Andrew Tan(陳勢安) - DEAR PARANOIA(親愛的偏執狂) Album Thoughts(Mando-Pop)

   

Track List:
01.好愛好散
02.俱傷
03.敗將
04.練習愛情
05.夏戀
06.天天情人節
07.嘿親愛的
08.偏執狂
09.不要廢話了
10.不公平

   I haven't listened to one of this guy's albums in awhile. the collaborations he did with singer Bii put him on my radar a few years ago. Then he did that group project with him, Bii, and Dino Lee which was delightful to listen to. They even came out with a second album to my surprise because I didn't think that the group would last another album. Now, all the boys are doing their solo albums.(They were already deemed solo singers, only singing together for a project.) A post about Dino's album will be up soon and I already did a post about Bii's recent album. Andrew Tan  's turn is coming up next. 

    My relationship in the past with mister Tan's music has been one of love and hate. I kind of hate the person who I was talking to about his music because they brought a lot of things to my attention that I didn't notice before. Such has how monotone his vocals can be. He has a deeper range than many other mandopop make singers but he tries to sing with conviction anyway. On his other albums this was a constant problem for me even when he tried to change his pitch, the vocals seemed like they were on an even plane like a straight line with not ups or downs. This bothered me to the point that I stopped listening to him altogether until a few days ago. "DEAR PARANOIA" marks the first time in a long time that his vocal show progression. Full sounding high and falsetto note actually can be heard on the album. Nothing sounds forced. Just a singer who took the tie to correct the places that could be considered weak points. Even the belting notes have more power to them. Don't get me wrong though, Some tracks go back to old habits but no where near as bad as it use to be. 

    This album was created using a more modern pop style than the previous albums. Mind you, its been a while since I last listened to Andrew tan but if he had a pop style before now, please inform me in the comments below this post. He use to be more of a ballad singer and he still performs these types of songs now. A new pop vibe has been added for those who can't keep awake for his monotone ballads. During some of the ballads, some of the melodies are fun to sit back and listen to. I only like ballads when the singer is singing all out to show vocal range. I also don't know why but, I like the way he says "I love you" in mandarin. Such a pleating kind of emotion that i feel when he vocalized those words. Back to the pop sound that made this album interesting. You think that dance pop and Andrew Tan's voice wouldn't match but he made it happen by himself. He has done pop with other singers but not alone.  It made me happy to see him growing as an artist while making me dance. 

"DEAR PARANOIA" Was a major improvement from his other albums. I didn't think I would like this album but I enjoyed it. Certain songs are kind of boring so don't be afraid to push that forward button.