Opus VI – Atlantis

F.I.R.

Six albums in, F.I.R. are exploring and tinkering with their sound, pushing the boundaries of their musical map. The Taiwanese trio made their name with a distinctive pop-rock groove. Then, for a while, producer Ian Chen, guitarist/vocalist Real Huang and singer Faye Chan threatened to become predictable and boring.

On their latest album, however, they do not sound like their usual selves – and that is a good thing. There is a tinge of Irish folk to opener Atlantis while Chinese orchestral instruments can be heard on Flowers Aren’t Flowers.

These touches do provide some musical interest, even if one is not sure what point they are making with regard to the national or ethnic identity of Atlantis.

Meanwhile, the breezy and optimistic Say Hello and Screw (as in the metal fastener) show us another side of F.I.R., even if they are not exactly sailing into uncharted waters.

BLAQ Style 3D Edition (CD & DVD)

MBLAQ

Before K-pop fans get too excited, the 3-D effects here apply to a photo booklet and not the DVD. The album comes with a pair of low-tech blue- and-red-lens cardboard spectacles and squinting at the images is more likely to give you a headache than a rush of blood to the head.

Music-wise, the quintet are pretty much interchangeable with the other Korean boybands out there; even the track titles – Stay, Cry, You, Tonight, Darling – are as generic as they come.

Still, the songs from Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality (MBLAQ, above right) are consistently listenable with their R&B-influenced dance grooves.

The DVD includes two music videos and a making-of clip in which you get to see superstar Rain giving his proteges pointers. Unfortunately, it seems to come with only Korean subtitles.

(ST)