Aaron Yan(炎亞綸) - METROPOLIS(摩登原始人) Mini Album Thoughts(MandoPop)

 

     Aaron Yan fell off my radar years ago. Not because he's boring or anything. I've actually kept up with his music career after his boyband Fahrenheit went on a hiatus. We might as well say they broke up but I'll still hold out a little hope they will at least comeback together for an album. Aaron has been on top on his game for years now. He's thirty four now and has done almost everything there is to do in Taiwan. He's lead fashion brands, had a successful acting career, and a fruitful music career as a solo artist. I actually hadn't though about him until he started releasing digital singles over the last remaining months in 2020. So, I knew an album was coming......

1

摩登原始人 (Metropolis) 

2

不安室的奈美惠 (Gone Wild) (Ft. Julia Wu 吳卓源) 

3

假如瞳孔有濾鏡 (Filtered Iris)

4

到土星露宿 (Slowly Take Me To Saturn) 

5

聊寧 (Talk in Silence) 

6

火種之人 (Light My Way on Fire) 

   Metropolis doesn't seem to have a set theme like his other albums. That might actually be the theme: no theme under a dark mysterious image that could be the cause of him growing older. His last album also had Yan taking on a more mature pop sound but he's forte has always been a more acoustic pop rock vibe in my opinion. The title track of the same name as the album goes in a different direction compared to his older works. It's a pop disco track that fits the dark vibration of the album's realm. I don't think that this song is a defining factor in shedding a new light on Aaron's career as a singer, however, the production does show a unique take on his own version of pop rock. You can still hear the appearance of edgy guitars in the background composition. The one collaboration on the album featuring Julia Wu blends the two singers voices sultry together. This was the most mature track on Metropolis giving Yan a chance to play off Wu's vocals to achieve probably the best vocal performances on the record. They're supported by a salsa dance track that has many various parts to the production such as an seductive guitar opening. Yan continues his decent into the album, cramming as much glossy productions into the short listen as possibly. Some songs hit a new high for Yan(Light My Way On Fire) while others feel a bit like a step back into old troops fans know him for. All in all, Metropolis is a pretty good effort for Aaron at a time in his career where he can't do much more to establish his presence in the Taiwanese music scene.  

   Aaron is defiantly a high tenor. His vocals can really reach a high pitch. Especially when he's in falsetto range. I'm not going to lie though. He can be a bit screechy when he stays in this high range too long. On the other hand, Metropolis shows the most control Yan has had in this range considering what I've heard on past albums.