SPECIAL: Vienna Teng

Waking Hour 2002
Warm Strangers 2004
Dreaming Through the Noise 2006

I never get tired of listening to Vienna Teng. Her music is passionate and dynamic, her lyrics are deep bordering on eccentric and she does not appear in MTV. This makes her very, very cool.

Her second album, Warm Strangers, is her weakest effort yet and even that is great. With songs like Feather Moon, Harbor and Mission Street coupled with an almost creepy song like Passage, the album is more than just good. The songs with the names in them (Anna Rose, Shasta’s Song and Carrie’s Song) drag the album down a bit but I can always skip those.

Warm Strangers only seems weak because Waking Hour was brimming with talent and potential for greater things was in the air.

Tower opens the album with prominent piano and drumbeats creating an almost haunting melody. The music in the songs just flows so well. Momentum and Gravity exploit my love for the applicability of physics theory to people. The lyrics are beautiful and the music wraps around them so elegantly.

Although I’m not a mother and don’t plan to be, the song Daughter gets to me. Vienna Teng’s soothing voice and the piano plus words about changes in a relationship makes me feel kinda weird in the best sense of the word. Say Uncle, a song about the passing of a relative, captures the suddenness and the melancholy that comes with such events without relying too much on grieving music.

Unwritten Letter No. 1 brings in a different pace to the album, not to mention a quirky song about unrequited love. Again, it dodges the cliché of sad melodies for sad events. Instead, Vienna Teng uses a fast, Tango-ish beat to evoke a feeling of neediness. At least, that’s how I see it.

The highlight of this album is definitely Eric’s Song. Her words make my heart flutter.

Fortunately, her third album Dreaming Through the Noise recaptures the depth of her first effort. The opening track, Blue Caravan, is reminiscent of Tower but with a noticeably wider range of instruments.

The arrangements of all her songs are, for me, incredible. I particularly love the violins and the violas because, frankly, you don’t hear them very often. Of course, piano-driven melodies are still strong in the album, proven by the exceptionally brilliant Nothing Without You.

I’m not entirely certain that people will be able to relate to the songs in this album because by the second track, Vienna Teng is singing about… uhm, what seems to be a corporate scandal. For me though, it’s interesting to listen to the (corny as it may sound) feelings within the song rather than the words. City Hall always cheers me up even though I don’t plan on getting married.

Pontchartrain is a bit on the creepy side, so I more often than not skip the track altogether.

Now, just when I thought Eric’s Song was beautiful, Vienna Teng sings Recessional. The song actually moved me to tears. I don’t know if that’s an embarrassing thing to admit but it’s just so-darn sweet. And the violas, ah the violas.

Vienna Teng is truly one of the most talented musicians of this generation. I highly recommend that you give her a try.

FINAL RATING:
[5] out of [5]

MUSIC: Heart Station (2008)

Heart Station
2008
Utada Hikaru

Following three hugely successful singles, Utada Hikaru released Heart Station. By now, you probably noticed that I am one of her many fans. But that doesn’t prevent me from saying that there’s something missing in Heart Station.

It’s not a bad album. Aside from the singles Flavor of Life and Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry, it contains solid tracks like Stay Gold and Celebrate. Prisoner of Love makes me iffy because it sounds so darn cheesy. The opening track Fight the Blues is another strong track and hearing it always makes me feel light.

It’s just that Ultra Blue was a really dynamic album. From the opening This is Love to Passion, the album felt like there was so much effort and thought and feelings inside it. Heart Station has good songs but no kick.

FINAL RATING:
[3] out of [5]

MUSIC: Ultra Blue (2006)

Ultra Blue
2006
Utada Hikaru

My initial reaction to Ultra Blue was: why is it called Ultra Blue? Utada Hikaru actually addresses that issue but we’re not here to discuss that.

As an album, I like Ultra Blue. It contains six previously released singles and seven new songs, including the Japanese theme from Kingdom Hearts II, Passion.

Admittedly, the six singles are the strongest tracks. Keep Tryin’ is on top of my list because it is so darn catchy plus the music video makes it all the more fun. Be My Last is a beautiful song and Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro is almost moving.

Maybe I have a certain bias towards Utada Hikaru but I really like her later efforts. She sings with more feelings and the songs aren’t altogether generic. Her voice is very easy on the ears too. Her sound has become more dynamic than the average popstar.

Ultra Blue has the right amount of accessibility and quirk. Her music and style has become more solid (I think) and this album shows the better changes that has happened to her as an artist.

FINAL RATING:
[4] out of [5]

MUSIC: Exodus (2004)

Exodus
2004
Utada Hikaru

Exodus has a bad reputation, I think. Some say it’s a weak album, others say it’s an actual failure.

I like it. I’m not saying this just to be a dissenting opinion. I like it better than her earlier efforts. Yes, better than First Love, Distance and Deep River. The music is fun, easy to sway to and I do like her voice.

I think the problem with Exodus for some is the ‘unpopness’ of the lyrics. I know there will be some who disagree with this after hearing Workout or Easy Breezy. But Utada Hikaru writes the songs very differently. The word depth might not be applicable but it is heavier than most pop songs. Compare her lyrics with the lyrics of her supposed counterparts. Exodus has a catchy beat but the words themselves are not. Utada as a popstar is not the same as Britney Spears as a popstar. I enjoy both, I really do. But I have never really seen Utada as a popstar the way, perhaps, Ayumi Hamasaki is.

What Exodus shows is that Utada is not just pop. What makes her pop is the accessibility of her music but the sensibilities behind it is different. I won’t say it’s better. But it’s different.

FINAL RATING:
[3] out of [5]