I remember the first time I heard Never the Strangers. No, it wasn't from the Close-Up commercial (although Moving Closer was a cute song); it was actually from a Facebook friend who's close friends with someone in the band. Anyway, she shared the video of Alive and me, being naturally curious, clicked it. And can I just say that I loved it?
The first thing I noticed about their sound? Keyboards. You have got to love keyboards. I know, there are a lot of musicians who use keyboards (Up Dharma Down, for one). But that's the point: I have a certain...weakness for bands/musicians who use keyboards. Anyway, most of their songs are in English (which they get criticized for but come on) and the melody of their songs are different from the others. It's pretty synth rock and Ace Libre's voice definitely stands out; it's quite distinct from the others. The songs are easy to the ears, some of which are even pretty relaxing. The lyrics are also pretty much LSS-inducing. I often catch myself unconsciously singing "You" or "Alive" or any other song from the album. It's like it suddenly plays in your mind for no apparent reason (or even any connection to whatever you're doing) and then BOOM. You're singing it. Give it a chance and you'd see what I'm talking about.
Final Verdict: 8/10
The album is definitely worth listening to. For a debut album, Never the Strangers and Rico Blanco did a great job with this. They have their own distinct sound that when you hear even just an instrumental, you'd know it's them. Their sound is different from other bands and musicians in the local music industry and this is what makes them click. The band is here to stay.
Song Recommendation/s:
You, Bago Mahuli ang Lahat, Makakarating, Moving Closer, Ikaw Na, Second Midnight
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