[CD REVIEW] Tizzy Bac – 如果看見地獄，我就不怕魔鬼 (2009)

Tizzy Bac’s (鐵之貝克) third album, 如果看見地獄，我就不怕魔鬼 (If I could see Hell, Then I would not be afraid of the Devil) is a troubling one –– With the intent to review this album, I managed to go through a roller coaster of ambiguity before settling down comfortably with the final rating above.  Thus, I am going to go with a different review approach –– a chronological recap of my time spent with this album.

Week One
The album caught my attention immediately –– with catchy melodies that can seep into your conscience instantly, this left me with a positive initial impression.

Week Two – Three
The melodies started to get stale, every song started to bleed into each other.  With almost the tracks seemed to feature the same piano lines and arrangements, even singer 陳惠婷’s (Ying Ting’s) great voice could only carry these batch of songs so far. Overall the run time was just far too long and only particular tracks stood out to me, ie “鐵之貝克” (“Tizzy Bac”), “For the Way I Live” and “丹尼爾是Gay” (“Dennis is Gay”).

First Month
I started to catch on to some of the details –– once I was able to get over the familiarity of the tracks, the album did seem to have some variety.  A lot of the songs were in fact different; they were just distinct in their details.  I also started to appreciate the role that bassist and drummer had within the context of the band.  The distorted bass sounds on “美麗喔憂傷” (“Beautiful Sorrow”) and “最後告解” (“Final Goodbye”) particularly provided extra punch and flavor.

Second Month
At this point, things really started to make sense –– the melodies, arrangements and sequencing of the album seemed well planned.  Tracks bled into each other in a deliberate manner, and worked to be greater than the sum of its parts.  I found myself enjoying the album on a whole new level.

From being memorable, exciting, transcendent to being downright boring, If I can see Hell…etc, is truly an album that demands attention and time.  This release sees Tizzy Bac moving into new territories and gaining momentum to become the premier band of the Taiwan Indie Music Scene.  I just hope their next album could be more immediate next time around, but at the rate of indecisiveness I am going, who even knows how long I will be standing by this thought?

Recommended tracks: 01, 02, 09

Track Listing:
01. 鐵之貝克 (Tizzy Bac)
02. 丹尼爾是Gay (Dennis is Gay)
03. For the Way I Live
04. 婚禮歌手 (Wedding Singer)
05. Loser
06. 如果看見地獄，我就不怕魔鬼 (If I could see Hell, Then I would not be afraid of the Devil)
07. Shall We Dance
08. 季後賽 (Off Season Race)
09. 美麗 喔 憂傷 (Beautiful Sorrow)
10. Heather
11. 瞬間白眼一千遍 (A Moment)
12. 最後告解 (Final Goodbye)
13. 太陽快跑 (Quick Sunset)

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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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