More About Love
Tiger Huang
The Queen of Pub has been enjoying a second wind in her career since making an acclaimed comeback in 2009 with Simple/Not Simple.
On her latest album, Taiwan’s Tiger Huang seems to be a little more upbeat about love, despite having seen the ups and downs of life.
Her husky vocals sound hopeful and poignant as she sings on Expectation For Love: “I still have expectations of love/There’s still an after when a relationship ends”. And the Paul Lee-composed Shatter is a quiet paean to the power of love: “Tenderness shatters obstinacy, trust shatters all fear/From resistance to understanding/Deep feelings, true feelings, let myself be transformed”.
Musically, the disc, like One More Time, One More Chance (2011), offers up a range of genres. She takes on the electronica of Delusion, the retro- rock of Hello Happiness, as well as the gospelflavoured The More You Love, The Wiser You Get.
Tiger, Tiger, burning bright – proof that the longer she sings, the better she gets.

Jay Park Vol. 1 – New Breed
Jay Park
With his tattoos and macabre skull-like make-up for the CD inset pictures, Jay Park (below) makes it clear that he is edgier than your average K-popster.
The Korean-American was actually part of boyband 2PM’s original line-up, but was dropped in 2009 after he was found to have made disparaging comments about Korea on his MySpace account.
He certainly has the swagger on the opening title track: “I’m hip-hop just for the record and I got respect for people that put that real s**t in there music”. There is plenty here, though, that would not be out of place on any self-respecting pop idol’s CD. Park is smooth and slinky on the R&B track Star, and sexy and seductive on Come On Over.
The last four tracks venture back into hip-hop territory and he boasts: “You can’t do what I does, so just clap for me.”
New Breed might have something of an identity problem, but one thing it’s not lacking in is self- confidence.
(ST)