Contradiction
Hanjin Tan

Disturb Love
Steve Chou

Hanjin Tan is a talented and inventive songwriter. But you would not know it from his latest Mandarin album, Contradiction.
Musically, the Hong Kong-based Singaporean has opted to go for a stripped-down approach here. But minimal does not have to mean single-minded and the mid-tempo guitar strumming on track after track gets repetitive.
I Love You leaves an impression, in part because it sounds more upbeat. Tan sings: “Happiness is loving you/I have no hesitation/The biggest decision in my life turned out to be so simple.”
There is no mistaking the honesty of his lyrics and his clear tenor pipes, but he could have made the going a little easier on the musical front. Check out Who Is Hanjin Tan? (2011) instead for a more compelling portrait of the man.
Still, a less-than-stellar record from Tan feels more vital than Taiwanese singer-songwriter Steve Chou’s new album, Disturb Love. There is greater diversity here in the music, which ranges from synth-pop to radio-friendly ballads, but it only runs the gamut from mildly pleasant to forgettably bland.
Rejection pairs a light-hearted melody with heavy-hearted lyrics and is one of the stronger numbers here: “The sky is dark, can the lights remain off/Let my defeated heart, possess total darkness.”
Album closer Not The Same repeatedly asserts the title sentiment – a point that should have been made by the material instead.
(ST)