Reviews

Ligaya Escueta’s ‘Dollweb’ is a Love Letter to Alternative Rock

Escueta’s sophomore album sees the artist explore her youth while blending various sub genres of alternative-rock

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ligaya escueta dollweb cover art
Album cover for Dollweb by Ligaya Escueta. Photo by Finn Radovan, assisted by Paddy Dalmacion.

Ligaya Escueta just turned 18. At age 15, she independently released her debut Laughing in Milk. She was a bedroom musician, experimenting in the playful territory of garage rock. Two years later, she celebrated her debut and follow-up album, titled Dollweb, last January 18 at 123Block, Mandaluyong City. 

With Escueta were her favorite acts spanning different music genres: art-pop wunderkind ena mori; tweemo outfit,cheeky things, and; dream-pop singer-songwriter aunt robert. For casual goth kids, this was another week of awesome live music and for regulars, camaraderie, all moshing in unison and singing along to covers. It was the culmination of her influences brought to life. For Escueta, this was her dream come true. This was the scene she dreamt of this entire time. 

Simultaneously releasing Dollweb while celebrating her 18th birthday was like a coming-of-age that signalled  the beginning of her music journey. The time was ripe for her to release the album. The end result was  matured songwriting, louder snare hits, beefier guitar textures, and twee pop sensibilities. A sophomore outing that, fortunately enough,doesn’t slump.

Dollweb widens its musical range from pop melodicism to panicked screaming within instrumental jams. The opening track “Birthday Cake” blazes through with punk rhythms and cutesy vocals taking over; In “Locket,” the time-signature changes for a breather, as the track slowly erupts in a frenzy by the second half; “Novelty” sings like a catchy diary entry as Escueta details happy crushes and fears of growing up; “Cemetery Sound” is where she balances her knack for acoustic guitar-driven melodies with ear-splitting noise rock tendencies. It immediately is the album’s centerpiece during the track’s headbang segment. Dollweb manages to stay consistent from start to finish. 

This eight-track album is a testament to Escueta’s expanding talent, having  grown from a starry-eyed teenager making soft songs in her bedroom to an alt-rock princess performing in the city’s coolest dive bars. 


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