More on this week’s Pinoy Pop Playlist (on Spotify) where the following local acts are sitting pretty waiting for you to lend them your ears. Spoiler alert: they’re all worthy of your time.
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AUDIO JUNKIE: Kwentong Hingalo and other Pinoy pop tidbits
Entertainment
Music and Concerts
AUDIO JUNKIE: Kwentong Hingalo and other Pinoy pop tidbits
AUDIO JUNKIE: Kwentong Hingalo and other Pinoy pop tidbits
Published May 26, 2025 11:34 am
At A Glance
- These are the hottest acts currently making waves on Spotify PH.
Starting with the Jan Roberts and Shirebound collaboration on the neo-folk styled “Hingalo,” where lilting singer-songwriter musings hiding behind poetic lyrics and indie folk sounds converge.
Roberts of “U-Belt” fame is on brand with this soothing and contemplative acoustic ballad. The Albay native previously scored hits with his own “Sagip” and “Kalimutan” and he continues the streak with this track.
Meanwhile, the band moniker Shirebound definitely seems Tolkien-inspired. But no tales about hobbits or errant rings of power can be heard on “Hingalo.” Instead Shirebound combines their indie-folk stylings with Roberts’ already non-pop persona and the effect is dreamy and novel in a good way.
These days, the sounds of bands like Cup Of Joe, Sugarcane, Dilaw, Earl Agustin and the like are the norm rather than the exception anyway.
Listen to Shirebound’s exceptional 2019 album “For Princesses by Thieves (O Mga Awit Ng Hiraya Para Sa Guni-Guning Sinta)” and the admirable tunes on there that includes non-run of the mill Pinoy pop tunes like “Miss Mosh,” and “Waltz Of Four Left Feet,” for some ruminative and glittery sounds for more context on what this band is all about.
Pinoy R&B is represented well in 2025 with the likes of Dionela keeping the fires lit.
The Guiguinto, Bulacan-grown R&B singer-songwriter scored big with the 2024 single “Marilag” which to date has 182 million streams on Spotify alone.
Dionella combines rap with hook-laden R&B choruses and mixes English and Tagalog lyrics seamlessly to get his point across. On “Marilag” we can hear some bits of Usher-isms and Charlie Puth (Puth-ism?) to which Dionela borrows liberally from.
“Ikigai” recalls early 2K R&B and even rapper Loonie dropping bars as a rap highlight feels like a throwback. A songwriter to watch out for, Dionella manages to play with the word ‘ikigai’ (which means a reason for being) and transforms it as an ode to his one true soul-anchor.
And talk about early 2K R&B, “Love Of My Life” was resurrected recently by Janine. The “Hulaan” singer covered the Jay Durias-written song via the “SWABE” album that also included acts such as Rhodessa, Earl Agustin, Amiel Sol, Shanne Dandan and Rob Deniel updating OPM classics.
Janine’s version somewhat stayed faithful to Durias’ original vision, but we can’t help but appreciate the take. If there’s someone from today who can do justice to a Jay Durias song, one of them is definitely Janine.
Returning into the fray is punk rock band Hilera with “Sa Madaling Araw.”
Hilera, a trio led by singer-guitarist Chris Padilla, ditches the surging rhythms of their usual punk-laced rock for a more introspective ballad with acoustic guitars and pianos to show that even the hardest, most emo of punk rockers mellow with age. Define, define, define!
Blaster Silonga is all about vibes on his latest release titled “Hayy.” Blaster obviously reveres 70’s era Manila Sound and it shows in this Cinderella-inspired new original. Blaster even tries his best to approximate Yolly Samson’s airy vocals as other 70’s inspired sonic artifacts pop in and out of the song. That Blaster also looks like he stepped out of a time-machine from the 70’s is by design.
Check out the Pinoy pop playlist for more local music.