Thoughts And Notions Official Blogsite: Thoughts And Notions, Not your ordinary Pop-rock band

2006 Album Review By: Josie Santos

Heard of any new refreshing sounds lately? Well if you haven't then you should try listening to Thoughts And Notions' debut album In Awe of his amazing Love. This writer was lucky enough to be given the honor to do the review of the album from a new band from down south in Cagayan de Oro named Thoughts And Notions. Initially, I hesitated because I still had other writing assignments piling up on my desk. But since this band is new, I decided to give it a go. At least it's something new to the ears. I took a careful look at the CD cover as well as the inlays, and I found myself intrigued by this band. They even got a message written in the CD inlay for people who were able to purchase a copy of the album. I hurriedly popped in the CD in my PC and decided to listen to it while typing my writing assignments away. The opening track, "My Love Song", immediately captured my ears as the guitar riffs played on. I didn't even notice that I was already tapping my fingers to the beat while I was typing on the keyboards. Then I remembered that the song rang a bell. I heard this song before but from what radio station seemed to escape me from the moment. The rest of the songs in the album offer an assortment of delicately balanced pop-rock tunes that will surely delight the listener's ear. It came as a huge surprise to me when I was able to log into their website and come to know their remarkable story. So I started a research about the band and contacted the band's manager/founder/Lyricist Jasper Lloyd Tan.

We scheduled for an interview at the band's makeshift rehearsal/recording studio a few days later. The band would then relate to me their humble beginnings as a part of their church's music ministry. How they thought of writing and composing their own original songs and independently released the album where they donated a part of their earnings to their Church's youth group. "We actually never thought that our music would reach the national level." Thrina, the lead vocalist of the band would share to me relating to their surprise discovery by Praise Music. The band was actually founded by lyricist Jasper Lloyd Tan, songwriter Wilbert Tan, and Lead Vocalist Thrina Dimaano, who were the centerpieces of their Church's music ministry. The band has literally transformed from a backyard project to what it is now today, a band that is seriously playing their music to a larger audience. "When Praise Music signed us to a distribution contract, that was the only time we began to think of seriously pursuing our music. When we released the album independently through our church, people began giving us good reviews which in turn inspired us to send a copy to Praise music." Jasper enthusiastically relates. With that surprising development, the band decided to hold auditions that would formally complete their line up because Wilbert had to leave the group to concentrate on his other band. The recent additions of Vocalist/guitarist John Fernandez, Lead Guitarist Tim Marquez, Bass player Alvin Carreon, and Drummer Jun2x Dychauco (who also came from the same church) would then come to fully define the band's future.

What sets them apart from other bands out in the market is their drive to bring positively infused messages to their positively infused sound. The band looks up to Jars Of Clay and Sixpence None the Richer as their influences. And they want to follow in their footsteps in bringing the kind of music with faith driven messages. So I asked them if they are not afraid to be put in a box as an exclusively Christian band, knowing that there are still some quarters out in the mainstream market that discriminates Christian bands. "We have to admit that we do have fears regarding that, but we have faith in our music and what we really want to do right now is to share our brand of music and the message that we hope to communicate. There are a lot of Christian bands out there that are enjoying mainstream success, bands like Switchfoot, P.O.D, Jars, Sixpence, and even U2 was once considered to be a Christian band, and who still continue to have a very strong following. So we really don't see that as a problem." Jasper passionately tells me as the rest of the band nods in approval. The guys do have a point. John, Tim, Alvin, and Jun2x would also volunteer to share to me that the band still has a lot of music to share, this time with a universal message. "We have songs ready for our next album. We're going to be more diverse this time. Of course we know that universal themes such as romantic love are the norms, we have songs like that in the next album, but we won't be deviating from the band's main messages."

I took a close look at the lyrics of their songs on their debut album upon reaching home and I could easily conclude that one can easily identify to any, if not, to all the songs in the album. For Christians, there are songs that are an ode to the Christian faith like "Savior", an anthemic alternative rock sounding song that speaks about who could save us in our times of trouble, which of course is Jesus Christ. Or the conscience driven powerful song "Repentance." There are the standard Pop-rock songs like "Brand New Day", "Defender", "A Love So Real", and "Strength I Need." Or even the acoustic driven songs like the soulful song "Healer", and the acoustic delight "My Journey Ends." But what really captivated this writer is the song "Earthbound Angel." The song is just so damn beautiful! One listen to it, and it can surely melt your heart away. Some might call it cheesy, but for me, the song is truly one of the most honest and sincerest song that I've heard in a long time that talks about what love should be. I wonder how the band managed to make this song? Or what was on Jasper's mind when he wrote the lyrics of the song. I know that the band is quite new, and they might not be as well known as the more established bands yet, but they do show a lot of promise. And they can surely bring something different, something positive to our ever growing and evolving music scene. For those of you who want to hear something new, then Thoughts And Notions is your band. You might find the answers to your emptiness in their songs.

2021 UPDATE: Attaching the link to where you could listen/download our debut album in your favorite digital streaming apps. don't forget to follow our Facebook Band Page and Twitter Account too! As well as our YouTube Channel. Many Thanks! :)

Listen to our songs here: