PUPIL: LIMITERS OF THE INFINITY POOL – “THEY HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD ON THIS ONE”...”WELL, ALMOST “

                  I can’t locate this cd in the place where it should be-- on the P-section of the cd rack,  OPM category,  of my favorite music bar at  Araneta Center in Cubao. It bothered me enough to break the  ongoing chatting of the two salesladies near me . “There is no stock sir.” Really?  I thought to myself , rather incredulously.

                Off to the only other music bar at the Araneta Center, I was relieved that there are several copies in stock. I hate the feeling of not finding the cd you want  when you needed it; and so, I grabbed one,  after taking it for granted for about a year and a half since it was  released.

                   Listening to the first three tracks-- I was euphoric,  sensing I’m into a treat.

                 I was smiling as I put down the newspaper after the 12^th and final track, “The Low End”,  ended. That was great listening; however, it felt short. 

                 It actually clocked a little over forty seven minutes. I enjoyed it immensely  that time seemed to have gone so  swiftly.

        After a few more listens, I came up with my conclusion: In my opinion this is another excellent album by the Pupil and just like their two previous releases, by international standards. It is hands down Pupil’s best album so far. They hit the nail on the head  on this one. Well, almost…

    

I will enumerate my reasons why I think this is their best album so far:  

1.       First, although it doesn’t have the 'classics' found in their two previous releases, Beautiful Machines and Wild Life , such as “Monobloc,” “Dulo ng Dila” and "Disconnection Notice”,  this however, has overall a stronger set of songs. There is no weak track here.  

             As   usual, E. Buendia’s penned songs  provides the backbone. The  opening two English tracks “Let Her Rip” and “Distortion” jives well with his vocals which I’ve always thought is best suited for Filipino songs. The way he sang the angst-laden tune ”Distortion”  made me think of Liam Gallaghers’( of the Oasis) swagger. 

           Although the  best songs  in the album I think are Buendia’s “Let Her Rip,” "Distortion," ”TNT(tago ng tago)"  and "20/20" , other band members also contributed strong tracks such as  Dok Sergio’s downbeat “Pampalakas,” with its interesting lyrics; Y. Yuzon’s fuzzy and heavy  “One Two” reminding me of Jesus and the Mary Chain;  and  W. Garcia’s “Morning Gift."

2.        This  has a better flow of songs compared to their previous albums. It provides listening pleasure from the beginning up to the end.      

3.       The band is sounding  cohesive and very tight. I take notice of the excellent drumming.

4.       Great production. This is  more complex and heavy with lots of 'distortion' but is actually not 'noisy'. I can set the volume of my amplifier higher on this one without blasting my eardrum as compared to their previous releases. Everything is sounding clear and great in my sound system.

5.         This is more accessilble.  Even with a more complex style, instrumentation,  and experimentations the group  not only retained  their melodic sensibilities , they even fine- tuned it.  "Accessibility in the midst of complexity."  

                  My only gripe with this album is the track  “Pikit Bukas.” If I would pretend to be a reviewer,   I could easily give this album  9/10  or even a  10/10 stars for their efforts in making such a superb  and classy album which  I think no local band at the moment can approximate or compete  with; however, “Pikit Bukas” prevents me so.  Although it  is by no means  a clunker, I think, it  could even be  one of the stronger  tracks with its catchy melody and  memorable lines ”hindi porket maitim madumi, hindi porket malakas maingay ,hindi porket mayaman masaya, hindi porket mahirap malungkot ”, but the inclusion of English lines towards the end of the song doesn’t 'fit'; and it seems  out of place with the  album itself.   Well, this is just my opinion anyway, as if  it  matters. Buy it. 

Beautiful Machines, Wild Life and Limiters of the Infinity Pool.