Beast In The Dark
Roger Yang Pei-an
Now this is more like it from Taiwanese singer Roger Yang.
His last album was the ill-conceived disc of English covers, Those Years (2011). He shakes off the torpor from that offering and unleashes his inner rock beast here.
His powerhouse, octave-scaling vocals are put to good use on evocatively bittersweet love songs.
On the title track, he teeters on the edge: “Love is like a beast that is deep in sleep/Because of the fear of getting hurt/I have no expectations of love/Can’t shake off this loneliness.”
The mood is sombre on Lonely Lovers as well: “The lovers are not hurt, they’re just not together/ Trust has not surrendered, there’s just no hope.”
It is not all doom and gloom, though. The vibe is more upbeat and optimistic on The Cocoon Of Life and Dream Racer. But it is tracks such as Beast which will draw you back into the album’s fold.
(ST)