Albums of 2016
BEST
Talk About Eve by Eve Ai
The Sum Of Us from the album, Talk About Eve (photo 16), is one of my favourite songs of the year. The ballad penned by Taiwanese singer-songwriter Eve Ai is quietly compelling and the lyrics poignantly sustain a metaphor about love and mathematics. There is a soulfulness to her singing that lifts even more conventional material such as Harmless Loneliness, turning it into another highlight here. This is an album that should get people talking about Ai.

The River by Wang Feng
Before he became better known as a singing contest judge and as actress Zhang Ziyi’s husband, Wang Feng was already making waves with his songs and his ninth album is a reminder of his musical prowess.
It is a record made by a man at the crossroads of middle age and taking stock of life. He is defiant on the stirring ballad, Fleeting Time, What Can You Do To Me, and unbowed on the title track. There is more than navel-gazing here and he turns a critical eye on society in Full, juxtaposing to pointed effect things which are overflowing with an aching hollowness elsewhere.

Progress Reports by Eli Hsieh
This is the year’s most compelling debut and Taiwan’s Eli Hsieh was a deserving Golden Melody Award winner for Best New Artist.
The disc is intimate and ambitious. Conceptually, it was inspired by American writer Daniel Keyes’ sci-fi short story, Flowers For Algernon, comprising progress reports by the protagonist as his low IQ is boosted via experimental surgery. At the same time, the singer-songwriter’s pellucid voice evokes an honest portrait of a young man’s emotional world. Life can be filled with uncertainty, but there are moments of grace on songs such as Roam.

WORST
Journey by Nicky Wu
Maybe there is a reason for the 19-year break between this album and his last, 1997’s Hero. The Taiwanese might have been the best-looking of the boy band trio, Little Tigers, but he was not their strongest singer. The opening synthesizer strains of Lonely By Nature sound dated and the title track, which harks back to one of his best-known solo hits, Wish You A Smooth Journey, also fails to get things moving.
(ST)