While China’s Super Girl champion Chris Lee (李宇春) has been grabbing the headlines of international media with her controversial androgynous look, second runner-up Jane Zhang (張靚穎) is slowly gaining popularity with her girl-next-door appeal and powerhouse delivery of meaty ballads. As China’s answer to Mariah Carey (with multi-octave vocals, whistle register and long curly hair), Zhang just might be China’s biggest music export since
Na Ying (那英).
Believe in Jane (我相信), Zhang’s fourth studio album but her first to receive distribution in Taiwan, was co-written and produced by award-winning Taiwanese producer Adia (阿弟仔) and sees Zhang’s diva prowess in full display with an abundance of power ballads. The title track I Believe (我相信) (with lyrics written by Zhang herself) is an uplifting anthem that proclaims unconditional love. I Don’t Want to Pray is a jazz-influenced gem in which Zhang moans about love in laid-back vocals with improvisational verve. The unequivocal highlight, I Need You (需要你) is a grandiose, inspirational song with melodic chirps and soaring vocals reminiscent of Whitney Houston’s classic One Moment in Time.
Other tracks attempt to establish Zhang as a multi-talented R ’n’ B chanteuse. Have Fun (快活) is a disco-infused dance rouser that offers an infectious melody and convincing delivery of lyrics such as “let’s have fun before the world ends.” Another, No Can Do (辦不到), features lines penned by rapper Da Mouth’s (大嘴巴) lyricist MC 40.
Zhang is China’s new queen of the theme song (she already has 11 TV, movie and theater theme songs under her belt), and Believe in Jane includes two of these as bonus tracks in the Taiwan version of the album. Mulan Star (木蘭星), the theme song for the period movie Mulan (花木蘭), is a gem that pitches Zhang’s vocal against the classical accompaniment of a pipa (琵琶). The true delight, however, is Endless Longing (朝思暮想), the theme song to the costume comedy Panda Express (熊貓大俠). With a nod to Theresa Teng’s (鄧麗君) classic A Thousand Words (千言萬語), the song embarks on a sonic journey that flaunts Zhang’s command of understated singing with a poignant and intimate delivery.
— ANDREW C.C. HUANG
The Hindsight (光景消逝) is an “emo screamo” band with a polished sound that takes its cue from groups like Linkin Park and Green Day.
From Dripping Tears, He Saw Hopes (在眼淚中看見希望), the four-member group’s second album, brims with punk energy, emo angst and metal melodrama — a perfect sound track for angry and frustrated teenagers.
The CD packs a punch at the beginning with Act I: Mirror of Mirth, a song reminiscent of Taiwanese heavy metal stars Chthonic (閃靈), full of shrieking vocals and double-kick drum blasts. But the song doesn’t celebrate the underworld as much as express a desire to escape it. On one line, lead singer and guitarist AJ (阿傑) sings, “I won’t live in the dark side this time.”
The album’s lyrics, which were written and sung in English by AJ and bassist Rico, will sound either overly ambitious or just plain awkward to native English speakers. AJ manages to jam this obtuse line, “Trumpeting the outcome just like you trumpeting it before,” into a melodic sounding snippet on Act I.
But the band rocks, and for many that’s all that matters.
The Hindsight’s best songs are the ones that keep it simple. On Stitch It Up, AJ and Rico scream: “Two hearts cannot be one anymore/This is hurt/This is hurt.” If this doesn’t speak to a heartbroken high school rock fan holed up in a bedroom, then nothing will.
The Hindsight wears Western rock influences on its sleeve, as the band has deep roots in the early days of the Taiwanese indie scene. AJ was once a member of Anarchy (無政府), a Taichung band that was the ringleader of a group of punks in the early 2000s known as the Feirenbang (廢人幫). Now he is poised to be a star again, this time a little bit closer to the mainstream.
— David Chen
Earthquakes is the first full-length release by The DoLittles, a Taichung-based band started in 2006 by British expat Andy Goode. This album will appeal most to the group’s loyal fans from the expat pub circuit — Goode chose the album’s nine tracks from a pool of his band’s strongest live material.
The DoLittles, armed with two electric guitarists, a bassist and drummer, play modern rock with a pop tilt. The sparse guitar riffs in The Clocks drive a groove that reminds me of early U2, while the revved-up electric guitars and engaging vocal duet on Slow Down fit the band’s self-identification as “progressive alternative rock.”
Above all, these songs are designed to rouse an audience. The frenetic Stooge is a crowd-pleaser that will especially resonate with expat English teachers tired of working for the boss: “You’ve been working for the man so long/she has sucked you dry/you’re such a stooge.”
The opening track Sunshine sports a hippie vibe, as Goode sings in the refrain, “Take a little piece of sunshine for your soul/maybe it’ll pull you out of your hole.”
This song felt a little bald after repeated listenings, as did the minor-key tune Ghost at No. 31, which is nicely orchestrated with spacey guitar sounds, eerie harmonies and dreamy piano sequences, but fell short on suspense — I wanted to be more scared of the ghost portrayed in the lyrics. The impact of this song is probably stronger when performed live.
All of the musicians on the CD offer solid performances and the production values are of good quality. The vocal harmonies are excellent throughout and guitarist Chris Robison lays down a memorable acoustic guitar riff on the folk rock number Darla Evil, one of the album’s stronger tracks.
Earthquakes is available online and at various outlets in Taiwan. Visit www.dolittles.com for details.
— David Chen
Fire Ex (滅火器), another band from the Feirenbang days, is back with its second full-length album, Standing Here (海上的人). The four-piece Kaohsiung group, formed by lead singer and guitarist Sam Yang (楊大正) and bassist JC Chen (陳尊敬) in 2000, has come a long way from its days as a cover band.
Many of the pop punk numbers on this 12-track CD are primed for radio, with feel-good choruses, fat-sounding guitars and catchy melodies. The song Days (日子) would fit well on a TV sound track for a teen drama.
Yang mostly writes and sings in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) and shows that the language works well in modern genres, not just nakashi and old-fashioned pop. Freedom (自由路) and Old Picture (舊照片) are infectious numbers that beg you to sing along, if you’re not already moshing. Yang sounds equally at home singing in Mandarin on Dusk Freeway (黃昏公路), one of album’s best tracks.
The band has also been tapping into mainstream sounds, and to good effect. A Man on the Sea (海上的人), a wistful ballad, could be considered a homage to Taiwan’s top rocker, Wu Bai (伍佰). Along with Good Night, Formosa (晚安台灣), an acoustic number that also appeared on the band’s 2008 EP Where Am I?(我底叨位), the song is one of the few instances where the band isn’t driving at a slam-dance pace.
Fire Ex borrows from Western and Japanese rock like a lot of young and aspiring Taiwanese bands. But what sets this band apart is that it is honing an original sound from the genres it once emulated. Standing Here marks a new milestone for the band’s songwriting.— David Chen
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