One-word album titles still sound cool no matter what and those eager to find out Up Dharma Down’s next album sound like must take heed.

The one Manila band BBC radio DJ Mark Coles thinks most likely to sell in the Western hemisphere is releasing what is by now described (us included) as one of the highly-anticipated albums by any local artist.

As described by Toti Dalmacion, the band’s manager and Terno Recordings head honcho, the songs on the new album are like yin-yang, plus-minus, Obama-McCain … well, something like that.

“Each song on the album can stand on its own,” Dalmacion tells INQUIRER.net via phone. Whereas the songs in the debut outing Fragmented had some sort of cohesiveness and flow, those in the new one, he says, are more distinct from one another.

Picture yourself pairing one song with another. All 14 of them plus bonus tracks (thanks Toti for the hint).

It took the band two years to come up with a follow-up so expect every interview to refer to the term “sophomore jinx” (us included). Dalmacion acknowledges precisely that and admits that, though it sounds so utterly cliché, the band has matured.

“They’ve spent more time on the songs compared to the first album,” he says. Still, it has all the Up Dharma Down elements to it,” he says.

To find out what elements lie in Bipolar, check out album launch details (hooray GoogleMaps) in the band’s website. Periodic table not needed, but P150 gets you in with a drink, while P500 gets you a limited edition Bipolar CD designed by drummer Ean Mayor plus a 40-minute making-of DVD.

Also, “Every First Second,” taken from Bipolar, is still up on Myspace.

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