Snowman

Peggy Hsu

Now this is a winter wonderland – swirling strings, icy beats, vocals as clean as freshly fallen snow, and that is just on the opening song Punk.

It sets the tone nicely for the fall/winter counterpart to the Taiwanese singer-songwriter’s spring/summer-themed release Fine (2009). She offers a great variety of style and subject while maintaining coherence and cohesion: the tinkling ivories and coolly witty lyrics of Fly, the chill-out electronica of Downfallen Aristocrat and the stripped-down acoustic number You Love Me.

Apart from the embarrassment of riches here, the overachieving Hsu also gave us a winningly wintry gig at the Esplanade Recital Studio in February and then released the whimsical EP Le Cirque I in September. What they all had in common was the ability to warm the heart of any music lover.

Weibird Debut Album

Weibird Wei

Among a clutch of strong releases by male singer- songwriters such as Yen-J and Jaycee Chan, Weibird Wei’s soars just a little higher. There is the immediate appeal of the radio-friendly Keep Waiting, with its distinctive refrain and opener Did You Or Did You Not with its plaintive cry to “turn off the radio”.

And there is much else to savour besides. On the lilting Cloudy Day’s Sunflower, Wei’s falsetto evokes a sense of delicate beauty while A Little More Perfect captures the joys and insecurities of being in love.

He has more on his mind than affairs of the heart, though, and we also get a glimpse of a young man engaging with the world around him. He sings on Stories that “Every story has a name” and “Every name has a story”.

I look forward to the next chapter in this Taiwanese troubadour’s tale.

Aftertaste

Karen Mok

Finally, an album of covers that gets it right. After an uninspiring string of releases which saw male singers take on women’s songs, it was left to the Hong Kong singer-actress to show them how it should be done.

The choice of songs was a smart mix of obscure folk ditties such as Playing The Hand Drum, Singing A Song and more familiar oldies such as Shanghai songbird Zhou Xuan’s Blooming Flowers And The Full Moon.

Rather than simply delivering them in her distinctive vocals, Mok worked with producer Zhang Yadong and lyricist Francis Lee to breathe new life into old favourites. It was a risky venture but it worked, beautifully. One only wishes Mok had taken more of a gamble on her subsequent album of original material, Precious.

Despite the latter’s title, Aftertaste is an album to relish and cherish.

(ST)