Really
Matilda Tao
Really? Taiwan’s Matilda Tao returns to the music scene eight years after Walkin’ To New York (2005) and it turns out to be a slice of electronic pop. But the title track and first single soon grew on me and the rap-dance number managed the neat trick of making her sound current without making her sound desperate.
It helps that the names behind the track are none other than Mandopop king Jay Chou, who wrote the music, and top lyricist Lin Xi.
More surprises await in the album. Opening track Ah Well, by Chou and lyricist Vincent Fang, has Tao rapping away at rapid-fire speed over a sinuous melody line.
For those who remember her best for the ballad Leave Me and the rallying cry of Stand Up Sisters, this new Tao takes a little getting used to. In that case, you might want to head for I Won’t Wish You Well first, a beautifully bittersweet ballad. She croons: “I won’t say I wish you well, I won’t wish you well/I don’t want to prove we were a mistake.”
There is also a groovy R&B ballad with Khalil Fong and a tender number titled Child.
At first, the album seemed like a disparate collection of pretty good songs. But it is actually a multi-faceted offering which takes in all her different identities from talk-show host with the gift of the gab to pop singer to mother of two.
And that makes it a richly layered comeback which will keep drawing you back. Really.
(ST)