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If 2007 is touted to be a year for cocktail-soul and mad scientist offspring of every genre somewhere the timeline of the 60’s and 70’s, then newcomer Sino Sikat comes to mind as the unerring artists who started all this artsy-fartsiness of funky, live-feel urban music reminiscent of neo-soul acts D’Angelo, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu, only with a wilder passion for jazzy and sassy rhythms, glam guitar solos bordering from showbandiness to Def Leppard cheese, and everything raw and electronic-free. Then throw in the already distinct and well-sieved music compartment a bulk of Incognito, Brand New Heavies, Fugees, Mary J. Blige, old school Motown grooves, jazz-fusion and 70’s Manila Sound. You now have the warm sound of Sino Sikat.
A hefty custody of good ‘ole languid soul and polished vibe of the Sunday Noontime show-musical direction, Sino Sikat’s new album is dangerously sexy, intimate and borderline funky. The over-all treatment distills on the ultra-thick textures and poly-funk workout of the rhythm section, which in my honest opinion sounds like veteran-like players with enough know-how on technical control and bung ups of sparse spaces and gaps.
The conscious effort to sound soulful while maintaining their soft spot for laidback groove and campy jazz-rock sensibilities is also on its sterile and commendable shape. And Kat Agorrado, probably the female counterpart of the legendary Karl Roy, provides the sex machinery and soul to the body of work. Her distinct Dulce meets Portishead’s Beth Gibbons vocal style reveals some depth and uncanny conviction to smack in fine fettle within upbeat, angsty and slow songs, with the kind of chameleon-vocal register that’s either classy and commanding.
Although a tight collection, it may take some time before you could dig and digest some of the songs in the album, particularly those that undergo the surgical experiments of the band. But the wait can bear fulfilling results and surprising amount of satisfaction. “Akin ka” is hypnotically arresting, its dimming jazzy chords and cascading yet repetitive keyboard structures overflow with bedroom fantasies and a strange force to close your eyes and voyage into exciting sexual urge. It may sound cacophonous or awkward in the first few listens, but the moment it clenches on your aural faculty – it will set the tricky tone to a medical prescription of remorseless fantasizing. The strangely dark “Turning my safety off” on the other hand is Portishead’s “Glory Box” sans samples and triphop beats. Its indelibly romantic dirges bring to mind Billie Holiday singing in heartbreaking subtlety, atmospheric and almost fogging rhythms and a punishing emotional delivery equivalent of a Sinead O’ Connor early 90’s ballad. Whereas the gentle and somber exquisiteness of “Pag-ibig,” “Magic” and “Tragic beauty” shows enough positive vibe and intimacy to keep you hanging with love and its burning desire.
The upbeat numbers are so immediate and brief, and it leaves you wanting more of the booty-loose beats and urban funk readied for one great weekend party. “Praning” treads heavily on James Brown-accent and inventive pinoy street lingoes, with Kat Agorrado as boyishly sass as ever. “Telepono” sounds like Kapatid’s “Hangin’ out” with a screaming madwoman to boot and a flirting sax.
There are calypso and Jamaican soul infused to “Prayer,” a spiritual anthem that’s so catchy it leaves indelibly lasting taste. But the last track, “Sino?” delivers the high energy of the record: non-stop conviction, somewhat projecting arrogance, yet it’s just a reflection of the band’s strong character and undeniable musical talents. Kat brings out the whipping spunk of a voice, Nikki Cabardo drops his mint-coolly keyboard pyros, Reli justly provides secure beat patterns and Nick Azarcon shreds off heavy funk and 80’s glam riffs to the mix. Everybody plays their respective roles like members of an all-star basketball team. And with trending victory, they are able to show us that tightness and teamwork brings out the best in a collective.
