[碟評] 100種生活@Taipei Times

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2008, Page 14

Listen to this album and you’ll think there is hope for Mando-pop after all. Not that Tainan-native Crowd Lu (盧廣仲) aspires to be the next Jay Chou (周杰倫) or Wang Lee-hom (王力宏), at least for now. Lu’s debut album is chock-full of sunshine pop, beautifully conceived and executed, yet down-to-earth and full of surprises.

Aside from impressive songwriting skills and instrumental talent, the 23-year-old Lu sports a come-from-behind narrative that fuels his fire: while recovering in the hospital from a serious car accident, he resolved to learn the guitar. From there, he won a handful of college contests; his geek-chic charm and vocal skills earned him a following and at one point made him a YouTube star.

With the uplifting Good Morning, Beautiful Morning, replete with a bouncy rhythm and bright vocal harmonies, Lu ropes you in and doesn’t let up. He sounds like the nice brother helping his kid sister get ready for school when he utters in Taiwanese-accented Mandarin “Hey, get-up for breakfast — hurry up.” Pop hooks then hit you left and right, making the song’s cutesiness endearing instead of annoying. The song’s deceptively simple chorus, “Dui-a, Dui-a” (對啊, 對啊), looks silly on paper, but is infectious and fun to hear. Lu then throws in a wicked, lyrical guitar solo, and by the tempo change at the bridge, you’re almost sad the song is about to end.

The album keeps you engaged with variety: there’s pop, funk, rock and even a 20-second thrash metal interlude. And for all the indie attitude, Lu doesn’t shy from straightforward ballads. On the album’s title track, he cruises comfortably from a husky alto to a falsetto; his voice soars but he makes it seem effortless.

Lu keeps it real by driving most of the songs with guitar, which makes his feel-good pop sensibilities easier to swallow. But there is also a sense of honesty that comes through in his songs, something sorely lacking among Mando-pop artists today.

— David Chen


以上摘自: Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2008/09/17/2003423369