KC Concepcion

KC Concepcion
“KC”
Sony Music

In her previous album, actually her debut, “a.k.a. Cassandra,” KC Concepcion seemed an ambitious lot when she covered Joey Ayala’s “Agila” as well as Modern English’s “I Melt With You” and Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough.” Her use of session musicians from the local rock community further implied that she must be taken seriously as a singer.

In this follow-up record, “KC,” we initially feel disappointed that she – or her handlers –decided to take the safe pop approach.

The consolation, no matter how superficial, is that she’s photographed as a hippie chick on the album cover, replete with the ’60s peace sign adapted as logo for her initials.

The good news is, the songs are not even bad, in fact they sound very impressive. The first track alone, “Not Like the Movies,” is engaging in its portrayal of a starry-eyed teener whose first love fails her. Concepcion’s singing is exquisite, but it’s the composers, Jaye Muller and Ben Patton, who make the song stand out.

The record label asked the Americans to write it specially for Concepcion (Patton is now a Cebu resident), and it’s clearly a masterstroke in the sense that it allows her to establish an identity separate from her film/TV career. (Like saying, hey, this is not like the movies at all.)

Another track, “After the End” by the Muller-Patton team, is likewise brilliantly written – its description of former lovers meeting again making the grade for its probing questions.

Concepcion herself writes three songs (including the music!), and in “Takipsilim” she hits the mark as a promising composer who can get into a ruminative mood.

This is almost an excellently produced album, with other contributions from various songwriters (Louie Ocampo, Pearlsha Abubakar, etc.) inspiring the singer to be true to her craft.

As for her voice, Concepcion has an uncanny semblance to that of her mother’s; in other instances she sounds like Edie Brickell. Nonetheless it doesn’t seem forced at all.

RACHEL Alejandro

Rachel Alejandro
“Believe”
Sony Music

After getting busy with musical theater, the food business and falling in love, Rachel Alejandro finally finds time to record a new album – her first in six years. Titled “Believe,” the 13-track CD has no problem convincing fans that the singer hasn’t lost her pop appeal.

When she sings “Fine, Fine Line” it doesn’t matter if listeners are familiar or not with the stage musical “Avenue Q” where the song comes from. What’s important is Alejandro’s earnest emotions that tell us about the dividing line between “lover and friend” as well as “love and a waste of time.”

In “Tayo Pa Ba?” and “Bakit Ba Hindi Tayo?” she’s at a loss on why she can’t get the love she deserves. There might be parallels to her own personal life in these songs, but it’s a good thing the rest of the record doesn’t dwell on that topic – not because she sounds boring, but mainly due to the unexceptional songwriting.

Surprisingly, she does her own version of “Don’t Stop Believin’” and, again, it doesn’t matter whether she’s paying tribute to Journey or “Glee” because she pulls off own kind of pop-rock rendition.

The other covers, “Xanadu” and “Alone,” seem out of place even if they sound okay, which makes us think that they’re Alejandro’s videoke favorites.

As a whole the album succeeds in proclaiming that Alejandro is still a good singer, although its contents somehow lack a distinguishing factor to be called far better than her previous releases.