Nostalgia is, by design, a kind of longing that we willingly indulge ourselves in despite its promise of sorrow as much as euphoria.
The promise of Alisson Shore’s heartbreakingly beautiful GARUDAis nostalgia that lives comfortably and almost effortlessly in the now. It carries the sentiment, style, and sensibilities of ‘90s American R&B—in the undiminished spirit of Aaliyah, Boyz II Men, and Jodeci but specific to the Pinoy audience who yearns for the familial safety of the pre-pandemic past.
The 10-track album—which includes features from contemporaries Just Hush, kiyo, Because, JRoa, Aypi, Pio Balbuena, and Deny— straddles that accessible familiarity of classic R&B with present-day lived experiences, from the mundane to the inner workings of romantic relationships in the time of COVID-19.
Its themes are precise to the Filipino culture of courtly love, but less Florante At Laura and more Rico J. Puno’s hit 1973 rendition of “The Way We Were”: a cheeky but emphatic profession of adoration and love in the 21st century. In lines like ‘Di naman Lazada pero ‘yung ngiting napadala / Aking iniipon para baon ‘pag nagkita na, he sings in the long-distance relationship single, “HOYA.” The line roughly translates to “It’s not [like] Lazada, but the smile I receive / I save up for my allowance when we see each other,” Alisson Shore evokes feelings of anticipation that alludes to time and distance apart through whip-smart bilingual storytelling.
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But far from slipping into the role of a troubadour, Alisson Shore doesn’t promise his beloved the world, but he is more preoccupied with time, specifically its impermanence. GARUDAis an ode to the way we, Filipinos, love: the promise of expanding time—and to a great degree, soothing your pain like Katinko does.
Alisson Shore’s GARUDAis a pandemic-era record that shows the apex of modern Filipino pop, R&B, and hip hop music—one that is bound to cut across spaces and quashes the contrived aesthetic appeal of music-induced nostalgia.
Stream GARUDA below:
