Head Over Heels
Angela Chang
If Taiwan’s Angela Chang had a signature song, it would be Invisible Wings. The ballad from her third album Pandora (2006) has a message of hope and encouragement that resonates strongly with fans.
The opening track here, I’m Not Afraid, is in the same vein. It starts with Chang musing on the universality of pain (“Everyone is struggling/Everyone has somewhere they wish to go”) before she soars with the imagery of flight (“I’m flying through the dark night/Searching for that starlight that is mine/Though I know that honesty will get you hurt/I’m not afraid, I’m not afraid”).
The sentiment is familiar, but the track still works, thanks to its memorable melodic riff and her full- blooded delivery. Perhaps such songs strike a chord with Chang personally, who had to overcome a very public and unpleasant splitting of ways from her mother in the late noughties.
Another strong number here is the power ballad, Before Goodbye. She croons: “I’ve made it through those few years of utmost pain/All those familiar people, every face makes me reminisce.”
In contrast, the peppy joy-of-falling-in-love title track feels a little out of place here. But her fans should be happy to see this buoyant side of her.
(ST)