I Want Relax One (我要輕鬆玩)
Relax One (輕鬆玩)
Take One
Formed six years ago, four-piece pop/rock act Relax One (
The combination of a bad sound system and some gritty post-production engineering didn't really do the band justice, however. And while the combo has never been a real crowd puller it certainly deserved a better reception than it got on the compilation.
Thankfully, Take One studios has given Relax One the chance to shine on the band's recently released debut, I Want Relax One (
The album gets off to a rather slow start with the brass section, Mando-pop cum Latin Love ... Freedom (
Along with the more standard Mando-pop/rock numbers like Forgotten (
The two tunes that really showcase the band's musical ability are the bouncy power-pop number Happy Ending and the jerky blues The Summer You Love (
To no doubt appease the band's younger audience the album also includes a couple of the more standard Mando-love ballads. Neither Ray of Love (
Seediq Bale (賽德克巴)
Chthonic (閃靈樂團)
TRA
Taiwan's Golden Melody Award winning black metal act, Chthonic (
Unlike the combo's previous vinyl ventures, which saw the metal heads dealing solely with the dark side and waxing lyrical about the devil, hell and just about every other stereotypical death metal theme, Chthonic has opted to take, in part at any rate, a more earthly approach this time around.
Taking its name from an upcoming movie about the Wushe incident -- an anti-Japanese revolt by members of the Seediq tribe in 1930 that resulted in the deaths and decapitations of 130 Japanese soldiers and policemen -- the album sees the band waxing lyrical about the souls of the Aboriginal heroes.
The theme of the album may have less to do with devil worshipping than before, but even with the help of Mando-rockstress, Sandee Chen (
Fiery breakneck guitar solos, gothic keyboard work and brooding vocals are the order of day as the nation's award winning metal combo take listeners on a torrid musical journey.
Seediq Bale takes no prisoners from the beginning to the end, from Laqi Pusu Hyhoni (
cylinders. Like several of Chthonic's previous albums Seediq Bale was recorded, mixed and mastered at Borsing recording studios in Denmark under the guidance of celebrated extreme metal recording and sound engineer, Jan Borsing.
TK's Rock Collection (台客搖滾百萬驚險輯)
Various
Rock
Released to coincide with the recent Taike Rock Concert (
adjective.
The 28 track double CD features numbers by Wu Bai (
mouthed rocker Chang Chen-yue (
None of the material is new and for those who already own albums by any of the aforementioned acts then its probably best avoided. The album offers listeners an interesting selection of taike tunes, but in reality it is little more than an excuse for Rock Records to re-release material from its overflowing library.
Some of the album's better tunes include Wu Bai's hugely popular The World's First (
Sadly, better so-called taike moment has been omitted and the album has its faults. Instead of giving us Baboo's brilliantly haunting Xiaonien Anna (
The sole original tune on the album is the Taike Anthem (
It's in your face from the off and does take some getting used to, but it is so kitsch that it works well and would be the perfect musical complement to any late night taxi ride through the streets of Taipei.
LTK Commune IV (天涯棄逃人)
LTK Commune (濁水溪公社)
TCM
Taiwan's madcap masters of non-musical mayhem, LTK Commune (
Known more for its hard-hitting political satire and onstage antics than for its musical ability, those familiar with LTK's anti-music stance of old will be left open-mouthed from the off.
Rather than packing the album with simplistic punk and nakashi numbers, LTK, which boasts a new line-up and three new members, has gone all out to impress with a smorgasbord of tunes that range in style from acid jazz to comic pop.
Calm Smile (
Of course, the album isn't without its more gnarly sounds and the album's finest moment, the 11-minute long Narawan (
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