Distance Of Love
Tai Ai-ling
Taiwan’s Tai Ai-ling has had enough of tears. The singer, also known as Princess Ai, has made a career out of torch songs that plumb the depths of a broken heart on albums such as Tone (2010).
This time around, it is a cheerier-looking Tai that greets us on the lyric booklet. There are other breakthroughs as well: Searching For Right Person has her contributing lyrics for the first time. She sings: “Don’t come too close, leave some breathing space/ Be more patient, let me see your manly sincerity.”
The first single Time Of Love is also faster-paced than usual for her. Listen closely, though, and the lyrics are not quite as upbeat as you might imagine: “Men often declare love as an excuse/But in their hearts, they want to be bad.”
Still, she has not ditched emo ballads completely. The title track, for one, will be familiar territory for her fans. She trills in the chorus: “108,000 miles is the distance of love/A passionate past/Whitewashed memories are like paint that’s peeling off.”
Sounds like she is not quite ready to make a clean break with her musical past.
(ST)