There are bands that you SAY you like to sound smart and interesting. There are bands that you SAY you like to appear hip and rebellious. Then there are the bands that you REALLY listen to. TriggerBliss falls effortlessly into the latter category. Which really doesn’t make any sense…at least in the “secret-handshake-I’m-cooler-than-thou” world of Rock & Roll. They are far too unassuming, for one thing. Lesser musicians often build a following based on the cult of personality rather than any palpable musical genius. Far too often, we become intrigued because of this singer’s politics or that guitarist’s sexual prowess…understandable considering we hold favored performers up as less inhibited versions of ourselves. And yet TriggerBliss look like they couldn’t offend the most conservative grandmother. Even if they tried. To the eye that didn’t know better, they could very well be (gasp!) just another mainstream showband. A second strike against them is their inability to gain notoriety by word of mouth. How, indeed, do you rave about Music that cannot be categorized into a neat, little sub-genre? Described as anything from experimental Rock to hard-edged Pop, the group leaders joke that their hard-to-pin-down “sound” is “Funkanic” – an amalgamation of Funk, Ska and ethnic styles. Get a little vino veritas in me and I will INSIST that this is Garage Glam. But that is supposition (and alcohol) at its worst. The question remains: how did such an unlikely band get to be one of the most beloved acts working within the Independent Pinoy Music scene?

I could tell you any number of things that would blow the hair off your forehead. They possess the raunchy deliberateness of Led Zeppelin. The slight naughtiness of Elastica. The earnestness of Bob Dylan and Cynthia Alexander. The showmanship of Guns & Roses, Skid Row and T.Rex. The tasteful honesty of The Police, U2 and 10,000 Maniacs. I could tell you all that and not be lying. But I wouldn’t be painting the whole picture. You see, TriggerBliss are so much more than a series of random references. They’re archetypes for a new breed of Pinoy musicians. To be sure, they are a long way off from their humble beginnings playing acoustic renditions of Indigo Girls and No Doubt tunes. This isn’t to say that they’ve completely abandoned their roots. Yet here’s the catch: their “covers” sound more like “originals.” Hell, they OVERPOWER the recorded versions without breaking so much as a guitar string ( an acid-laced, Trip-hop adaptation of Nelly Furtado’s “Turn Off The Lights, for example)! There’s too much passion here. Too much understanding of compositional dynamics. Too much sonic drama for them to be lumped in with those hacks playing for the Nescafe crowd. As their name so boldly asserts, TriggerBliss often set off “superlative waves of joy” with each frenzied performance. Because they sing with their eyes closed. And they mean every word.

A band, though, is nothing but the sum of its parts. What is rare is how there are no weak links in THIS chain. I have been told that erstwhile bassist Jayson Khonghun contributed tremendously to their debut offering, the self-titled “Greatest Hits” E.P. Parting ways amicably, TriggerBliss Mk. II found an equally gifted replacement in the person of Tochi Azares. Alternating between mirroring the guitar and going off on a tangent of controlled scales, he propels each song. Like Paul McCartney, he doesn’t really keep time…the bass line he produces is a melodic element all on its own. The further introduction of Avram Jornales has done much to enrich and enliven the band’s already “full” sound. A self-confessed adherent of Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel and various Jazz greats, the keyboardist adds a complexity and exquisiteness to every intricate verse. Drummer Jonathan Co, meanwhile, is in a league of his own. Never overpowering and yet omnipresent, he hangs on that backbeat as if his life depended on it. One of the most technically-gifted and innovative sticksmen I have seen in a long time, his youthful appearance belies a true sense of rhythmic panache. Each drum roll is crisp. Each cymbal crash? Full of brio. Certainly SOLID, this backing section is one most songwriters would KILL for.

They are fronted, subconsciously or not, by TriggerBliss’ two founding members. Given the chance, it is a potent partnership that may soon emulate the legendary dual-gender teams of the past. Chief arranger Patrick Co is a guitarist of many faces. Veering confidently between the understated finesse of Britpop, the balls-out explosiveness of Hair Metal and the percussive chirpiness of Neo-Ska, his considerable chops are evident. More Slash than Eddie Van Halen, his inventive strumming cadences and unusual riffs are the heart of this band. And as this is the case, his charismatic counterpart Bliss Mabini must be the soul. Shades of Karen Carpenter, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks and Natalie Merchant, she seems to wield that microphone like a weapon. The way she pulls it away during louder notes to simulate a “fade” effect live, you would swear she has received some type of formal training (she denies it). During slower numbers, she has this uncanny ability to almost break your heart with the slightest quiver of her voice. A powerful vocalist, she might very well be a worthy rival to even the sublime Aia De Leon.

Yes. There is much to be praised here. But with all due respect to these musicians, the REAL stars of every show are the songs themselves. Two, to be exact. One cannot help but smile at Co’s unmistakable opening riff to “Jackie Beaulah Burkhart.” Flirtatious and coy, the Heart-styled vocals interspersed over Hives-like instrumentation is unexpected and refreshing. Much as this crowd-pleaser gets those heads-a-nodding, the tenderly triumphant “Everybody Has A Story” had me in a New York minute. It starts softly but by the time Mabini hits that first chorus, all I could think was “DAMN!” EASILY in the same class as Imago’s “Akap” and Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back In Anger,” this is, quite honestly, one of the most beautiful things I have heard in the last 6 months. If this were MY band, I’d be apprehensive of even releasing it as a first single. Waaaaaay too hard of an act to follow. As a stand-alone, this song is worth the price of admission. But don’t take my word for it. I strongly recommend that you give it a spin on one of those rainy days when you feel particularly melancholy. More than mere songwriting élan, these original compositions work because of their many layers. The allegorical implications within the lyrics expose defined characters with complete thoughts and experiences. This Music? It breathes.

Former regulars in a much-despised copycat venue, TriggerBliss’ public defection to saGuijo has been the subject of much unwarranted speculation. That they have gradually become one of our “core” bands has certainly raised an eyebrow or two. The uninitiated are quick to surmise that the group was being rewarded for their new-found loyalty. This is a mistake. If you call their bluff, these same nay-sayers will admit that they have never actually SEEN a TriggerBliss show. And therein lies the problem. This is a band who have never been interested in callow displays of flashiness. They have never resorted to wild behaviour nor the proverbial cheap pops that performers with bad attitudes use to fill any number of uncomfortable silences. Backstage politics is the last thing on their minds. They’re too pure for that. TriggerBliss is a band who have worked very hard at developing their craft. They write with a casual sophistication. They perform with an unexplainable fury. But they are always…ALWAYS…about the Music. And that’s no hype.

-C.C.-