Lola Amour is releasing their debut album this month: 5 cool facts

Who else can’t wait for Lola Amour’s upcoming album?

The OPM band’s self-titled debut is finally dropping on April 10, and to get you Apos even more excited, here are five things you should know about it.

1. No two songs are the same

Since starting their careers eight years ago, Lola Amour has dabbled in various genres — from rock, to funk, to city pop, and everything in between.

That's exactly what we can expect from their debut album. At the recent album listening party, Lola Amour said the album will feature all kinds of themes and sounds that they’ve never tried before.

“Walang two songs that sound alike. They’re really spread out, super diverse," Lead guitarist Zoe Gonzales said.

Vocalist Pio Dumayas added their attitude towards creating the album is all about expanding their horizons.

“The whole idea of the album is medyo parang playground. As a band, that’s always been something that we’ve been doing.”

He adds, “That’s how we treat our music. Our music is like a playground—just do whatever we want with reasons and we see what we can make with the skill sets that we have.”

2. There’s a song that’s a response to ‘Raining in Manila’

Lola Amour’s megahit “Raining in Manila,” is a city pop-inspired track about friends who've moved away and hoping they're doing good.

Off their debut album is "Saan Kakapit," which is something of a response to "Raining" as it looks at the earlier song's theme from the opposite direction.

It's actually about keyboardist David Yuhico’s experiences studying music in Boston and missing his loved ones. The song starts out slow with lyrics tackling loneliness, before the band comes in with their strong instrumentals, giving that feeling of longing.

3. Beastie Boys + Red Hot Chili Peppers + James Brown = Lola Amour

Lola Amour paid tribute to their musical influences in the first single off the record, "Umiinit."

Inspired by hip-hop trio Beastie Boys, rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, "Umiinit" according to Pio, is a song to give you "the itch to get up and dance.”

The lively, disco-sounding track is also reminiscent of the glory days of Manila Sound, where the band members all sing together and clap their hands, before leading up to the high-energy groovy guitar and trumpet.

4. The band gets real about mental health

Lola Amour tells the story of losing a friend due to mental health reasons in the ninth and closing track of the album, “Part II: Bliss.”

The song was based on the story of a high school batchmate who took his own life in 2018.

“It's about how he felt chronically, but how he couldn't enjoy the things around him anymore. Years and years of going through that just pushed him to do that,” Pio said.

The band shared the song with their batchmate’s family, which they really loved.

The slow track features touching vocals and low beats all about being alright and looking for a place that feels like home.  

5. A grand concert is happening in Makati this weekend

Get ready to party with Lola Amour!

The band will have a two-stop grand album launch beginning at Circuit Event Grounds on April 13, followed by a trip to Draft Punk, Cebu on April 27.

Lola Amour will be playing a long set featuring previous hits and their new songs from the album.

They will be joined by OPM bands Cup of Joe and Any Name’s Okay, with hip-hop trio PLAYERTWO performing at the after-party for VIP ticketholders.

The launch will also be bassist Raymond King’s final show with Lola Amour before he exits the band.

Tickets are now on sale via http://lolaamour.helixpay.ph

— LA, GMA Integrated News