Rescue a Hero - This is not an album

There are the guys who would do anything to make sure they get some cash for their albums (see “Metallica vs. Napster”). And then there are the guys who give away their albums for free. I don't really mind paying for albums – everyone's gotta make a living. Then again, I have to appreciate the gallant effort to disprove the social theory that “there's no such thing as a free lunch”. And when the opportunity knocks to get something in exchange for nothing, why the hell not?

People questioned Rivermaya's motives when they did it back in 2000, so much that some pundits thought they'd lost their heads. Nine Inch Nails did it to get back at their record label (so it wasn't entirely an act of honor). Then Radiohead did it (not a big deal since they're definitely already rolling in the G's at this point), and they got some pretty tough backlash from that idiot Gene Simmons, who really shouldn't be complaining about not making money out of albums since his band's likely to burn it all up literally in a barrage of useless pyrotechnics and smashed guitars anyway. And, seriously, who cares if KISS comes out with a new album or not? They can put out ten more albums and people will still be singing along exclusively to “I wanna rock and roll all night” at their shows. Well, anyway, the point of this tirade is, you try to do something admirable and some lovable individuals are gonna burn you for it. But at least, the effort doesn't go unappreciated.

Take for example this young band from Cebu City called “Rescue a Hero”. They're not as big as Faspitch or the Ambassadors, but they're well on their way considering the number of gig fliers with their name on it. Did it all start with their decision to give away their album for free? We're gonna have to do a survey to verify that, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the free album thing was a factor.

The giveaway collection is called “This Is Not An Album” and contains songs with instrumentation reminiscent of the prepubescent music we used to get off on back when we were in high school (grade school for the rest of us). You remember those hardcore Lifehouse-type mellow-heavy-mellow combinations, don't you? As a bonus, given the circumstances of today's scene, it's not surprising to hear it twisted just slightly to include an emo-ish vocal styling. In other words, they're pretty much a Cebuano “Secondhand Serenade”.

I'm not a fan of the band when they're live, but this album is pretty good as far as recording quality is concerned – no irritating buzzes, no overpowering tracks, and crystal clear vocals. As a matter of fact, I never expected the vocals to be this pitch-perfect based on the live performances. Aside from that though, there's really nothing particularly outstanding about this album, it's just a solid collection of safe tunes that may appeal to a certain cult following but might take a while before it breaks through to the elitist scene.

Oh, have I mentioned this album is absolutely free? Lest we forget though, “free” and “priceless” are on opposite extremes, though we can't rule out the possibility of the two words meeting somewhere in the middle. If tearjerking mellow-rock is your kind of thing, this one's for you.

Download the "collection" here. Now.

Note: Their song "To My Dearest" is also featured on the 2nd transmissions.

* photos from their official site. but im sure they dont mind us stealing it. ;)