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Power Station
Aboriginal Taiwanese rock duo Power Station are still going strong, 16 years after their debut Cruel Love Letters (1997).
Their brand of blazing emo rock is alive and well on tracks such as Never Forget The Earliest Inspiration.
Yu Chiu-hsin and Yen Chih-lin’s voices soar as they sing: “Never forget, that year, that day, the dream in our hearts when we set off.” Although they are now in their mid-40s, there remains a youthful idealism in their cover of American country-pop group Lady Antebellum’s Never Alone.
Lead single Elena is a definite highlight here.
The music has a tribal folk song feel to it and the title is both a woman’s name and also sounds like “lover ah” in Minnan. The poignant chorus goes: “Elena, I’m back, know how much I’ve missed you/Elena, I’m back, your heart is my home”.
Parts of the album, though, feel like they could have been recorded back in the 1990s or early noughties. The challenge for the duo is whether they can power ahead and not just power on.
(ST)