Asian pop

Asian pop

SINGAPORE - Music Review

MAKE SENSE - 3.5 Stars

Alien Huang - Rock Records

EXIT - 3 Stars

FUN4 - Rock Records

The record might be called Make Sense but there is a definite touch of playful nonsense here.

Taiwanese singeractor- host Alien Huang's third solo album kicks off with the title track.

The upbeat number invites you to dance while pondering over lyricist Lin Xi's free-association wordplay: "Really down, it's like the flu/Hot tears turn into cold sweat, turn around and it's turned into joy."

Huang also flexes his lyric-writing skills on electro-rock tune Sugar Tiger.

He teases: "Tear the wrapper and stick to your teeth/Give me a bite/Just a taste and you'll understand/I'm a sweet, are you gonna bite."

It is not all fun and games and Forgotten Happiness takes a more serious turn: "We've all forgotten how to be happy/Do the utmost to drag out one's life."

Skip the Cantonese version of Make Sense though. It is presciently titled Annoying and Huang's iffy accent makes it so.

As a whole, Make Sense harks back to the hip and youthful vibe of his debut album, Love Hero (2009).

Coincidentally, his key collaborators on that disc, FUN4, have also released their first full-length record.

Indeed, songs such as Love Experiment Class sound like they could have easily fitted into Love Hero.

Further blurring the lines is the fact that lead singer Jess Yang sounds like Huang at times. Fortunately, Exit is not just Love Hero redux.

It still sounds like youth spirit but perhaps the mood here is slightly sunnier.

The title number exhorts you to realise your dreams while Reverse Earth's Spin wants to "use caring hearts to light up the other half's darkness".

The four lads even pose in the nude for the album cover to show that they are serious about being nakedly honest in their music.

It is certainly an entrance that leaves an impression.


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