By Nrl Liya
Edited by Syafiqah Suhaimi
Sometimes a girl wants to daydream about living a young adult life that is pretty much the opposite of eventful, with cottage-core vibes. And to achieve that daydream, a perfect playlist is needed or, in this case, the perfect artist. If you are like me, who likes to spend a lot of time listening to random indie songs that you could vibe to all day, then you might be interested in tuning in to a filo artist, Reese Lansangan.
Maria Therese "Reese" Lansangan is a 32-year-old Filipino musician, singer-songwriter, visual artist, graphic designer, fashion designer, and published author. Her song lyrics and music videos captivate me with its originality and individuality.
Reese Lansangan has become a voice that I always tune in to.
One of my favourite songs by Reese Lansangan is ‘Tenderfoot’ released in 2020, the lyrics just hit me right. My 17-year-old self who was on the quest for self-love and acceptance fell in love with this song that assisted me in self-discovery.
“I was told to love my body
'Cause it's the only one that I'll ever get
No, it's not what people see
It is the mind inside of me that weighs me down”
-Tenderfoot
So, spare me 5 minutes of your life (yes that’s how long the MV is) and listen to this self-love song that would accompany you in your dark days.
Reese Lansangan touched on the theme of growing up, appreciation of life, falling in love, and self-love that strung my heart with fondness. If you click on any of her music videos (that she self produces btw), the comment section is filled to the brimmed with appreciation and people sharing their emotions.
If I could choose, my two favourite albums of hers (because I can’t decide between either) are ‘Time Well Spent’ and ‘Playing Pretend in the Interim’. Two of these albums hold a dear place in my heart.
‘Time Well Spent’ is a mix of both love and self-love songs. I could not say much about love songs due to my lack of experience but if you are in the mood for some deeply soft and heartbreaking love songs I recommend this album undoubtedly. Honestly, my top three songs in this album would be Growing My Garden, VHS Aesthetic, and Pocket.
All these three lovely songs talked about self-growth and appreciating life as it is. It promotes the idea of not pressuring your life and appreciating what's there. To grow at your own pace and not others and to take time in your leisure moments. These songs are the type of songs that I listen to in the early morning cleaning my room or journaling. A song that heals the heart.
“Let me take the time, that I need to grow
Let me survive on breathing alone”
- Growing My Garden
Now onto the later album, ‘Playing Pretend in the Interim’ is another darling in my heart because the album describes certain moments in life when everything seems duller, and the loneliness starts to creep in more than ever.
‘Playing Pretend in the Interim’ is an album that Reese Lansangan made during her time in isolation and the album dwells nicely on the themes of isolation and loneliness through various perspectives. The album could possibly talk about self-detachment from life as life itself seems absurd and different than how the younger self sees it.
I could easily say that my favourite song from this album is ‘When It Happens’. A song that talked about death and mourning seems a bit depressing, but I find it interesting to listen to a song that talked about the death of oneself.
“So weep for me, my darling dear
Tomorrow you'll move on
I will leave my body here
But you've got miles to go
In a life I'll never know
So move on”
- When It Happens
To conclude my writing, I would humbly recommend to my dear readers that are a fan of indie songs to give Reese Lansangan a listen. I just want to take this opportunity to share and recommend songs among my BENL peers and to write an appreciation letter to Reese Lansangan.
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