Tamalakao
Jane Huang
Going back to their aboriginal roots has proven to be a musical boon for the likes of A-mei and Chang Chen-yue. Chang’s album, Ayal Komod, was one of Mandopop’s highlights in 2013 and A-mei’s excursions under her Puyuma moniker, Amit, have been sterling outings.
Following suit is rocker Jane Huang, One Million Star singing competition alumna and formerly of the duo Y2J. The title Tamalakao is the tribal area where she was born and home is a recurring theme on the disc.
The album begins with a tribal chant and the first song is Where I Belong, written by Chang. She yearns to be away from the stifling metropolis as she sings: “Standing in the middle of the road, can’t smell the fragrance of grass/ Wandering, drifting, the city has no place for dreams.”
The sense of alienation lingers on the rocker Sleepless In Supermarket, in which the supermarket is both an imagery and a metaphor, and she warns: “Don’t let them buy away your unique, authenticated smiling face.”
A highlight here is Silent Protest, a beautiful ballad written by Penny Tai. Huang sensitively charts out the rocky terrain of a relationship: “You stammer through your ‘Sorry’/I object, but what good is that.”
This is no mopey record, though, and an insouciant spirit comes through on the positive spin of A Speck Of Dust, the breezily light-hearted Understood and the uptempo Crazy World.
Huang finds strength in her home and identity and the results speak for themselves on Tamalakao.
(ST)