MANILA, Philippines?The lights get blinding hot in a Makati studio where the four members of Bamboo are being photographed for the band?s new album.

The mood is relaxed, almost solemn. The band crew and studio workers hardly speak, the silence broken only when the lensman issues instructions to each band member.

The Inquirer is given exclusive access to the proceedings, including the privilege of hearing, on an iPod, the 10 tracks from the album ?Tomorrow Becomes Yesterday,? due out this week from EMI Philippines.

On a break from the shoot, guitarist Ira Cruz, bassist Nathan Azarcon, drummer Vic Mercado and vocalist Francisco ?Bamboo? Mañalac walk into a dressing room for a chat. It?s been two months since they secluded themselves to record the new album at Tracks in Pasig.

?Tomorrow Becomes Yesterday? is long overdue. It?s been quite some time since 2004?s ?As the Music Plays? and 2005?s ?Light Peace Love? ? two albums that enjoyed commercial success and critical acclaim on the strength of the singles ?Noypi? and ?Hallelujah,? respectively. These songs, which demonstrated the power of new school Pinoy rock to stir racial pride and hope on the airwaves, became the springboard for much of what Bamboo has enjoyed in recent years: massive exposure through nationwide tours and high-paying product endorsement deals.

Very personal

The band got so busy touring that, in 2007, under pressure to record another album, it made do with ?We Stand Alone Together,? an all-remakes collection that nevertheless turned a lot of heads for its choice of covers: Buklod?s protest folk classic ?Tatsulok? and Anak Bayan?s ode to country maidens, ?Probinsyana.?

Mañalac proceeds to give his own assessment of the new record. ?Ngayon pa lang ako nakaupo, pinapakinggan ko dere-derecho ? it?s so clean,? he says. ?Not to be specific for each song ? again I see it as a very personal album for all of us in the band ? ?yun ang gusto ko??

Azarcon: ?Mas cohesive [ang album]. Isang flow lang siya. Kasi dati yung first and second, pati third, nagkakaron ng times na nag-be-break talaga sila nung ibang songs.

Mercado: ?Hindi matagal pinag-isipan ? alam na ?yung gagawin ng bawat isa sa next bar, next section.?

?Kailan,? the first single off the album, sounds like another anthem-in-the-making, a tribute to the humanity of the Pinoy Everyman.

Mañalac: ?For this album I won?t go into detail with the lyrics ? I?m not gonna spell it out for you. Everyone should have their own personal interpretation. I?d like people to inject their own feelings and experiences into the songs. It should be that open.?

Azarcon: ?Kasi kung i-explain ni Bambs yung message dun sa kanta, baka maapektuhan yung paningin ng ibang tao. Objective lang dapat.?

Funk influences

Some of the songs have funk influences.

Azarcon: Meron ding reggae.

Mañalac has likewise inserted rap lyrics. ?We?ve been doing it since the first album,? he explains. ?Nothing wrong with that, ?di ba??

Cruz: ?Pero hindi talaga siya rap (as in the typical hip hop) track.?

The album title, ?Tomorrow Becomes Yesterday,? is taken from a phrase in the fifth track, ?Little Child.?

Mañalac: I just like the poetry of the line. It says a lot, where we?re headed and what?s been happening in our lives, and also because we went back to Day One. We did this album na kaming apat uli. Unlike the last one na may guest musicians.

Does the band feel it has peaked creatively?

Mañalac: ?I learned a lot of stuff while making this album. It?s part of life?s growth.

Cruz: Pa-take off pa lang.?