There’s something strange about The Strangeness. That may seem like an obvious and/or redundant thing to say, along the lines of “There’s something very sky-like about the sky,” or “There’s something very stupid about eating the remainder of a week-old pizza that was not properly refrigerated due to power outages from the recent storm” (in my defense, it was not an inexpensive pizza, and the bacteria can only toughen my system up that is, if it doesn’t kill me).
The strangeness is not in their music that is one of the misconceptions fostered by the band’s (admittedly very cool) name. The Strangeness does not deal in particularly experimental or difficult stuff, their Twitter account claim to being a “Lo-Budge Narco Country Psychedelic Garage Punk ‘n’ Soul Band... FROM OUTER SPACE” notwithstanding. All of those words do apply in varying degrees (especially the part about being from outer space, as a post-mortem dissection of the members will no doubt reveal at some time in the far apocalyptic future), but the pleasure the band imparts is of a more basic, less hodgepodge nature; their Tumblr tagline feels closer to the truth: “Rock ‘n’ F***ing Roll for Beginners.”
Playing an advance copy of their EP at home resulted in the following things: spirited attempts to sing along despite not knowing any of the words; alarming attempts to dance along that resembled sped-up footage of Godzilla attacks on Tokyo; and an intense and angry-joyous (but thankfully brief) urge to quit my job, form a band, and say the hell with everything else. If I had been holding a guitar at the time I would have smashed it. If I had been holding anything at the time I would have smashed it (so it’s a good thing I wasn’t holding a priceless work of art, or a baby). I’m just glad I wasn’t driving when I listened to it, especially since I don’t know how to drive and the carnage would have been unbelievable.
It’s that kind of music. But back to the strangeness of The Strangeness. They banded together fairly recently just last year, I believe and I’ve seen them play live several times, and enjoyed myself immensely each time; they are a blast to watch. And yet when I think back to those occasions, even though they all happened within the span of the last 12 or so months, I remember them as if they happened longer ago, not in a specific decade exactly, but just as if I watched them in my teens, before college, before work. I don’t know; maybe it’s just me. The music of The Strangeness could be called a throwback, but it’s a throwback augmented and informed by the in-between of then and now. Probably best not to think about it too much it’s just f***ing fun.
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Tonight! Oct. 14! Friday! 9 p.m.! The Strangeness are launching their EP, “Jesus Camp,” at Route 196 on Katipunan Avenue, in Quezon City. For guest bands they’ve got Nanay Mo, Dr. Strangeluv, Outerhope, The Sleepyheads, and Ang Bandang Shirley. The EP is being released under Wide Eyed Records, an independent record label run by “Kathy & Joey,” who claim to be “pioneers of nothing new, but true believers of great music from local artists that need to be heard.”