Pleasant musical surprises from Garie and TJ

MONTERDE

FIVE YEARS ago, we were won over by Garie Concepcion’s self-effacing charm and girl-next-door likability after listening to her more-than-serviceable self-titled debut album and its carrier single, “Relaks Lang Tayo.”

Garie is KC Concepcion’s half-sister, and Gabby Concepcion’s daughter with Grace Ibuna. She has just released her latest single, “Umaasa”—and she doesn’t disappoint.

Don’t get us wrong: Garie’s pleasant but vibrato-free voice isn’t “wired” for power ballads. But her renditions benefit from its wispy allure and the appealing harmony that go well with the midtempo tune’s subject matter—about a young woman who wishes to take her relationship with the swoonsome object of her affection—beyond infatuation.

Garie Concepcion

TJ Monterde

If you haven’t had your fill of TJ Monterde’s accessible version of Archie D’s “Mahal na Mahal Kita” and his “reggaefied” retooling of True Faith’s “Huwag Na Lang Kaya” and Gary Granada’s “Mabuti Pa Sila,” from his 2014 collection, “Ikaw at Ako,” there are a good number of radio-friendly tracks to choose from in TJ’s self-titled latest EP.

The album is just as notable for its themes about love lost (the gorgeously rendered “Dating Tayo”) and found (“Ikaw at Ako Pa Rin,” sung with “relatable” pertinence with girlfriend KZ Tandingan).

You’ll enjoy the unintrusive, rhythmic groove of “Tulad Mo” and “Imahinasyon”—but, if you want something truly out-of-the-box, TJ’s Cebuano love song, “Kung Siya Man,” is guaranteed to tickle your musical fancy.