No Skips: A Track-By-Track Review of IV of Spades' Comeback Album Andalucia

Resurging local rock band IV of Spades just dropped their comeback album that shows what they have up their sleeves creatively: a marriage of their individual sonic styles that culminate in a record without any skips from top to bottom.

Andalucia is only 12 songs long and includes singles the band released over the past few months, including the bombshell that was “Aura” in July.

ALSO READ:

IV of Spades Make Their Long-Awaited Fabled, Mystical Return With "Aura"

IV of Spades Brings Back 'Manila Sound' With New Song ‘Suliranin’

The reformed four-piece alternative rock outfit composed of Unique Salonga on lead vocals, Zildjan Benitez on bass and vocals, Blaster Silonga on lead guitar and vocals, and Gabriel "Badjao" de Castro IV, seems to be coming into their own as songwriters and multi-faceted artists who have grown during their time apart.

The band landed on Esquire Phiippines’ September cover following their warm and emotional comeback single that continues to dominate streaming charts. The band was interviewed by legendary OPM musician Mike Hanopol, known for his work with the pioneering Juan Dela Cruz band and Hagibis in a conversation that was truly a collision of artists crafting albums in different contexts, in different time periods, and for different reasons.

The record has an energetic jump-off point with “Tara,” with Benitez taking charge on vocals. It has an opening acoustic guitar line that screams '90s nostalgia and moody rock similar to those found in cuts from Filipino-British songwriter beabadoobee. It's a soaring start for an album that feels like a warm embrace from a friend you haven’t seen in a hot minute.

In case you were living under a rock for the past few years, IV of Spades’ meteoric rise to the top of the local music industry came in 2018 with their massive hit “Mundo,” which has since garnered hundreds of millions of views and streams on major media platforms.

They contined their streak with their single “Hey, Barbara!,” where they unabashedly wore their ‘70s influences on their sleeves, which was also expressed in their follow-up single “Where Have You Been My Disco?”

“Tara” is very welcoming and accommodating thematically and sonically as the band , leaning into the nostalgia factor, which they will continue to do for the duration of the LP.

We really adore the drum work from Badjao and this is a record where he gets to shine. More on that later.

“Monster" shows tinges of the influence of acts like the Beatles and the Strokes, via the rhythmic guitar chugs. The song doesn’t have a singular member taking the spotlight, but rather a collective showcase of how tight each of them are at what they do.

Blaster’s funky guitar leads and 60s rock inspired rhythmic work, Zild’s groovy bass lines, Badjao’s snappy hits, and Unique's pristine singing that gives off a John Lennon-type of delivery, especially when in harmony with Zild's backing vocals.

“Monster” was expected to develop into a fan favorite online since it resembles a lot of the band’s earlier work tempo-wise, much like “Where Did You Go My Disco?”

The song is a great tone-setter for the album despite the tracklist being quite diverse sonically with the mood going up and down emotionally, but with a consistent warmth to it which is often hard to pull off for an entire project, let alone in one track.

The record then carries on with yet another early 2000s-type track “Paru-Paro,” which has a bright quality thanks to Zild’s DNA being all over it.

The multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, who himself has earned critical praise for his recent prolific solo projects such as Superpower.

“Paru-Paro” is a dead-ringer for one of Zild’s recent hits “Lia,” both tonally and his performance on the track, which we are all for.

Blaster earlier told media during a listening party prior to the album’s official release that their individual musical developed during their solo ventures naturally manifested in each track of the project.

The first half of the album shows just that, with “Paru-Paro” employing a constant modulated synth in the background and the bright acoustic guitar Zild’s sweet vocals carrying the entire track. Unique also gladly plays second fiddle to his bandmate here, supplying much-needed backing vocals in a contrasting darker tone that plays off Zild’s higher register.

Esquire Philippines has closely followed the string of singles the band had pumped out and we circle back to “Nanaman,” a jangly guitar-driven track that sees Blaster take over the creative and singing mantle with tracks similar to those found on the Strokes' debut record. This is also the song with the accompanying music video that made a reference to the Beatles’ “I Feel Fine.” And yes, Badjao, we are stoked you found your bicycle.

Silonga’s guitar solo is also another testament to his knack for expertly crafting build-ups and pay-offs in writing instrumentals. Even non-guitar players can find themselves playing air guitar lines as they listen to the track.

The LP rolls into another single in the Zild-focused “Konsensya” that encapsulates a heart-wrenching reality of infidelity and hardcore coping. Zild takes center stage and delivers a soulful vocal performance with seemingly intentional voice cracks that appropriately show pain and vulnerability.

Blaster also deserves a shoutout here for the tasteful guitar solo accentuated with his creative use of his guitar’s volume knob for a manual fade in.

“Tamis ng Pagkakamali” is without a doubt our favorite track off the album and reminded us why we missed the boys in complete attendance.

The track is much darker in tone with Unique showing us why he was an important fixture in the band’s signature sound. With heavier guitar chugs and tasteful guitar melodies accompanying the frontman, Salonga delivers the song’s memorable hook that involves a hypnotizing rise and fall.

Guitar work gets much beefier and with much more oomph here in the otherwise warm and bright sonic soundscape that forms the LP. We see this track having tremendous replay value despite not being the typical sound that would rule local airwaves.

“Aura” is up next on the tracklist and it needs no introduction as you’ve probably heard this song a bunch since its release.

Earlier we said that the track signaled that the fabled reunion would mark a generation run for captivating art from the band.

“Karma” is another breath of fresh air, with a classic alternative OPM rock vibe reminiscent of some of Rico Blanco’s old stuff. The harmonies were a major bright point here with the song feeling like a glorified subtweet or diss track, which is no surprise considering the track’s title. Blaster comes in with yet another killer guitar solo that uses a more whimsical tone.

So checking in with the LP’s flow three-fourths in, no throwaway songs to speak of  just yet.

“Tangerine Boulevard” reminds us a lot of early The Paper Kites cuts, with a performance that is as comforting as the title suggests. Unique’s singing does what it is supposed to: paint the mellow tapestry of reassurance.

We’re down to the last three tracks of the record with “Kabisado,” a Blaster-led old-soul/ Manila sound-esque track. “Lumang tugtugin and gusto mo.” An endearing addition to the record and a cool change of pace.

“Rewind” is where we got absolutely stunned. We got cutesy, earnest, feel good indie pop track that has Badjao’s jovial personality all over it. Yes, the talk of the town is Badjao’s killer vocals toward the end of the song, and boy does he have pipes with a mix of raspiness and vocal control. We feel this track could be the band’s chance to expand its reach globally since it’s easy-going enough and stupidly catchy.

Andalucia’s closer is “Suliranin,” a love letter to the '70s and '80s Manila-sound legends such as Hotdog and Cinderella. Benitez’ bass work drives the funk in the track complemented by Silonga’s recurring phase and chorus-driven guitar lead lines, and Badjao’s subtle rim click drum syncopation that keeps things understated.

Think of “Ikaw Ang Miss Universe Ng Buhay Ko" by Hotdog and compare it to this easy breezy folk/ soft rock that ties the record together.

So, the fabled comeback has fully materialized and it’s been just a day since release and we're already on a high on this project. The boys, who local icon Ely Buendia is already proclaiming as “The Beatles of the Philippines” in a recent X post, seem to be playing their roles as the prodigal main characters of the local music industry to a tee.