Duster – that quintessential piece of clothing worn by the Filipina in all her incarnations:  nymphet in flimsy white cotton, mother replete with falling bra strap and baby in one arm, and of course, lola in yards of floral explosion, arms open, ready to give you her signature kissniff on your cheek.

The band name had been floating around the head of Sandwich and Imago bassist Myrene Academia for years, reserved for a future all-girl group, which finally came around when bandmate Raimund Marasigan got Lourd de Veyra of Radioactive Sago Project to write some lyrics for a collection of music lying around in the studio.  Getting Katwo Puertollano of Narda and Kris Gorra-Dancel of Cambio was a no-brainer since everyone just wanted to work with each other.  Finding a drummer was a bit trickier.  Until Ristalle Bautista showed up and blew everyone away. 

And so here’s Duster. They are Katwo on Vocals, Kris on Guitars/Vocals, Myrene on bass synth and Ristalle on Drums completing the all-woman band. It’s female power all the way as they release their debut album under Sony Music Entertainment entitled “Sweetheart Snackbar.” 

Bannered by the catchy single “Dek-A-Doodle Dandy,” the band puts a disclaimer on what the song is about.

“It’s not what you will think first,” Katwo said, “definitely not about drug addiction.”

“Addiction can mean anything—about music, hobbies, love. This song is about positive addiction,” Myrene said.

Indeed, with lyrics like “Adik kami, adik kayo, adik na adik na tayong lahat” will somewhat hit the listener—good or bad. Listen to tracks “Gucci Gang” and “Houseborken” which will strike a chord to some sectors of society.

It is not the typical girl band one will hear from this record. With two musical geniuses Raimund, Lourd and ex-Eraserheads and The Dawn bassist Buddy Zabala helping with the production and recording process, expect a sound that will not include “mediocre” in the vocabulary. Tracks like ”Automatrimonia,” “Miss Me,” “Sexxing the Cherry” and “Dekonstruction” will prove that good lyrics go with good music. With electronic beats and solid sound, the listener will be taken to another level. Though coming from different bands, their chemistry is undeniable. Maybe claim it on that something when females bond and talk about their issues (which can be heard in the songs). But who cares? Like the reliable duster, their music would speak for itself and as their album title suggests, it’s a snackbar with wide variety of snacks that you would never grow tired digesting.