lists in 2016, and Siberia, an emotionally resonant piece penned by Ean Aguila and the band’s manager Kathy Gener. In their attempt to piece together the most definitive soundtrack of our lives, expect nothing but effortlessly beautiful songs that appeal to music fans of all stripes.
More good news: Expect long overdue releases to hit the shelf soon and take over the music blogosphere discussion in a few months. Cebu-based act Sheila and the Insects are working on a follow-up to 2005’s critically lauded Flowerfish. Also plotting their comeback are Number Line Records’ Outerhope, trip- hop duo Drip, math- rock gents Musical O, dance-rock titos Pedicab and indie outfit Taken By Cars, whose brand-new track Soothsayer feels like a much-welcome departure from the band’s Bloc Party-meets-Blondie sound. We are also stoked for the debut full-length albums of notso-newcomers The Strangeness and She’s Only Sixteen, with both acts embracing a completely different sound from their previously released EPs.
Comebacks have never been this exciting.