PAPATUNGO NGA BA SAAN? – After the success of “Paumanhin” and getting their songs featured in a series soundtrack, it’s safe to say that the sibling alt-pop duo, No Lore, is headed upwards. Although, we can’t say the same about No Lore’s love life as they talk about feeling lost and confused brought by a one-sided love in their latest major LSS single, “Papatungo”, released under Off The Record.
Since collaborating with Ean Aguila of Ang Bandang Shirley with “Paumanhin”, No Lore has teamed up once again with one of the indie scene’s most sought producers for their single “Papatungo”. Combining the strengths of Ean Aguila and No Lore together, we get “Papatungo”, a track that creatively highlights how No Lore could use synths, keyboards, and quirky vocals to get our heads bop and bodies happily sway while singing along to painful lyrics – whether you can relate to them or not.
“Papatungo” is a Tagalog indie-pop song based on Tita Halaman’s own painting with poetry about unrequited love. The upbeat and light melody contradicts the heartbreaking lyrics inspired by real-life stories of No Lore and their friends whose affections were not returned but whose feelings continue to be entertained.
“Papatungo is a song about unrequited love, an interrogation of a fed-up hopeless romantic”, says Tita Halaman. “It could also be about that reflective stage in an unrequited love when the person whose love is not reciprocated decides to be vulnerable and admits that he/she doesn't know where things are headed anymore,” Jerald added. Thus, the first question sung in the song is “Papatungo nga ba saan?”.
However, “Papatungo” can have a different meaning for others as we each have our definition of unrequited love. “There have been a lot of times wherein I experienced unrequited love, although, for me, it is not limited to romantic love. It also applies to our interests. For example, I want to be a tattoo artist, but it won’t love me back because my hands are shaky. I also experienced it with our dog Oddish when she would ignore us whenever we cuddle her.”, jokes Tita Halaman.
Because we as listeners are always looking for pieces of ourselves– in music, in art, and everything else around us–having a song like “Papatungo” gives us the feeling of understanding and comfort that we long for no matter the “situationship” of unrequited love we are in.