The Tell Tale Heart

Tizzy Bac

Taiwanese indie stalwarts Tizzy Bac take inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s macabre tale of murder and insanity on their fifth full-length album.

The first nine tracks – beginning with All Is Dream and ending with Dream Is Over – can be taken as a song cycle in which the trio tackle the darker side of relationships and life with numbers such as Death Of An Insurance Salesman.

They won me over with Who Has Eaten My Brain, in which loneliness is personified as a brain-eating zombie.

Vocalist and lyricist Chen Hui-ting imagines herself being stalked: “Hiding in the crowd, don’t be too conspicuous, I can’t, can’t be found by loneliness.”

Doomsday Piano Player, though, feels like a weaker retread of the brilliant Wedding Singer off their wonderfully titled last album, I’m Not Afraid Of Demons If I’ve Seen Hell (2009).

The penchant for doom and gloom could easily be dreary but there is a wicked sense of humour that rears its head every so often.

The accompanying visuals in the lyric booklet certainly help with Chen, drummer Lin Chein-yuan and bassist Hsu Che-yu quirkily represented by toy figurines.

And on the song Nobility And Humour, with its hand claps and joyous piano, they declare: “Everyone wants to look dashing, I just want nobility and humour.”

There is more to savour after the song cycle as Tizzy Bac dive into a rich clutch of songs.

There is I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone with its skittering beats, the synth-propelled Forget Throw Away and the English number Every Dog Has Its Lawn, which is somewhat nonsensical, but winningly so.

The sprawling album may seem a little daunting to get through at first but it is rich in musical and lyrical detail that makes it worth revisiting.

This is one that you will take to heart.

People Sing For People

Mr.

Since emerging from the underground indie scene in 2008, Canto-rock quintet Mr. have quickly built a name for themselves.

I did a double take listening to them for the first time as lead singer Alan Po sounds like a dead ringer for one of my favourite male vocalists Eason Chan. There is that same rich, expressive voice, though Po’s is a shade less evocative.

Indeed, the band once recorded a track titled If I Were Eason Chan for their debut album If I Am... (2009).

On their new album, Mr. go for energetic rousers such as Zero Hour Commotion and stirring anthems such as Storm.

It is their soft-rock ballads that leave the most lasting impression, though, as Po shows his more sensitive side with numbers such as That Year, This Day.

On the beautifully understated closer Forget You In This Way, Po delivers a restrained performance that puts his sexy lower register front and centre. He comes more into his own and sounds less like Chan. And that is certainly no bad thing.

(ST)