The People I've Known
Bevlyn Khoo
Breezy & Sunny is the name of a track here and it is exactly how this album starts out.
Over the cheerful strumming of a guitar, home-grown singer-songwriter Bevlyn Khoo invites you to laugh along with her on The Haha Song. When one is feeling down, she gently suggests: “Serious people are all the same/Mulling it over in your head, why not laugh instead?”
The vibe continues on Breezy & Sunny, which lightens your mood with its effortless bossa nova groove. And then on the title track, the mood turns contemplative as she ponders the passage of time.
The versatile Khoo also delivers a few tracks in English. Her last release Feel About You (2011) was also bilingual. But it is the Mandarin material that feels more distinctive and on which the sentiments are a tad more compelling.
Still, there is an honesty and simplicity to this record that is charming.
By the time she is crooning about her Soulmate on the closing track, you feel glad that you have had the chance to get to know her through her music.
(ST)