EPHESUS | TO SPEAK OF CITY LIGHTS AND SKYSCRAPERS

Stars Count
by Righex

Ephesus has post-punk and Christian sound roots. Released on 2010. And just heard them actually, if not for someone's request, I'd never would have bothered to listen. I'd say this is the present and prevailing sound of a rock band. New sound of new emerging bands. Influences that dated back from the early 2000 to 2010. Merging punk rock, hard rock and alternative rock. Screamo, emo, emo-core, indie rock or what have you. The lifestyle now seen and heard everywhere. And to be identified with foreign acts was a big plus.

I've had my share of obsession with this type of music. To identify them as 'emo' earlier never crossed my mind. I've listened to Jimmy Eat World, The Get Up Kids, Triple Fast Action, Rainer Maria, and Sunny Day Real Estate. More mainstream bands aren't that hard to find like Dashboard Confessional, Saves The Day, All American Rejects, New Found Glory, and so on. Some were short-lived and some were all around.

Local acts then blossomed like Urbandub, Chicosci... Bands like Typecast, The Ambassadors, Taken By Cars followed and so on. Goth rock crossed over as well as punk and techno...Some bands even attempted to incorporate multiple genres into one.  It was easy to say that you don't like the sound. The music must have felt so different yet so familiar. It was like you had enough of it, made you think they all sound the same.

But it feels good to think that bands like this still thrive on a very close minded and judgmental Philippine Music Scene. And to think that to some, OPM music is limited to what they've heard on their heydays. As if the present form of music does not matter anymore. Everything new is bad or isn't good as it is then. This is one of the reason why some bands tend to cover a lot of old songs just to satisfy that need for nostalgia. Some don't care and just settled in obscured. Some songs just doesn't fit a lifestyle. Just doesn't give that needed shock.

Ephesus has longed for mainstream acceptance. They say that this 12 track debut does not suggest anything groundbreaking. It has pretty much made them different from other local artists. And that’s fine, because that’s exactly what makes their debut worth listening to.