Review: Do the The Oktaves live up to the hype?
The Oktaves
MCA Music
Three generations of musicians converge in The Oktaves, a Pinoy superband of sorts composed of ex-Eraserheads and Pupil headmaster Ely Buendia, former lead guitarist of The Jerks Nitoy Adriano and young rockabilly punks the Hilera trio.
The collaboration represents every major juncture in the coming of age of Pinoy rock beyond the 70s.
And the members weren’t just part of the herd; they made respective significant contributions to Pinoy music when they first burst into the scene.
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Nitoy was the string bender for the first Pinoy punk band in the 80s.
Ely’s Eraserheads were touchstones of the second coming of Pinoy rock in the 90s.
And the youthful Hilera debuted with rockabilly-infused punk in early 00s.
Live, The Oktaves are rip-roaring and rootsy, a real bar band tearing through crowd favorites. They cover Elvis, the Beatles, Eighties new wave, Eraserheads and whatever the moment calls for.
"K.U.P.A.L.," the first single from The Oktaves
The boys from Hilera give The Oktaves their pretty boy/rude boy vibe. Nitoy wears an ultra-cool rock & roll elder persona. And Ely is Ely.
With all three decades of Pinoy rock represented in one band, The Oktaves have set sky-high expectations. So, did the band’s divergent passions and interests intersect and connect in their debut album?
The Good: Active rockers
Yep, they did. The 12-track, self-titled first album released in mid-February coalesces in the shape-shifting shades of 60s rock & roll we now called garage rock.
A brief guitar twang and the opening track “Gone, Gone, Gone” quickly builds to a Beatlesque number.
An old-school soul backbeat introduces the second cut “Hold on Tight,” which immediately moves to a rocking swagger with Ely singing out in his best John Lennon impersonation.
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The third track, “K.U.P.A.L.” is propulsive before slowing down a bit to a scorching groove.
It is the midway point and older music fans will recognize the musical DNA of these songs: the double helix of the original Fab Four, the Kinks, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Motown.
The band whips up a loping country ode to “Olivia” before going for the kill with the album’s finest tracks. “Paakyat Ka pa Lang, Pababa na Ako” combines ear-hugging hooks with paranoid android lyrics.
The beat-driven “Detox” reminds of The Strokes but Nitoy Adriano’s short guitar bursts give it a ringing rock sound to undermine its electro quotient.
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In “Bungo sa Bangin,” Nitoy’s serpentine chord progressions provide added muscle to an otherwise conventional garage rocker.
Two country-flecked ballads offer respite from the fiery performances. Still, they’re not your typical cry-in-your-beer love lost country blues but more about the existential search for a connection.
The Bad: Flat liners
Unless your taste for good rock & roll recoils at the mere mention of country, there’s none worth bitching about in this debut.
The Verdict
On their first album, The Oktaves fulfill expectations. The band has found an inter-generational common ground where fun can be had by all.
It is passionate and deliberately consistent.
And they play like they’ve been at it for the longest time.
Long may they keep scaling even greater heights.
Track list
1. Gone, Gone, Gone
2. Hold on Tight
3. K.U.P.A.L.
4. Walang Magawa
5. Olivia
6. Get You
7. Paakyat Ka pa Lang, Pababa na Ako
8. Ikot
9. Detox
10. Standing on My Own
11. Bungo sa Bangin
12. Langit Express
The Oktaves is available on MyMusicStore and iTunes.
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