Circus

The Eraserheads are one of the Philippines' most popular rock bands, and in 1994, they released one of their best-selling and most popular albums, Circus. The band is often compared to the Beatles, and indeed on Circus, the Eraserheads display much inventiveness and an eagerness to tackle various types of music, as did the Beatles. The Eraserheads also try to make snappy melodies. However, where the Beatles' melodies were substantive, the Eraserheads' melodies often sound lightweight and fluffy, like "kiddie pop," as heard on a number of songs here, including "Sembreak" (slang for Semester Break), "Alapaap" (Cloud), "Kailan" (When), and "Butterscotch." Even the band's attempts at thrash and hardcore miss the point, as heard on "Insomya" (Insomnia), where the vocalist's strained ranting and the hard-edged guitars sound inauthentic and superficial, as though the music is pseudo-hardcore. The same goes for "Alkohol" (Alcohol), which postures as a hard-edged rock song, but is permeated with a kiddie pop outlook. It should be pointed out that in the Philippines, the Eraserheads are often called an "alternative rock" band, but that is because the dominant sound in the country is soft, easy listening music, and the Eraserheads provide an alternative to the mushy love song. Actually, the Eraserheads are just a rock band with leanings toward pop, and on this album, not very substantive pop.