Mutant Dance Rock delivered by Lip Service
At the Mr. Big press con, local act Lip Service got introduced as an "experimental post-punk art band." It was enough to prick critical ears among the audience.
The foursome proceeded to play two songs that evoked some of the best downtempo sounds from Joy Division to The Cure to Shiela and the Insects.
Post-punk? Definitely. Experimental? Probably. Art? Well, the band's online bio refers to a collaborative m. o. of wanting to "paint the same painting."
Guitarist Robby Mananquil explains, "Me and Pat (guitars/vocals) formed a band in 2004 called Karmacoma to play music that's a little bit of punk, dance rock, new wave and experimental or ambient. Lip Service now is based on the same principles. We connect well with other musicians who have the same interests as we did in the past and still do at present."
The two friends and a drummer started Lip Service in 2006 as an experimental post-punk musical project. Back then, the fledgling group went through a succession of bassists. They could not find a permanent bass player who shared the same interests as the rest of the band. Lip Service version 1.0 was eventually sidetracked after the drummer got hitched.
Sometime in 2008, Robby and Pat Co crossed paths again and talked in earnest about giving Lip Service another go-round. Robby began looking for a new drummer and Gep Macadaeg, who's fond of the Eraserheads, responded to a post in an online forum.
Again, finding a new bassist who would share common interests with the others became a hurdle. Then Mike Ducusin showed up during an audition and displayed the muscular chops that earned him a shot as Lip Service's regular bass player.
Subsequent sessions and live performances gelled the four musicians into a working unit. The band released its self-titled debut late last year.
The album reflects what Robby describes as his combo's common passion for Britpop, especially the dance-punk undercurrent of each new wave of UK pop music.
On surface, it's easy to hear the indelible influence of the likes of Bloc Party and the Faint on Lip Service. The angular beat, the crashing drums and Pat Co's often impassive vocals are part and parcel of electro's last grand crossover, which on local commercial terms, gave rise to Sandwich's "Sugod," Taken By Cars and Pedicab.
"Patintero," the only track with Filipino lyrics on Lip Service's debut, is a major highlight. It starts like a slick tune from Archipelago, then smoothly glides into a ruckus of ringing guitars and insistent backbeat that shuttles between hardcore metal and straight disco.
Vocalist Pat meanwhile sings the refrain, "Ayan, tara, sali na dito/Sobrang saya, sobrang saya" with the smirk of a cranky spoilsport. In short, there's no short order of twists in the entire song.
Meanwhile, "Weekend Dreams" come through in a suite loaded with fractured rhythms, hardcore-to-funk shoot-out, frenetic drumming, and a bit of ambient sounds thrown in.
"The Gift" rocks in the huge way Gang of Four did way back when, while videogame squiggles perk up the otherwise downhearted moods of "Black Sheets" and "Heliopause."
Pat sees it this way: "Sometimes, the chords we use tend to create a melancholy mood. It just happens that way."
"The irony in the lyrics is also not put on. Most of our songs are composed first with guitar chords, then the drums and bass come together and the lyrics and vocals come in last. Just the same, the so-called twists bring a nice effect."
The album is a DIY release and distribution effort. Even the denim packaging of the CD has been stitched together by the band members themselves.
Next stop for Lip Service is a curious reworking of an obscure The Dawn song for a tribute compilation album. Robby's band has given the ultimate '80s Pinoy rock group some serious makeover. Stay tuned.
