Album Review: Your Story To Tell - Save Me Hollywood

I get really excited when I think of the fact that a band that I featured in my list of buzz worthy OPM artists last March is well on their way to conquering the local music scene not to mention a few International stops.

With a new album out, (album launch here) constant gigs and a couple of international stints - they will be representing the Philippines in the upcoming Baybeats Festival in Singapore this June and they will also be opening for a number of foreign acts for the upcoming Bazooka Rocks Festival II in August; Save Me Hollywood is everywhere and they are slowly gaining a steady fan base offering love and support to the talented 5 piece band (Hello my fellow Woodies <3). 

Okay - so it's no surprise that I am a big fan of the band and that I will probably ohhh and ahhh at their new album which is out now and currently available at local record bars for only P199! :D But I will try to be as objective as possible (really now Ica?-try nga diba?!) :P 

The album is also available on iTunes! Just click on this link here. 

I got a copy of their 'Your Story To Tell' album during the launch last June 1 during the Eastwood leg of 12 Stone Music Fest and it's a constant soundtrip in our car, in my playlist and even while working. 

The album has 11 tracks which features a genuine pop-rock/punk group whom we can really be proud of representing our country. 

Even before they were Save Me Hollywood, the members have already been making waves in their own respective genres and industries and when they came together formed a formidable band that should be reckoned with. 

Originally a project thought of by Caldie ("Calde") Calderon of Chicosci, he brought in Melvin Macatiag of Typecast and the bassist and the drummer recruited Aaron Corvera and Kenneth Arranza of April Morning Skies as guitarists. The band is fronted by Former Miss Teen Philippines, Myx VJ and current Jam 88.3 Dj Julz Savard. 

The name of the band - 'Save Me Hollywood' rings true to the theme and the songs in the album. In an interview the band has said that they wanted to have a 'Hollywood' theme as the name for their band, they wanted to play on the thought that fame is not what it's made up to be. A number of tracks in their album have that 'Hollywood' theme as well. 

Check out the album tracks here: 

For the Record

Any Press is Good Press

Happier This Way

High 

Not Like the Movies 

We Are One Tonight 

Reckless

05.11

Lights.Camera.Action

Your Story to Tell 

Hollywood Ending 

I think it's pretty unique that they maintained a cohesiveness when it came to the theme and lyrics of the album. It wasn't all over the place but instead had a steady theme which made listening to the album a great experience. 

Aside from having a certain theme when it came to the lyrics and the album in general, the music was an eclectic ensemble of pop-rock and punk-rock which easily showcased each band member's contribution when it came down to the music and the lyrics. 

I've seen and read a lot of posts that when they first listened to 'Save Me Hollywood' they thought that they were listening to a foreign band and that is what you get- a well thought out band who comes out with well thought out music, melodies and lyrics and not just some 'artist' doing revivals or simple melodies with shallow lyrics. 

If you haven't heard of any of Save Me Hollywood's songs you can check out their two music videos here. I've always said that I love their videos since they feature local locations such as Ortigas, the Katipunan LRT Station and even your local Mercury Drug Store - proudly OPM. 

Reckless

High

Because of their pop-rock sound Save Me Hollywood has been compared to foreign acts like Paramore, Hole and even No Doubt, well Julz and Gwen Stefani do have that same stone flat abs. Aside from the head banging, heavy guitar riffs and infectious drum rolls the album also has three slow tracks (Happier This Way, 05.11 and Hollywood Ending)  that showcases Julz's vocals in a more vulnerable environment, 'Hollywood Ending' even just has a soft piano accompaniment. These three slower tracks provide a good balance to the 11 track album and offers variety when it comes to musical styles and genres. 

The album is already available in your local record bars for P199.00 only! Why so cheap? Well I'm guessing that opting for the hard paper cover instead of the usual glass one has contributed to the lower price which is alright by me. Fallout Boy's new album Save Rock & Roll has the same packaging and costs about P450.00. I mean nowadays, after purchasing the album, you just transfer it to your iTunes and your phone, the physical CD pretty much stays as a collection, I just play it when we're in the car. 

One great thing about having a physical copy of the CD though is that you can have the band easily sign it. As you can see mine is! You can see 'Solid Po' message from Melvin there :D They are a pretty cool band who hang out and are really nice to their fans :) The great thing about admiring local bands? It's easy to get things signed! :D 

One thing I didn't like about the packaging of the album though - was that the font for the lyrics and basically everything in it was too small and for someone like me who has poor eye sight I could literally not read anything -at all in the CD, not the lyrics or the bands' messages. So maybe an extra sleeve would have helped make the font bigger :P 

I should mention as well that I've seen the band perform live twice and they are impressive live as they are on record which for me is a very important indicator how good a band really is. Make sure to catch them during their shows - you won't regret it. 

There is a part of me that believes that 2013 is a good year for OPM and having Save Me Hollywood along for the ride just makes that even more plausible. If we want to support this band and OPM then we should do our part and get an original copy of the CD. It's a great purchase and a great investment-you get to support the band and you also get to support OPM at the same time. 

Julz has said that working on the album was one of the most honest things that they've ever done and that when you listen to the album you are basically her best friend - so go on grab a copy and be a friend! :) 

About the Photoshoot

I originally wanted  an origami theme for the photoshoot as you can see in the album cover there is an origami crane. I have a bunch of origami cranes which were used for my debut and I was planning on using them but then Paul had another idea and wanted to attack the photoshoot (so to speak) with the 

'Your Story to Tell' title so Paul got our books and comic books and scattered them on the bed placing the CD and the CD sleeve among them. Paul wanted the different stories from the books and the comics to play into the 'Your Story to tell' album title and I think he did a good job at it. :)