Sound + Visions

So I was trawling Bandcamp for free EPs again, which I often do in lieu of catching up on current events or going out and pretending to tolerate allegedly human beings, and I struck gold. Normally I try to avoid such hackneyed turns of phrase, but in this case, my excuse is the name of the band itself: Inca Gold. (Which actually makes my use of the phrase even less forgivable, but let’s look past that and get on with the music.)

This relatively new London band has been tagged with a number of terms, including chillwave, dream pop, drone pop, indie pop, psychedelic, and shoegaze, which, depending on your tastes, may be positives or negatives (personally, the number of times “pop” appears on that list swayed me in their favor). As always, it’s best to just press “play” and decide for yourself. I found their songs to be immensely appealing atmospheric dreamscapes, somewhat reminiscent in spots of what my brain still files away as New Wave, but with enough interesting sonic stabs to make them sound inspired instead of derivative.

Inca gold: Is it shoegaze? Is it psych-rock? Whatever it is, it sounds good

And it’s free: get two EPs worth of songs (so far) at www.incagoldmusic.com.

Speaking of free music, something else I’ve been enjoying lately is the latest track from Toro Y Moi, Saturday Love. It’s the first single off “Freaking Out,” the upcoming EP by the half-Filipino/half African-American artist. It may sound very familiar to some of you; that’s because it’s an electro-chilled, bliss-inducing cover of the Alexander O’Neal and Cherelle classic R&B duet of the same name. (Google “Toro Y Moi Saturday Love download” for the links; various sites are offering it online.)

Rakenrol: Celebrate after the CCP screening with a free concert

And now, some events this weekend:

Pupil Music Video Launch

That’s happening tonight, Friday, July 22, 7:30 p.m. on the 5th level of Fully Booked, the Bonifacio High Street branch. The music video in question is directed by the delightful Mr. Jason Tan, and features the Ely Buendia-led band performing right smack on EDSA (it was filmed during a more or less carless Good Friday, apparently). Aside from Pupil, there will be guest performances by Revenge Avenger and the always-excellent Outerhope.

Rakenrol Post-Screening Concert

Toro y moi: New EP coming soon, free single here now

You’ve probably already heard of the incorrigible Quark Henares’ latest feature film, Rakenrol. Its Facebook page describes it as “a heartfelt ode to the underground music scene where both (director Henares and co-writer Diego Castilo) spent their formative years.” Look up the trailer online; it looks to be metric tons of fun. Right after it premieres tomorrow, Saturday, July 23 at the CCP, there will be a free concert at the Harbour Square open area, CCP Grounds, Pasay City. Bands start at 9:30 p.m. and include some of the best acts of the local scene: Itchyworms, Pedicab, Ciudad, Taken By Cars, Pupil (again!), Kate Torralba, Techy Romantics, Ang Bandang Shirley, Halik ni Gringo, and Outerhope (again!). And it’s free!