‘Samba for Luisa’ and ‘Batucada sa Calesa’ are two sides of Bong Penera’s Brazillian-indebted Filipino Jazz. The velvet intoxication of the former fuses Bossa Nova with the Filipino Kundiman, the sentimental form serenading the Pinoy spirit. The latter’s irresistible energy is channeled into an ode to the horsedrawn carriage, a…

Oh, Flamingo!’s ‘Galit’ is bumping into your ex at the club. A night to uncage yourself from the week now becomes one “angry dancing” to resurfaced betrayal. The preppy instrumentation and silky vocal performances are a clenched smile hiding the bile in the lyrics. But the passive-combative encounter evolves into…

Eraserheads’ ‘Toyang’ is not just a “silly love song.” The second single from their debut, Ultraelectromagneticpop! (1993), is whimsical and tongue-in-cheek, right from its title alluding to worldplayfulness and interpolations of English ballads and Filipino folk verse. It’s sonically just as dynamic and liberating, weaving noisy Pinoy rock with the…

Midge Purce wasn’t named to the USWNT 2020 Olympic roster. Call it a travesty, call it an inevitability, call it however you will. But if the scoreline of Gotham’s June 26th game at OL Reign is any indication, it seems Purce is calling it motivation. The winger was instrumental in…

Shrosses? Crots? Whatever you want to call them, the goals stole the #NWSLAfterDark show in a 1–1 draw between Orlando Pride and NJ/NY Gotham FC on June 20th. Courtney Peterson’s 90th-minute banger preserved the Pride’s place on top of the table and as the only remaining side to be undefeated…

NJ/NY Gotham FC’s 2021 offense is not matching the expectations set by their talented roster. Their two goals scored are tied for the least scored thus far in the NWSL. Those goals (one Midge Purce sprung off the counter and another Ify Onumonu headed in from a corner) didn’t result…

In response to rising violence after COVID-19, young Asian and Pacific Islander Americans are being activated, in many cases for the first time, in social justice and liberation for their own communities and in solidarity with others. The latest example of Israel’s brutal occupation of Palestine demands not only our…

The two sides matching up at Red Bull Arena shared more DNA than just confounding (and banterable) brand identities. Despite being buoyed by a pair of US internationals, the offenses of NJ/NY Gotham and OL Reign ranked among the lowest in the NWSL for goals scored. Instead, their successes have…

NJ/NY Gotham FC’s row in the NWSL standings is basically binary. After the loss to Portland Thorns FC on a rainy Sunday, NJ/NY now have one match each in the win, draw, and loss column. The team has one goal each for and against, sufficient for a 0 goal differential. …