Do You Love Me?

Wu Jiahui

Where’s the love for Malaysian singer-songwriter Wu Jiahui? Since his debut album in 2008, which was repackaged for the Taiwanese market last year, he has not released anything new – till this EP.

His high-pitched, crystal-clear voice is still in good form. He begins the album on a high note, literally, on the word Love. However, the songs here lack the immediacy of Although I’m Willing and No Home To Return To from his earlier disc.

Very Me offers a glimpse into the mind of this travelling troubadour: “No matter where I drift in the future/I’ll still have to bring those traces from the past/That’s a heart that’s very me and that belongs to me.”

It sounds like a lonely journey, but one has to admire his resolve: “Whether the road ahead is right or not/Doesn’t matter, I’ve no regrets.”

Nocturnal

Aziatix

Korean-American outfit Aziatix comprise rapper Flowsik, R&B singer-songwriter Eddie Shin and Mandopop singer Nicky Lee.

On their full-length English-language debut, the trio sing and rap mostly about girls over thumping beats and synthesizer hooks. Flowsik brags on Say Yeah: “I’ma show the girls I’m bout it/And they gon’ show me how they ride it.”

It’s all pretty smooth, if somewhat generic and not particularly exciting.

At least the tracks that venture beyond relationships and hook-ups offer something different.

Whatchu Know About Us piles on the football metaphors as they take on the doubters: “Witnessing hatred flying at me from every corner/On the brink of madness but I choose to play it smarter/Work twice as harder, with dreams of being Carter.”

Embrace them or diss them, Aziatix already have their comeback worked out. They declare on A Game: “I don’t care ’bout what you say, just know I’m here and I’m here to stay, hey.”

(ST)