J Brothers - Walang Ibang Mamahalin

All Music Guide

The music on Philippine band J Brothers' first album was tuneful and passionate and leaned towards easy listening, but it could also be substantive. One could see potential in J Brothers. In 1998, they released their second album, Walang Ibang Mamahalin (trans: No Other Love).

The second album sees the band taking on new challenges, and the music encompasses a more universal and melodic sound. Significantly, many songs on Walang Ibang Mamahalin were written by Latin composers from outside the country, with new Tagalog lyrics placed on top of the melodies (Tagalog is the Philippines' national language).

The music has a vibrant, romantic feel to it, and the melodies are more filled out this time. Even the songs composed by Filipinos are more appealing. The singing is more refined and tuneful this time as well. While the singing on the first album was always passionate, it nearly went over the top on occassion, but that doesn't happen here.

The singing also doesn't have the strained nasal quality that was heard before, and as said earlier, it is more refined here. The vocalists also harmonize more than before, and it sounds good. The tunes can be called romantic middle-of-the-road and are more interesting than the usual easy listening love song.