Single Review: “Rakista” by Join The Club

The Official JOIN THE CLUB Facebook page

A little bit of history first on Join The Club before I review their latest single “Rakista.”

Join The Club was part of the batch of Indie bands that made their debuts in the mainstream scene in the mid-2000’s. The name of their band alone has significant name recall still with listeners today.

Their songs like “Nobela”, “Tinig” and “Lunes” became popular hits. I can still remember years ago when I got to purchase their major label debut ‘Nobela’ which was released under Warner Music Philippines.

Join The Club was one of the stand-out bands during those years and this is worth noting since there was such a huge influx of Indie bands that got mainstream exposure and a lot of them got signed by major record labels or got distribution deals.

Despite the heavy competition, Join The Club was perceived then by many that would have been “the next big thing” in the local scene.

I shared the same impression which belief was further cemented when I got to watch Join The Club perform at a local venue several years back and let me tell you that they are the real deal!

Now, to the single itself.

If you watch the music video, you would get a darker interpretation to the overall meaning of “Rakista.” But if you base it solely on listening to this single without the visuals, then you would get a clearer understanding of the rebellious message of this song. To me, these are the type of songs that Punk-Rock bands usually play and certainly, Join The Club does a great job in capturing the “essence” of Punk-Rock for this particular single.

“Rakista” is heavy and hard-hitting.

I especially liked the chorus section–it just reminded me so much of songs from iconic local Punk bands like The Wuds. Lead Vocalist Christian “Biboy” Renia who composed “Rakista” does an excellent job in his vocal delivery and he still does sound like Raimund Marasigan of Sandwich. His voice has indeed held up well over the years.

Now, let’s turn our attention to the production of “Rakista.”

The production behind “Rakista” was masterfully done. The sound engineers in the recording studio knew what to do in the proper treatment of this track. “Rakista” has musical characteristics that are synonymous with Punk-Rock, such as the crunchy-guitar riffs, the driving drum beat, and the fast pace of the single. All of these nuances I could hear very well and distinguish from each other because thankfully, the finished product didn’t sound like a blanket was thrown over the speakers that would just have “killed” the instrumentation.

“Rakista” is one of the best local anthems I have heard in some time. But don’t take my word for it. Listen to it. Watch the music video. Make a ruling for yourself, as well.

I highly recommend listening to this single and purchasing also the album from where it was taken: ‘Gera Ng Balarila.’ In fact, I had just purchased a copy of this album yesterday!

Call me “old school” but nothing beats having a hard physical copy of an album.
“Rakista” is Join The Club’s 3rd Single from their latest studio-release ‘Gera Ng Balarila.’

I, for one am glad that Join The Club is back in the mainstream scene. They are one of our very talented and yet sometimes under-appreciated local bands today.

Thumbs Up!