Zild

After releasing three albums, Zild is still an evolving solo artist.

Shifting from sugar-coated synthpop to piano ballads, and eventually to the darkwave homage, the 27-year-old musician clearly isn’t done yet in a creative sense.

Whether it's a personality based on a casual Lumanog guitar shop, the Adidas on the sidewalk, or the MYX-flavored visuals, on the surface, he’s on a mission to revive the glory of Pinoy Guitar Pop canon. However, Zild is actually showing this more playful version of himself that’s never been seen before by many.

Over the span of 4 years, albums like “Homework Machine,” “Huminga,” and “Medisina” are like exercises for his Pinoy Rock clinic. In his latest offering “Superpower”, we’re seeing music informed by a communal sense of Pinoy rock: the karaoke machines, songbooks, the love of Britpop, and many more; It sounds easily charged and maximalist, distorted with fuzz and frenzy; It balances laughter and chipmunk vocals going haywire, but sometimes there’s fun to be had in unhinged maximalism.

Whether you're from the bat caves of a dingy dive bar or relaxing on the somber balladry of the greener fields, “Superpower” rests in the current landscape. Zild in 2024 shouldn’t go unnoticed, even if the genuine homage comes from the simplicity of rockism and Frutiger Metro visuals. Zild is like everyone else: a human creating something great with care, communal experience, like it's a superpower that’s built within us.

-Elijah P.