Like the band's 2004 debut, Revolution, Unlimited sees the hybrid three-piece power-pop/world-music combo employing a smorgasbord of musical genres in order to create its own highly stylized sound. Never standing still long enough to be categorized into one specific genre, FIR is without a doubt one of the nation's more original acts.
It's a hurdy-gurdy ride of musical ups and downs from start to finish. Yet, while the combination of world music, J-pop, Mando-pop, blues, rock and bubblegum pop might sound like some cataclysmic musical nightmare, the material is highly entertaining and, more importantly, both fresh and original.
From the cinematic grandeur of the world-music and heavily orchestrated 1,000 Years of Love (
Some of the album's highlights include the Mando power-pop epic Neverland, the high velocity bubblegum rock inspired Power of Love (
Regardless of this small blooper, Unlimited is good. You might not necessarily like what FIR does and you might loathe the band's new age-like image, but the combo should be applauded for daring to be different.
In a Flash (匆匆)
Kimbo Hu (胡德夫)
Wild Fire
If you've ever attended an outdoor folk festival or hung out in one of the nation's numerous folk rock bars, then chances are you have, at one time or another caught legendary Kimbo Hu in the act.
Released last week, Kimbo's latest album is a retrospective look back at the Aboriginal crooner's musical career. In a Flash is a slow melancholy affair on which Kimbo entices listeners with his operatic-like vocal prowess.
The tunes date from 1972 to 2001 and -- if you're a fan of Kimbo's -- they'll sound pretty familiar as they are all well known and are some of his most performed numbers. In a break from tradition the folk singer/songwriter doesn't perform any of the tunes on guitar, however.
The material all revolves around the piano with occasional backing from a mixed bag of percussion, strings and wind instruments.
The effect is quite stunning and the album's producers have done a masterful job of creating a leisurely and moody musical ambiance within which Kimbo conjures up romantic images of Taiwan and its peoples.
Social commentary is never far from any Kimbo performance or release and In a Flash is no exception to this rule. The orchestral The Long, Long Road (最最遙遠的路) tells of the plight of Aboriginals who move to the city for work; while Why (為什麼) is a jerky eulogy to the coal miners who died in an explosion in 1984 and Flying Fish, Clouded Leopard, Taipei Basin (飛魚, 雲豹, 台北盆地) is a masterly piece of folk that touches on environmental issues.
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