What's Next
Bai An

It’s Still Summer
Calvin Chen

Before anyone can fire that salvo, Bai An jumps the gun and asks herself on her second album, What’s Next?
The Taiwanese singer- songwriter broke out with her debut album, The Catcher In The Rye, in 2012 and there is undoubtedly pressure to follow through on her follow-up.
And she proves that there is more to her than just one good record.
Some things are familiar, such as the shimmery dusting of electronica, which makes her music sound youthful and au courant, and her distinctive, less-than-perfect enunciation.
For all the pressure she must have faced for her sophomore album, its vibe is surprisingly chill.
She will not be rushed, as she sings on the title track: “Give me, give me, some time/Let me, let me, figure it out/Don’t keep rushing forward.”
While she could sound tentative at times, she has the tenacity to stick to her guns.
Right And Wrong has her pondering: “Maybe I’ll look back someday, will no longer be surprised, I’ll still choose the same answer.”
Perhaps her coping mechanism includes denial. On Forgetting Tomorrow, she sings: “Just pretend that tomorrow is very far away, I know I’m not prepared to face all this.”
The thing is, she is smart enough to turn her fears and insecurity into compelling music.
As the last member of Taiwanese boyband Fahrenheit to release a solo record, Calvin Chen must have been feeling the heat as well.
He shrugs it off in the title dance track in which he urges: “It’s still summer, the beers are icy/Life is about being happy in the moment.”
But was there any doubt that Me And You, the heart-on-sleeve ballad from the romantic drama 3 Peas In A Pod (2013), which he starred in, would be included here?
Still, the big decision here for the average- voiced singer might have nothing to do with the music.
The six-track EP comes packaged with one of two different set-in-Dubai pictorial books.
One has him looking all suave and mostly covered up and the other has him showing off his buff bod. Sizzling enough?
(ST)