The Voice
Chyi Yu

From Buddhist chants to Christian hymns, veteran Taiwanese singer Chyi Yu has certainly got things covered on the religious front.
After releasing three EPs of sutras in 2004 and another in 2006, she is crooning Amazing Grace and Christmas carols such as Silent Night and Joy To The World on her new English album.
Her light, soaring vocals make it all sound quite pretty but while pleasant on the surface, nothing is deeply felt and the album comes too close to being bland. The inclusion of hoary chestnuts such as You Light Up My Life do not help in upping the excitement level either.
I would much rather she release another album of original material. It has been 13 years since Camels, Flying Bird & Fish (1997), but that strange and beautiful record still lingers in my mind.
Or maybe it is April and I am simply not in the yuletide mood.

Manifold
Brian

Brian Joo was one half of the Korean R&B duo Fly To The Sky, who split up after eight albums including the No. 1 records No Limitations (2007) and Decennium (2009).
On his second solo offering, Brian continues to groove to the smooth, slick sounds of R&B and signals his ambition of breaking into the international market with the inclusion of three English tracks – Do It, Tears Run Dry and Bullet.
He has a leg up in this respect over former partner Hwanhee, as he is a Korean American and has no problems with enunciation.
The three tracks also show off his ability to go from sensual lover who just wants to “do it, do it, do it, do it, do it/All night long with you” to a man who is “broken, wide open” to a guy who cannot commit and keeps “dodging the bullet”.
Brian is certainly living up to the album title.

ZE:A – Nativity
ZE:A

Talk about mixed messages.
This Korean boyband sound like a sci-fi novel (they are also known as Children Of Empire), dress like a themed challenge from Project Runway (“Design a black outfit that would take a jockey from horse-racing to a night out on the town”) and have a song called Mazeltov, the Yiddish expression to convey congratulations.
Intriguingly, the English bits of that track include “Latin girl, Mexican girl, American girl, Japan girl, Korean girl” and “Mazeltov, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday”. Whatever it is they are celebrating, ZE:A are certainly being all-inclusive.
One message though rings out loud and clear on the three-track danceoriented EP. They sing on New Star: “I wanna be a star.”
Yeah, you and every other Korean boyband out there.
(ST)