Where Words Fail, Music Speaks

The Internet widely credits Hans Christian Andersen for that quote, although in this day and age no one really knows who said what. That point aside, I’m really on some sort of post-rock/math rock/instrumental obsession phase right now.

I can trace this back to Charlie Simpson, who under no circumstance belongs to that genre, but hear me out. I found out about Charlie via his old pop (sort of boy-)band Busted, which he left in favour of his new band Fightstar. Heavier and dubbed by some as “Busted on steroids,” Fightstar opened my eyes to a lot of different things especially in music. Although more of a post-hardcore and progressive rock band with cathartic harmonies and lyrics, Fightstar was also influenced by instrumental bands like Mono and Explosions in the Sky. As such, they got me curious as to what makes that type of music all that appealing.

Don’t get me wrong, though, because I’ve always been a writer at heart. I’m one of the few people who could write lyrics first before making the music up in our heads. I’m more of a lyricist than an actual musician, although it’s safe to say that musicality runs in my blood. I’ve learned 5 instruments before I even wrote my first song lyrics, so go figure. I guess I just could express myself more through words than through notes.

ANYWAY! Back to my point: instrumental music, other than film scores, was pretty alien to me. It’s not a big scene here in the Philippines, and I had to discover instrumental rock/ambient alternative music all by myself. I can’t remember why or how, but I discovered this dude on Bandcamp who calls himself Circadian Eyes, and everything just boomed from there. His music was refreshing to listen to, and it was very thematic, perfect for rainy days when you want to chill in your room but don’t want to go full-on emo.

I forgot about Circadian Eyes and his piano-based instrumentals for some time, and went back to my pop/alternative/rock music choices. Every now and then, I obsess over some artist or band, or a complete genre, so it took some time again before I remembered what post-rock is. Let me tell you an embarrassing story of how this musical style snaked its way back into my life… it’s gonna seem unrelated, but trust me it’ll all fall into place.

In my previous job, I had to ride a shuttle service van from my city into another city where my office was located. Sometimes I’d get to the queue at around 6:30 or 7 in the morning, and wouldn’t be able to get a ride for 30 minutes to an hour, and sometimes more (yeah, shocker). So with the same bunch of people from the same general area going to another city for work (think tri-state area, sans states), you get familiar with the people you meet on your daily commute.

There’s this one dude there whom I think was, let’s just say, visually appealing. He’s not the typical, drop-dead gorgeous boy-next-door fella. He was kind of geeky-but-cute and he’d be around during a certain time. My schedule was pretty much the same as his, so I’d see him all the time. On several occassions, he would be wearing a band shirt that I tried figuring out in the event that he or I might strike up a conversation (which never happened, lol). Turns out, he was wearing a shirt by a band called “Toe.” Actually, what I read was the concert tour’s name, called “The Five Six Seven” which was more intriguing. Out of pure dumbassery and poser-ness, I Googled said band/tour, and lo and behold! Yes, it may have started weirdly, but I genuinely liked what I discovered and I still listen to Toe to this day. 😉

Fast forward to Fete de la Musique 2014. It was 21st June, and I decided on the Independent Stage held at 12 Monkeys. I had friends playing in other stages, but “Fete Indie” seemed like the most appropriate fit. There were maybe 15 different bands and solo acts set to play that venue, and I almost instantly became a fan of nearly all of them. Among the lineup were bands called tide/edit and Earthmover. I was pleasantly surprised with what I heard, especially since the former has been creating a buzz among my peers in Facebook.

Within the next few days, I found myself stalking those bands’ Bandcamp and Facebook pages for music, and downloaded anything they gave away for free. I also ordered tide/edit’s full-length album Foreign Languages, which was self-funded so on some level you’d have to interact with the band to pay for it and claim it. It was a pre-order of the physical copy, with an instant download as well. I fell in love with the album and could not wait until the USB “cassette tape” would arrive.

Soon enough, they announced via e-mail blast that the “tapes” were finished and that we could pick them up at their next gig (which was, in their own words, a rare occurrence). Even if I couldn’t find anybody to go with, I went to that gig on my own, miles away from my work and apartment at the South of Metro Manila, all the way to the North side. It was a payday Friday, and I was feeling rather poorly, so I went through hell just to get there. I met one of tide/edit’s guitarists, Clarence, who handed the “tape” to me.

http://instagram.com/p/sS0w54ArZn/embed

Eventually I met two of the three other tide/edit members (apparently the bassist almost always has to disappear right after playing due to work, lol) and got to talking to them. I mainly asked for autographs, ’cause I’m old school like that, but they actually talked to me and all that. They’re a fun bunch, and genuinely nice. I went from newbie fan to instant/supporter friend in less than two months. Well, maybe acquaintance – I’m pretty sure it’s only Clarence who remembers me. But anywho!

So the gig was titled Alpenglow, and it featured five other singers/bands, only two of which I’ve heard of. The rest were strangers to me, but again I instantly became a fan. Most notably would be the band Tom’s Story. How I’ve never heard of these guys is beyond me, because they’re just so good. Again, post-rock/math rock stuff. I wasn’t able to talk to them after their set, so I looked for them in Facebook and told them I’d buy a CD if they had one. They did, but it was a limited run split EP so they couldn’t give me one. It’s their eponymous bassist Tom who was talking to me there, and he asked me if maybe I’d like to wait for their next release instead. Okay then.

Maybe it’s their lack of physical albums that’s making me crave for their music, I don’t know. I went looking for other similar bands in the local scene, and found a few. Pulso, Anton and the Salvadors, Soju…who knows, there could be more. I’m so digging the vibes from these bands. I haven’t seen them live, but if they’re as good as their recordings, then I’m so looking forward to diving into this local post-rock/math rock scene. For some reason, I’m not as bothered by the lack of lyrics as I expected, and found that a song could get stuck in my head regardless.

I can't quote their lyrics 'cos they have none, but that's cool! This has been a @tideeditmusic & @tomsstoryph appreciation post. OK bye </3

— 𝙸𝚖𝚎𝚎 🥀 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙰𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙼𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚊𝚕 (@yosoysideegg) October 6, 2014

Because tide/edit and Tom’s Story are kids around my age (or meep, I think they’re younger), and because they talk to me even if only online, they’re the closest to my heart at the moment. Also, they love causing a riot in social media with their odd yet entertaining posts and their way of giving love back to their fans, so… <3

In conclusion to this thousand-word rambling of a blog post, I heart post-rock/math rock OPM. Lately I feel less than inspired to write lyrics or listen to any song that has words in them. But, as I cannot live a day without music, these bands provide me the vibes I need to get through my daily grind without necessarily forcing their words into my head. Who says messages and stories can’t be in a less than tangible form like instrumentals? 😉

PS: I am in no way as skilled as any of the aforementioned artists, and I don’t think I’ll be doing any similar stuff soon, but listening to their music and watching them perform with joy live is challenging me to hone my craft. It’s also a reminder to have fun on stage and not stress too much. Hmm. Maybe I’ll do an instrumental interlude or intro for a future EP/album? Haha. Wishful thinking, okay I’ll go now.