Oh, Flamingo! – ‘Pagtanda’ review: artfully played and deeply felt meditations on adulthood

‘Pagtanda,’ the first full-length record by Filipino indie rockers Oh, Flamingo!, is a pivotal release for the band. It’s devoid of the psych-rock obliqueness of ‘Volumes’, has fewer of the frenzied rhythms of their eponymous debut, and is more topically on-the-nose than anything in their discography thus far.

None of this is an accident. It’s their first release, after all, to be spearheaded by bassist Billie Zulueta, whose byline and vocal work populate the entire album. Before this, much of the heavy lifting, writing-wise, was handled by singer-guitarist Howard Luistro. Zulueta had just one prior credit: the infectious ‘Naubos Na’ from ‘Volumes’.

Intended as “a remembrance for our future selves,” ‘Pagtanda’ tackles the “wanted and unwanted emotions” that come with the onset of adulthood, a statement from the group said. But since it’s Oh, Flamingo!, this “remembrance” is no morose Hallmark fare. Typical attempts to wrestle with mortality would give in to hokey sentimentality, but Zulueta’s songs exhibit a depth of feeling and clarity of thought.

These same qualities were already evident in her solo 2021 release as Billz: the understated bedroom-pop romp ‘Summer 1999’, which she cut with husband Enzo Zulueta (The One Pesos). That was certainly an intriguing creative outing: a mini-showcase of a songwriting powerhouse-in-waiting. In ‘Pagtanda,’ we hear the same narrative impulses – the candid declarations, the cards-on-the-table honesty – but told in the Oh, Flamingo! idiom.

Lucky for the listener, that idiom carries a plurality of different tongues: Afro-Caribbean, ska, ‘70s-era Manila Sound, and early-aughts Pinoy pop rock, to name a few. Perhaps most telling of all – since we’re talking tongues – is how ‘Pagtanda’ is also the band’s first record sung entirely in Filipino. And confessionalism, or autobiography, resonates best when expressed in the language you think in, speak at home, and shoot the breeze with.

The weight of the subjects tackled here – the drudgery of the daily grind (‘Makina’), the numbing toxicity of an intense romance (‘Na Naman’), the cold-water betrayal of adulthood (‘Kulang’) – is so immense the voice could only have been given centerstage in the mix, with the band’s instrumentation flipping from harried accoutrement to sincere accompaniment.

While Oh, Flamingo!’s knack for Last Dinosaurs-style rhythms and Dirty Projectors-style angularity hasn’t necessarily vanished, they’ve given way to melodies that would make ’70s Manila Sound proponent Cinderella proud. That said, the guitar work between Luistro and Pappu de Leon, while underplayed this time around, remains potent.

For much of ‘Pagtanda’, guitar lines mirror and reinforce vocal melodies before they stray into more unhinged territory. Pat Sarabia’s drumming follows a similar trajectory, bubbling in a frenzy on the surface but never quite overpowering the proceedings. She shines best in contemplative tracks like ‘Salawahan’ and ‘Pagtanda’, but also in more straightforward tunes like ‘Na Naman’, where she does a great take on the famous Berry Gordy-approved Motown pattern.

‘Pagtanda’ also benefits greatly from guest musicians, most notably Brass Pas Pas Pas Pas’ Pards Tupas (trombone) and Wawi Ansano (trumpet). The nominal stars of the instrumental ‘Pards en Wawi’, they also give ‘Na Naman’ a retro-soul legitimacy. Enzo Zulueta appears on guitar, while Nica Feliciano (Bird Dens) lends her angelic pipes on a few tracks. Tim Marquez (One Click Straight, timothy Run) – whose live and production credits include ena mori and Zild – also provides additional production.

‘Pagtanda’ is a great marker of a new era for Oh, Flamingo! It’s more accessible than their usual and more predictable in some respects, but only due to a desire to connect. It’s interesting that the band has noted ‘pagtanda’ as a reference to both “growing old” and “remembering” in Filipino – how advancing in age is an accumulation of memory. This album is a quarter-life crisis done right.

Details

• Release date: January 20
• Record label: Oh, Flamingo! / Sony Music Entertainment Philippines (distribution)

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