AUDIOJUNKIE: August slips away
What a difference a year makes. And just like that, we’re slipping into the latter part of 2025 as August drains away.
It was around this time last year that the whole fam had to say goodbye to our good ol’ ‘Bayang sinilangan temporarily’ and emigrated to the U.S. (legally, I might add). The mission was to plant roots anew and to build from the ground up, so to speak. We’ve since acquired our green cards, work, driver's licenses, and accumulated some mini adventures in the course of familiarizing ourselves with the place where we are situated. I would say that we have done well, but as it is often with life, it’s not without challenges. A few days short of a whole year, we’ve seen people come and go. Mainly our friends-as-family whom we had to leave and now dearly miss, a pair of dear family/relatives who unexpectedly departed, a loved dog who succumbed to sickness, and an old bandmate who just this past week passed.
I’m reminded of a Taylor Swift from 2020’s “Folklore” called “August” that goes: ‘I can see us lost in the memory / August slipped away into a moment in time / Cause it was never mine.” And while the song itself is about a fleeting summer love triangle seen from the perspective of the other woman, named appropriately enough, Augustine, the sentiment seemed apt for where I’m at currently, as I realize the past year is passing seemingly quickly, and with it, people and the life I knew from before. It’s a mixed feeling of nostalgia and loss. Because like the Taylor song said: ‘August slipped away like a bottle of wine.’
Accompanying this sentimental rumination are the songs that I’m currently listening to. One is Amiel Sol’s newly released single titled “Tahimik Na Buhay.” Amiel Sol is still flying high from the breakout success of “Sa Bawat Sandali,” and that seems to bring some assured confidence into his songwriting. And Amiel has always been about coming up with tender, affectionate ballads, and this one’s no different. Only in his mid-twenties, Amiel is already longing to settle down with ‘the one’ and take it easy. “Pangarap ko ang tahimik na buhay kapiling ka / Dumating sa ating tahanan munti man kay sarap uwian / bukas makalawa matutupad ating hiling,” he intones amidst the gentle arpeggiated chords of his guitar and the lilting wind instruments that decorate his song. Amiel's music, specifically his romanticism, if anything, is contagious.
2021 (not to be confused with Adie Garcia’s song of the same title). Kyle’s new song is as senti as it gets. He sings “Baguhin man ng libu-libong buwan ang kulay ng kalangitan, pangako ko’y hindi ka iiwan, pangako yan / At kahit madalas na tayo di magkasunduan, ikaw pa rin ang uuwian” in true troubadour style with his acoustic guitar and some minimal backing. It’s practically a wedding vow wrapped pretty in a song.
TJ Monterde likewise has his own slow-tempo love song with “Unang Halik.” A tinkling piano, some guitars, and a minimalist rhythm section are all that TJ Monterde needs to send his message across. Apparently, I’m not the only one feeling sentimental and nostalgic.
And as this August fades, I remember to celebrate the lives of my cousin Allan Raymond De Leon, Mama Susan Pacana, our bandmate-guitarist Mark Bernabe, and my beloved dog Shiro. Rest easy and know that you are remembered fondly.