''ClapClapClap!'' (stylized as CLAPCLAPCLAP!) is the debut studio album by Filipino band

IV of Spades IV of Spades (stylized as IV OF SPADES, pronounced "four of spades") is a Filipino rock band from Metro Manila, Philippines, consisting of vocalist, bassist and keyboardist Zild Benitez, vocalist and lead guitarist Blaster Silonga, and drummer ...

. It was released on January 18, 2019 by

Warner Music Philippines Warner Music Philippines (WMP) is a record label in the Philippines. It is a regional branch of the multinational music conglomerate Warner Music Group. Founded in 1977, the company gained its self-distributed status and has since began release ...

. The album features songs that were previously released as singles, namely "In My Prison", "Bata, Dahan-Dahan", "Take That Man", "Bawat Kaluluwa", and their fifth single "Come Inside of My Heart".

Background and recording

IV of Spades is a funk-rock band from the Philippines. Formed in 2014, it consists of lead vocalist and bassist

Zild Benitez Daniel Zildjian Garon Benitez (born April 23, 1997), popularly known as Zild, is a Filipino musician, producer, and singer-songwriter. He is currently the lead vocalist, pianist/keyboardist, synth player and bassist of IV of Spades. Personal ...

, lead guitarist Blaster Silonga, and drummer Badjao de Castro. Unique Salonga, the band's original lead vocalist, left the band in April 2018 and pursued a solo career, after which Benitez took over singing duties. As the band announced Unique's departure and dispelled rumors of disbanding, they told fans on their Facebook page that they were working on their first full-length record. Months prior to the album's release, the band issued several successful singles, including "Mundo", which still featured Unique as a vocalist. According to an interview with Philippine magazine Chalk, the band members decided on recording the album as an overnight decision while recording "In My Prison". Recording and production commenced in August 2018 and lasted for four months.

Music and lyrics

The album departs from the band's prior

funk-rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and Rock music, rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters (American band), The Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the r ...

style. CLAPCLAPCLAP! takes influence from various genres including

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

electro pop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

, pop,

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

, and

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

. Three out of 15 of the album's tracks are written in Filipino, specifically "Bata, Dahan-Dahan!", "Bawat Kaluluwa", and "Dulo ng Hangganan". Its lyrical content explores themes of childhood, freedom, and relationships.

Release

''ClapClapClap!'' was released on January 18, 2019 on Spotify, Apple Music, and iTunes. Subsequently, on January 20, a music video for their fourth single "Bawat Kaluluwa" was uploaded on the band's official YouTube page.

Track listing

Awards and nominations

References