(Rebyu ng album na 'Love in the Land of Rubber Shoes and Dirty
Ice Cream' ng Oranges and Lemons)
THERE IS something infectious about new wave music, lalo na 'yung
mga so-called post-punk/jazz styles that made bands such as The
Railway Children or Lotus Eaters endearing sa mga 80s high school
students, tulad ko, during that time.
Nakakabatbalani kung gayon na pakinggan ang bandang Oranges and
Lemons and their album 'Love in the Land of Rubber Shoes and Dirty
Ice Cream.' I'm not sure if galing sa isang album ng XTC galing
ang name nila. What I'm sure of however is that listening to this
CD is like being time-warped. And suddenly memories of playfully
licking your girlfriend's ear sa isang madilim na sulok ng school
quadrangle during JS Prom
habang ang lahat ay aligagang nagsasayaw sa tugtog ng 'Melt with
You' come into mind.
Ganito ang hatid ng not-so-unfamiliar sounds ng grupong ito na,
ayon sa isang article sa Inquirer nanabasa ko kamakailan, tubong-Bulacan.
They sound so English you'd mistake them for 80s Britpop. Hanggang
maririnig mong kumanta sila ng 'Kailangan Kita.' Only then will
you realize na kaKurimaw pala sila.
At dahil kaKurimaw din pala sila, yung mga tema ng kanta nila strain
to shores that are also not-so-unfamiliar. I mean, sino ba sa atin
ang hindi pa na-in-love, nagka-'emotional-high' dahil in love?
Oranges and Lemons gives you that same emotional high. Sa gitna
ng tila gamu-gamong biglang pagsulputan isang gabi ng sandamakmak
na acoustic-this at akustik-that, matapos tayong matorete sa samu't
saring indibidwal at bandang nagpapanggap na marunong silang tumiklado
ng gitara, here comes a refreshingly light, playful, guitar-based
music that finally gives justice to our ears. Ang pakikinig sa Oranges
and Lemons ay parang pagtira ng shot ng Stolichnayang pinigaan ng
sanghiwa ng kahel. Nakakalasing pero masarap ang tama.
Kung may kanta that would definitively describe the whole album,
it would have to be the first song aptly
titled 'A Beginning of Something Wonderful. Kasi the more you listen
to it (which I did one day in the
office kasi kabibili ko lang nuong CD the night before), 'the more
it feels like this could be the beginning of something wonderful.'
'Dahil sa isang gabing kapiling ka
Ako ngayo'y naiinip sa 'ting muling pagkikita.'
- Oranges and Lemons, mula sa kantang 'Isang Gabi'
