GENERAL LUNA SELF TITLED ALBUM REVIEW
General Luna was an all-girl Filipino rock band. The lineup consists of Nicole Laurel Asensio on vocals, Caren Mangaran on lead guitar, Audry Dionisio on rhythm guitar, Alex Montemayor on bass guitar, and Bea Lao on drums.
Vocalist Nicole Asencio explains that the band’s name nothing to do with Gen. Antonio Luna. It’s a combination of the words General which is masculine, and Luna which is feminine – a balance of the 2 concepts.(Windpain in Mar 09, 2011, under Banda)
The debut album was released in 2010 by Warner Music Philippines. It featuring singles Red Heaven, Tila and Nandito.
Track Listing
No. Title
1. "Red Heaven"
2. "Nandito"
3. "Dala Ng Ulan"
4. "Maria"
5. "Hinga"
6. "Tila"
7. "Pagmulat (ACOUSTIC VERSION)"
8. "Pavement"
9. "Walang Bintana"
10. "Wala Ng Mas Masakit Pa"
11. "Blindman"
12. "Usok"
Top Faves
Tila
I like the lyrical content on the song, it tells about remising someone she met in the past and make memories. Let me share some of the lyrics
Tila tayo nagkita na At para bang nakikilala Kahapon lang, 'di ba't kasama ka Dito sa aking alaala
On the melodical side, the it offers good arrangement, sakto ang bagsakan and it has a good impact to the listeners. Nicole’s voice is exceptional and I love her lovely voice.
Red Heaven
At first I thought it was a male singer, singing. But I was surprised that It was female. I like Nicole’s voice, she’s fit on the song. Her solid voice brings out the rock ambience of the song I like the guitar riffs, it brings out the heaviness and the basslines is alive, you will enjoy every bass plays on the song. The melody of this song has similarities with BAND-MAID’s The Dragon cries. But this song came out first before dragon cries.
Maria
What I like the most in this song is the lyrical content, tells about women empowerment. It encourages every woman rise up and start over and make her life again
Hangga't may pag-asa at naniniwala
Hangga't may kamay na handang umalalay
Hangga't may mundo iikot ito
Kailangan mong manatiling buo
Bumangon ka
Bumangon ka, Maria
In terms of the melodical content, I love the powerful voice of Nicole. She displayed her solid voice especially on the chorus parts. I love her husky voice on the bridge it brings out her rockstar side. The guitar riffs brings out the heaviness on the song and blends well with Nicole’s vocals,
Honorable Mentions
Pagmulat
The acoustic melody brings out the simplicity of the song. It’s relaxing at the same time. I love the positive vibe of this song, It’s good to listen when you wake up it gives you positive energy.
I love Nicole’s voice, it’s so powerful and you will feel her energy while listening.
Blindman
I like the easy listening style mix with a bit of heaviness of the song. I love the heavy riffs offers on the chorus and soft melodies offered on the verses. You will be relaxed and a do headbanging at the same time.
Least Faves
Wala Ng Mas Masakit Pa
It has a similar sound from Nandito, in fact I could put Nandito as of one my least faves, but I give it as expemtion due to the lyrical content and Nicole’s voice quality.
Going back to the song, I could say that It offers a repetitive sound and I don’t like the slow phasing of the song. It didn’t bring up its uniqueness among of other songs.
Too much hugot and masyadong emo ang datinginan to the point na mabobored ka nang pakinggan ang kanta.
Rating 4.5/5
I could say this album has a diverse sound and musical influences. I like the HARD ROCK ORIENTATION OF THE BAND AND INCORPORATING a mix of FOLK, JAZZ and SOFT ROCK on their songs.
The band’s album has different composers in each song and it influenced the band’s sound well. I could say that, Nicole and Caren’s compositions I enjoyed much on this album, songs Red Heaven, Dala Ng Ulan, Walang BIntana and Blindman shows the band’s sound and character. Every song has a unique sound to offer and you will see the band’s pure talent on this album. I could say this is underrated and not a usual rock album.
I give commendation to Nicole Ascencio since her singing is one of a kind. She could sing multiple genre’s and she proved it on this album. Her versatility is one of a kind. Caren and Audry’s guitar combo is exceptional, they bring up from soft to heavy sound on each songs in the album. Caren’s melodic composition gives the band’s identity. Alex’s bass and Bea’s drum play are the required recipes to make General Luna’s sound complete.
I’m still hoping that they could continue producing new songs. I know that this band has a potential to play overseas and represent the Filipino all female rock band. They can be with the likes of Kittie and Band-Maid.
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