CONCEPCION. Self-effacing charm.
There’s a certain sadness—and self-effacing charm—in the way Garie Concepcion sings her love songs. In fact, those qualities are what make her songs more than merely serviceable. In her self-titled debut album, Gabby Concepcion’s “other” show-biz daughter moves into the spotlight, and proves that steely pipes aren’t always required to come up with winsome tunes.
True, Garie doesn’t have the kind of voice that would reverberate in listeners’ ears or make anthemic arena ballads soar. But, what she lacks in vocal heft and theatrical flair she more than makes up for in girl-next-door likability and note-perfect precision—and, the gorgeous melodies (“Baby You Are,” “Tayo Pala”) she renders don’t hurt, either!
Her pleasant, vibrato-free voice is a cross between her half-sister, KC, and Lovi Poe’s, and is especially evident in her more intimate numbers like “Mula Ngayon” and “Walang Sandaling ’Di Kita Minahal.”
Garie works hard to get her notes right, but her diligence and “obedience” to technical detail sometimes drain the spontaneity in her performance, which is what happens in her cover of Regine Velasquez’s “I Can,” where she “scoops” some of her notes.
Limitations
For the most part, however, the album manages to showcase the young comer’s strengths. But, in an effort to show off her versatility, the collection fields songs that inadvertently expose Garie’s limitations: For example, when the music swells and the tempo speeds up in “What If It’s You” and “Bilib Ako Sa ‘Yo,” it also tends to drown out her voice, which sounds wispy when she fails to get vocal and breathing support from her diaphragm.
Aside from the hum-worthy carrier single, “Relaks Lang Tayo,” there’s more fun and pleasure to be had in Garie’s saccharine-fueled repertoire—most notably “Mahal na Mahal,” one of the loveliest tunes we’ve heard this season. It will remind you of some of The Company’s early hits.
Another significant track, the ‘80s-sounding “Inspirasyon,” isn’t without its cloying moments—but, Garie renders it with such sincerity that you can’t help but root for her as she longs for the boy of her dreams.