[CD REVIEW] 張懸 (Deserts Chang) – 城市 (City) (2009)

Well-loved indie songstress 張懸 (Deserts Chang) has finally released her third album with Sony BMG.  Standing next to big name pop music label mates such as 王力宏 (Lee Hom) and 楊丞琳 (Rainie Yang), Deserts continues to stick it out on her own terms.  Though a little uncomfortable, the major label backing has done wonders for her popularity, by now Deserts is almost a household name in the alternative rock/pop genre.

This time on 城市 (City), she is now joined with help from her newly formed band –– Algae.  But despite the full band arrangement, there has not been a terrible amount of change to her signature rock sound.  Playing it safe, the music on City continues to follow the harder rock sound established on her previous album 親愛的…我還不知道 (Dearest…I Don’t Know).  This is not necessarily a bad thing, and while keeping with her old self, City does also see hints at new genre explorations.

“關於我愛你” (“About Loving You”) opens with some nice acoustic strumming while accompanied by an ear catching melody.  The song starts slow but eventually builds up, and surprisingly ends with reserved sounds of guitar feedback and distortion. This act of reservation seems to be a foreshadowing of  the following tracks –– where music experimentation often seem calculated and gimmick like.  Such as the psychedelic sounding “島嶼雲煙” “(Misty Mountains”), which sounds promising but is ruined by the one too many layered effects.  The percussive heavy rock style of “Selling” is effective on the first few listens, but eventually starts to feel forced.  Other than these minor annoyances, many tracks do benefit though, such as “Stay-牡蠣之歌”, which combines a sweeping folk rock melody with big guitars.  The moody “Love, New Year”, is enhanced by unpredictable music breakdowns and highlights Desert’s calming voice.  Along with these new sound exploration, hints of Deserts former folksy self can also be heard on tracks like “南國的孩子” (“Southern Child”) and “巷口” (“Alley”).

With Deserts ever growing popularity, it looks like the days of her former understated folk style self is gradually fading away.  Based on the more expanded rock sound directions she is taking, it looks like she is poised to become this generation’s rock spokeswomen.  Days of her intimate live circuit showcases seem to be a thing of the past, but hopefully these new changes will end up for the better.

城市 | 張懸

Recommended tracks: 07, 08, 09

Track Listing:
01. 關於我愛你 (About Loving You)
02. Beautiful Woman
03. Selling
04. 南國的孩子 (Southern Child)
05. 島嶼雲煙 (Misty Mountains)
06. 就在 (Here)
07. Stay-牡蠣之歌
08. 城市 (City)
09. Love, New Year.
10. 巷口 (Alley)

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lojun

I like to spend my time on the internet searching for the meaning of life. When I am not doing this you can find me listening to music or playing the bass…or stuffing myself silly on Burritos.

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