Remember the thrill and excitement of courtship just before a relationship becomes “official?”

It’s that climactic moment before she says “yes”— when sparks fly, bodies tingle, and when no words come close to conveying the raw emotion of a penetrating gaze and a heart-melting smile. Beyond that realm of mutual understanding is that moment of romantic bliss that we all want to last forever.

This is the inspiration behind “Isang Tingin, Isang Ngiti,” fast-rising indie band Last Song Bea’s mushiest output to date, and a radical departure from their previous release, the edgy, angst- riddled rock ballad, “Inside.”

Bandleader Richard Parcia elaborates, “According to the song’s composer Kettle Mata (himself an established singer/composer), there’s a story behind it but we didn’t talk about it. It’s a song that I liked ever since I heard him play it more than ten years ago. Personally, I read the song as a description of that space between the courtship and the ‘yes,’ a subtle reference to young romantic love.”

Interestingly, the song’s slow blues shuffle bears a strong resemblance to John Mayer’s “Gravity,” and despite its simplicity, was actually tough to record.

“It pushed us into different limits and directions, but ultimately, we knew we wanted to record it, no matter what it takes,” Richard admits.

Thankfully, Richard and his cohorts got by—with a little help from their friends.

For “Isang Tingin,” they assembled a powerhouse cast of A-list session musicians including RJ Pineda on piano, Joey de Guzman on sax, Otep Concepcion on drums, Anna Fian on vocals, and the composer himself, Kettle Mata, on guitars. As with most of the band’s previous singles, “Isang Tingin” was also produced by Richard’s good friend Robert Javier.

With little fanfare and no promotional hype, the band released the single last November 2022, and in barely a month, chalked up more than 11k streams on Spotify.

It was during that same holiday season when the band’s single “Pasko,” a spinoff of their earlier single “Tara Na,” found itself competing with the usual trove of Christmas songs, and surprisingly got into Spotify’s Christmas editorial playlist. To date, “Pasko” has become the band’s most streamed single at 250,000++ streams.

In more recent months, during the band’s live gigs, “Isang Tingin” has been given a more uptempo arrangement, giving it more of an epic rock feel.

“It has become a perennial favorite at our gigs,” Richard boasts proudly. The past year also marked significant changes in Last Song Bea’s lineup, with new recruits Homer Colico (drums) and Luke Bayhon (bass) contributing their wealth of musical experiences to the band’s ever eclectic repertoire.

“The core of the band is still intact,” Richard enthuses. “Nimrod (Lacquian, keyboards), Donie (Dico, lead guitar), and myself had become closer and more collaborative than before. With Homer and Luke now, the energy is more potent. The choice of moving forward is stronger than before.”

It’s this same revamped lineup that kickstarted the release of their most recent single, “Bea,” released July 2023, and which the band had been actively promoting through live gigs and promo tours.

So far, the fan reactions to “Isang Tingin” have been very positive.

Richard elaborates, “It’s getting its due, especially with the radio edit version. I played an acoustic version of it as a solo artist in small bars and it got good reception. It’s really a lovely song and deserves a wider audience. Kettle is probably one of the most underrated composers out there, and we’re collaborating again with him soon. We’re lucky that he trusted us with the song.”

With “Isang Tingin’s” success as a clear testament to the power of musical collaboration, does Richard see the band working with other artists soon?

He readily admits, “Most definitely! While we are conscious of building something on our own, we can’t deny ourselves the magic of others. It’s just sheer intellectual arrogance if we don’t subject ourselves to others when it comes to this art. Not only do we learn from them, it’s also a lot of fun.”