Album Review: Rivermaya Panatang Makabanda

Panatang Makabanda

So I'll be kicking off my Album Reviews by reviewing Rivermaya's latest album, Panatang Makabanda. It's been 2009 since Rivermaya had released an album, and in between those years and now, a lot had happened. Jayson Fernandez (the vocalist they got from a talent search) left the band to go solo. Japs Sergio (Rivermaya's bassist since 2001) went on an indefinite leave. On top of that, they were left without a manager after longtime manager Lizza Nakpil was embroiled in a financial controversy with the band. Easily, these developments would have sent any band packing to their death knell. Well, any band but not Rivermaya. The band has been known to weather the storms no matter how huge the challenge is. This is no different.

Ryan, Mike, Norby, and Mike

With Mark Escueta (original drummer and current guitarist/vocalist) and Mike Elgar (lead guitarist since 2001) left to hold the fort, both guys recruited Ryan Peralta and Norby David to form the New Rivermaya. The good thing about this recruitment is that there were no auditions. They formed this lineup in the traditional way. Both guys were no strangers to Rivermaya, as they in one point of time sessioned for the band. So it was practically "let's hit the studio and jam." The new album Panatang Makabanda is the fruit of their labor. The band rode on the album's carrier single "Pilipinas Kailan ka Magigising" as their coming out party, right when the Philippine's mid-term elections was approaching. "Pilipinas..." was  the right song at the right time as the band's patriotic sensibilities emerged anew (who could forget past songs Awit ng Kabataan, Mabuhay, Posible, and Bandila to name a few). Penned by Mark Escueta and ably assisted by the rest of the band, "Pilipinas..." relaunched Rivermaya for this current generation with Mark on the forefront. The song harkens back to the glory days of Rivermaya's anthemic sound, with scintillating guitar solos provided by Mike, rich bass lines of Norby, and the explosive drumming of Ryan. The music does not feel different to the type of music that Rivermaya is known for. Same goes for the rest of the songs in the album. This version of the band has went back to Rivermaya's roots. I've always believed that when Bamboo left the band, Rivermaya with Rico Blanco on vocals were experimenting on their music and veered away from the type of songs that they were known for. Panatang Makabanda is a re-introduction of Rivermaya via version 5.0 (Okay that's version 1.0 Bamboo,  2.0 Rico-Mark-Nathan-Trio, 3.0 Rico-Mark-Mike-Japs, 4.0 Post Blanco). "Pilipinas..." isn't even my favorite song of the album.

Pilipinas Kailan Ka Magigising Music Video

Personal favorites from the album are: Malayang Magmahal, Tayo Lang Dalawa, Song About You, and Can't Hide it Anymore. I love Malayang Magmahal's cool sounding musical textures. Song About You on the other hand pretty much reminds me of the 70's pop rock songs, with even some traces of The Beatles' softer sounding songs. Tayo Lang Dalawa and Can't Hide it Anymore are what I would like to call signature Rivermaya songs, Alt-Rock with very strong pop sensibilities. The rest of the songs in the album are gems too (they even managed to sneak in celebrated rapper Gloc-9 in the song Nasa Sa'yo). I was actually surprised to find out that this album is better than I expected it to be because after Blanco, Japs was my favorite songwriter. In the lyrics department however, this is where the noticeable difference is seen. I have always been big on lyrics, and that's why I'm drawn to Blanco's work because of his uncanny knack for writing witty lyrics without sounding forced. But the lack of wit is however replaced with more heartfelt lyrics. I've never heard Rivermaya songs that is as honest and stripped down as this. No lyrical bravados that are hard to decipher. Just simple words that are easier to relate to. Those post Blanco albums before this one were tumultuous times. There were some anger and moving on written all over the place. Panatang Makabanda is a fresh start. And I like it very much. I can only hope that Rivermaya version 5.0 will continue to write more music and albums. I think this is the happiest period of the band's existence. Old and new fans should purchase this album. Trust me, you don't need the baggage of the past to appreciate what this version of the band has given us.       

Welcome to Rivermaya Kahapon at Ngayon

   (A Photo of Rico and Me, circa 2004, discussing some music stuffs)

First, I would like to make a disclaimer about what this blog is all about. I would like to state that this blog is in no way encouraging or spearheading any Rivermaya reunion concert. I actually like the current situation of the band and its former members as it is (and I would like to note that I’m a huge Rico Blanco fan). I’ve been a big fan of the band since their first album. I know that during that time, the majority were bigger fans of the Eraserheads than Rivermaya. I have my reasons why I chose to become a bigger fan of the latter than the former. It cannot be denied that The Eraserheads rose to popularity because of their song’s Filipino flavors. With majority of their songs easily relatable to Pinoys, it’s no wonder that they became our country’s biggest rock band during the 90’s band explosion era. I was at that time indifferent to Pinoy bands. That is until I discovered the music of Rivermaya. I have love the song 214 so much every time I heard it on the radio. But I couldn’t come to grasp the artist/band responsible for coming up with that hit song. It was one of those routine Sunday road trip with my cousin that I finally discovered the artist/band responsible for coming up with the song 214. And I was surprised when I found out that this song was written and sang by Filipinos. Rivermaya began to change my perception of OPM music. And to this day, I’ve changed to become a staunch supporter of OPM music.

My Rivermaya CDs

This blog will be all about where the current and former Rivermaya members are now. Of course we all know that Rivermaya as a band is still existing behind the leadership of Mark Escueta (The loyal Drummer extraordinaire) and Mike Elgar (The 2nd lead guitarist). We also know that Rico Blanco (The Hit Maker) has gone solo and has released two solo albums so far. Bamboo Manalac (The Voice) has also followed Rico’s path as a solo artist after being a part of Bamboo the Band (along with former Rivermaya bassist Nathan Azarcon), one of the pioneers in the 2000’s band re-explosion period. Nathan Azarcon (The Attitude) meanwhile has picked up the pieces of Bamboo the Band and transformed it into a new band called Hijo. While I’m not too updated with what Perf de Castro (the original lead guitarist) is up to now, Japs Sergio (The 2nd bassist) is making good music as a solo indie artist and with his new band Peso Movement. I will try to have updates on their current careers in music making as much as I can (and hopefully get to have in touch with them from time to time).  There will also be blog entries that would feature retro album reviews along with my thoughts on the album.

In ending, my goal for this blog is not only to serve as a source of “updates in one roof” on the current careers of the Past and Present Rivermaya members. My goal for this blog is also to unify the fragmented fan base of Rivermaya. There is no point for the debates as to who is better. That is a pointless point of discussion. There is also no room for the clamor of a reunion concert. They may sound different but Rivermaya is not dead. Whether you are a Bamboo, Rico, Mark, or Nathan fan, we must never forget that whatever they may have reached so far in their career now, they were once a part of a band called Rivermaya. Hopefully we would come to realize that the sound of Rivermaya as a group continues to exist thru them in their individual endeavors.

As Rico Blanco himself sang “Ang Nakaraan Pasalamatan, Pero Ngayon ang Panahon.”

To all Rivermaya fans, magkita kita tayo dito.