Ooberfuse, the London-based alt-pop duo of Hal St John and Cherrie Anderson, have teamed up with Manilaโs fiery rap collective Tugista to drop a track that hits like a punch in the gut. Their new single, โBetter Than Gold,โ released on September 19, 2025, is a rallying cry born out of the billion-peso corruption scandals shaking the Philippines. With Andersonโs own roots in Tondo bridging this collaboration, the song arrives as a rare cross-continental piece of art that speaks with one voice against systemic rot.
The track opens with stark plucked guitars, quickly swallowed by hard-hitting beats. Each rapper enters like a fresh spark of fire, their verses spat with incisive, soldering precision and no-nonsense. Between the bursts of rage comes Andersonโs ethereal chorus, sung in her delicate, high, soft voice, softening the edges but making the message sting even sharper with the softness and tenderness coming close to our hearts. The tension will get you constantly being pulled between outrage and reflection.
Then, the bridge arrives, grounding the song while opening up a deeper range of vulnerability. Over a heavier groove, in English, the rapper peels a layer with the line, โFrom the despair, I am acting like I donโt care,โ exposing apathy and disillusionment as a survival mechanism in a broken system, reminding us that beneath the anger is exhaustion, the kind bred from living too long under corruption.
By the time ZJAA closes with the stark line, โI donโt sugar coat, I know the truth tastes bitter,โ the track transforms into a manifesto. โBetter Than Goldโ is art weaponized, demanding that listeners confront the ugly truths and stand up for change. Check out the music video on YouTube.
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Review by: Naomi Joan