&Team(エンティーム) - First Howling: NOW Album Thoughts(J-pop/Kpop)

 

   &team is a nine member boy group signed under Hybe Entertainment Japan. The group made their debut last year with two major singles. Both were met with great success in Japan. Not that this was very surprising considering BTS's popularity in the Japanese music market. Finally on November 15, a full length album was released called First Howling: Now. 

Tracklist

1. War Cry
2. Dropkick
3. Really Crazy
4. ALIEN
5. FIREWORK
6. Road Not Taken
7. 月が綺麗ですね (The moon is beautiful)
8. Blind Love
9. Under the skin
10. Scent of you
11. バズ恋 (BUZZ LOVE)
12. War Cry (Korean ver.)
13. Road Not Taken (Korean ver.)
14. FIREWORK (Korean ver.)
15. Scent of you (Korean ver.)
16. The Final Countdown (&TEAM ver.)
17. Melody (&TEAM Ver.)
18. Running with the pack (&TEAM ver.)

    I've never seen a group that has been so torn in between what they want to be musically. First Howling will have your head up towards the moon every night. Especially if you're a seasoned East Asian pop music listener like myself. There's some good tracks on the album that tie together toward an amazing debut song, which sound could have been explored more on this first effort but was not unfortunately.  I really enjoyed the normal pop numbers such as War Cry, Firework, and Blind Love. Theres a bit of a disconnect when tracks like Scent of You or those other bland Genki Japan only songs enter on to the track list. Production value just sounds like a dead give away to the mainstream in order to sell well in Japan. While, Under The Skin is probably one of the best debut songs of last year. This pop rock tracks fills the listener with a hopeful energy and lets them know that it's alright to keep running towards tomorrow. My second stand out track would be Road not Taken. Im not really sure why Hybe tried to make this boys sing in Korean for the second half of the album. It didn't sound natural at all. None of the songs outside of Road not Taken flowed with the language either. Hybe Japan should have made this album a mini album too. 

     I don't have too many thoughts on the vocals or rapping. These boys have time to grow as a group. I like the dancing with the flashlights in Under The Skin music video. 

     &team still holds a lot of promise to me. First Howling:Now really was just the first steps on to something even greater. I saw the potential in some of the tracks and I can't wait to see that grow in the future. 

Jam Hsiao(蕭敬騰) - 野生 MILD/WILD Mini Album Thoughts(mando-pop rock)

 

   I hope every one of you had a joyful Christmas holiday and a Happy new year. Lets kick off this year with some music from well loved Taiwanese pop singer/actor Jam Hsiao. His new EP is titled Mild/Wild. 

01 . 蕭敬騰 - 無目的地找目的地
02 . 蕭敬騰 - 被丟掉的最後都去了什麽地方
03 . 蕭敬騰 - 我帶著我的皮囊
04 . 蕭敬騰 - 野生
05 . 蕭敬騰 - 白夜
06 . 蕭敬騰 - 在無名指有你的名字

      This new effort is a testimony to what Hsiao has done for most of his career mostly. I think it's amazing that he has redone his signature style so many times but the sound hasn't lost relevance in the Chinese music scene. The core style of this album is pop rock, however, many different styles of music are created over top of this core genre. Hsiao has done metal with a pop flare in the past while this time he dapples in love songs that are power ballads as well as dance tracks. Not one song on the album was a let down as he sings with the strong conviction of a seasoned singer. My favorite style from Jam Hsiao has always been his up tempo rock tracks since the bring out the most potential in Jam Hsiao's voice. Mild/Wild doesn't hold out on me. Listeners even get slick production using orchestras and a Jazz rock track that was done so well, you wonder how he made it work.  

     Jam Hsiao has a barroom raw rasp to this vocals when he gets excited. His raspy quality isn't alway present. when it's not, he sings in a soft tone that still has a powerful undertone. Many rock singers can't be universal like this guy.  

    Mild/Wild is a good album to get into Jam Hsiao. I would defiantly appreciate the versatility of his sound. Try out his older albums too.