“Manila Meltdown” – by three-piece act Paper Satellites – is all-around a good vibes album, perfect for these stressful times. Handout

“Manila Meltdown” – by three-piece act Paper Satellites – is all-around a good vibes album, perfect for these stressful times. Handout

This is the sort of music you put on when the sun goes down and the metropolis comes alive in some myriad ways.

You’re in the car with your date and the neon reveals that sense of anticipation and romantic tension. You’re young and you feel immortal and the wind is beneath your feet. You’re looking out from a rooftop and watch as some take their day a notch or two down while others spring to life. You’re seated by the bar, tapping your foot to the music and scooping the folks filing in and out, some unwind while for others, there’s romance is in the air.

“Manila Meltdown” – from three-piece outfit Paper Satellites (released by Lilystars Records) – captures that kaleidoscope of life with staccato bursts of effusive New Wave energy, the sort that made Taken By Cars resurrected in the late 2000s following the success of Vampire Weekend, Two Door Cinema Club, and the like.

The album is filled with ringing guitars, bouncy rhythms, and music that teases of the affairs of the heart, growing up, and looking at life in these pandemic eyes.

And from the first songs – “Seafoam” that segues into “Bakunawa” all the way to the last track, “Slowdown,” where the band seems to step off the brakes before going all Sonic Youth – “Manila Meltdown” is aptly titled as it captures the pulse of the big city.

Paper Satellites – composed of vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Jyle Macalintal; bassist, guitarist, and back-up vocalist Paulo Carpio; and drummer, back-up vocalist, and keyboard player Aaron Escueta – gave four years of their lives to the making of this album which they refined and recorded during lockdown.

And the result is debut that should go down as one of the year’s best indie releases.

Furthermore, as the world opens up from the scars of the ongoing pandemic and the divisive recent elections, “Manila Meltdown” is a tonic that tells you, “Tomorrow is another day.”

Now groove to the music of Paper Satellites. And make sure you play the music loud.

Listen to Paper Satellites' music here.