By Violet Koh
Made up of the charismatic Brendon Chua, boy-next-door Jereld Ang, uplifting Benjamin Mah and crowd-pleasing Shawn Chan (who has the loudest friends), The Façade is a local alternative pop band who have been jamming together since 2011. They have performed at several notable events such as Sundown Marathon, Mediacorp’s Celebrate 2017 Countdown Party as well as opened for Kina Grannis Live in Singapore 2017.
On 25th June 2017, the band held their long-awaited EP <Vanity> Launch Party where they were greeted with a youthful crowd huddled up in the Esplanade Annexe Studio. Setting the groove for the night with her chart topping ‘1057’ and more, local electronic artist Jasmine Sokko wow-ed the party with the opening act. The talented musician had us swooning over her melodic croony tunes as she handed the night over to the headliner.
The crowd was taken on a journey of Vanity EP’s concept of growing up and the drama that follows careless young hot-blooded rebellion reflected through “Better Than This”, “Victim”, and my personal favourite, “White”. In their individual perspectives, the boy-band songs involve a girl and the joy and heartbreak that she brings along – indeed one of the pains and wonders of transitioning into adulthood.
Rocking in their Topman bomber jackets and ripped jeans, The Façade also performed covers from the 2000s and current hits such as “Jenny” (The Click Five), “If I Ain’t Got You” (Alicia Keys), “Kiss Me Slowly” (Parachute) and “Kissing Strangers” (DNCE). The upbeat, lively show had the party moving their feet all night and demanding for an encore, where the band caved in and satisfied the audience with “Shape of You” (Ed Sheeran).
Sunday night with The Façade stood testament to Singapore’s thriving music and arts scene. From a taste of electronic music to a pop-rock gig, I found myself experiencing post concert withdrawal and replaying their songs on my playlist.
Check out The Facade’s music on Spotify.
