Crowd Lu (盧廣仲)
Seven Days (七天)
Team Ear Music
As the follow-up to his Golden Melody award-winning debut album, acclaimed singer-songwriter Crowd Lu’s (盧廣仲) Seven Days is as refreshing and energetic as his previous work. An unconventional indie icon with a mop-top, black-rimmed glasses, trademark shorts and long white socks, Lu has become the spokesperson for the everyday Joe. Endearing himself to fans with his unostentatious and often light-hearted and comedic stage manner, Lu makes music that’s as unassuming and sincere as his guileless smile. What really sets him apart from the pack of indie singers is how he finds musical poetry in the mundane. Whether exploring daily life’s triumphs or tribulations, he delivers his jester’s wisdom with simple, accessible lyrics and infectious melodies.
Lu sings about love and ambition with a stripped-down, earnest folk-rock sound, backed mostly by a simple guitar. Reminiscent of his signature I Love You (我愛你), the opening track Oh Yeah is a rock ballad that celebrates the joy of love with an undeniable joie de vivre. In the same vein as his hit Good Morning, Beautiful Dawn (早安，晨之美), the title track Seven Days (七天) is an empowering anthem in which the narrator asks for more time to make changes in life. With the later tracks, the album swerves from happy-go-lucky vivacity to pensive contemplation. The Loneliest Moment (最寂寞的時候) is a rare piano-led ballad in which Lu mourns unrequited love with understated poignancy. Have You Heard It (聽見了嗎？) is a synth-driven, atmospheric ballad where Lu begs the object of his love to accept his affection.
Blessed with an emotionally contagious voice, Lu sounds like he is literally begging in his down-tempo ballads and as if he is jumping for joy in his more energetic rock numbers. Well-crafted and heart-felt though it is, however, Seven Days unfortunately revisits much of the territory already covered by Lu in his first studio and live albums. For a singer whose stock in trade is his rapport with ordinary people, fame and success pose a certain threat to creativity. One looks forward to seeing what new terrain Lu will chart when life’s triumphs aren’t so small any more.
— ANDREW C.C. HUANG
Angela Chang (張韶涵)
The Fifth Season (第五季)
Linfair Records
Not quite a “lesser Queen of Heaven” (小天后) and almost a better actress than she is a singer, Angela Chang (張韶涵) has always been curiously hard to pin down. A magnetic pop princess with a celestial elegance, she has yet to deliver a signature song thus far in her career. Returning to the music market after a two-year hiatus, Chang’s latest album The 5th Season (第五季) does little to distinguish her from the current pack of Mando-pop divas.
As a standard outing for a commercial star, this album is about as ground-breaking as a Hello Kitty doll. Thematically, it alternatively mourns unrequited love or celebrates the joy of love. To target different market segments, it features a grab bag of musical styles.
The album starts off with 5th Season, a guitar-driven rock ballad, and White (白白的), a pallid Mando-pop ballad about lost love. The Most Distant Land (看的最遠的地方) is an uplifting anthem that celebrates love and life with irresistible pop hooks. Sometimes (偶爾), a stark piano-based ballad, is a “Dear John” letter in which the narrator finds closure and lets go of an old flame.
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