Papa I Want To Be A Star
WonFu
It is impossible to listen to Taiwanese band WonFu without a smile playing on your lips. Always full of sunshine and good cheer, their songs are just the ticket for these hazy times.
“If you dare to sing out loud, someone will listen/Use my voice to bring joy to people’s hearts,” they sing on the retro dance pop of the Minnan title track.
On I’m Shameless, they get a little cheeky, though it never gets more heated than PG territory: “The sunshine of summer makes you want to strip naked/A beer in one hand, an ice cream in the other.”
Since their last album WONderFU in 2013, there have been major life changes among the band’s members. Lead vocalist Hsiao Min and bassist Twiggy got hitched and are now the proud parents of a baby daughter.
The lullaby Cuckoo is dedicated to the little one, as Hsiao Min coos to her: “Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t wrinkle your skin/Cradle you in my arms and rock you gently.”
The arrival of a baby seems to have triggered greater introspection as well.
After the band coast through surf rock, bossa nova and funk, On And On finds them in a contemplative mid-tempo mood. Life is a giant central station and there are comings and goings, missed stops and slow trains. Through it all, “family always gives me strength” and it ends the album on a heartwarming note.
(ST)