After
an extensive hiatus from her career, Mando-pop chanteuse Stefanie Sun
is more than ready to return to the music scene. Stefanie's new album, Against the Light,
revolves around the idea of a never-ending source of energy. According
to the singer, staring at her loved one gives her the strength to
believe and to continue with whatever lies ahead of her. This is
exactly what can be heard in the titular song (Track 1) which comes as
a mid-tempo tune with piano and string accompaniment and of course
Stefanie's unique vocals. "What I Miss" (Track 4) and "Whirlpool"
(Track 8) are two profound ballads with story-like lyrics that are sure
to touch the listeners in all the right places. "Dream Journey" (Track
2) is a more carefree song with a unique classic arrangement.
Another highlight on this ten-track album is the rock ballad "Floating"
(Track 6) which starts with piano accompaniment and centers on
Stefanie's vocal strength as the song's intensity increases towards the
end with strong chorus arrangements. Last but not least, the album also
contains the romantic "Needing You" (Track 9) which creates an
enchanting atmosphere through a simple but captivating string
arrangement.
Professional Review of "Against The Light (Taiwan Postcard Preorder Version)"
- This professional review refers to Against The Light (Hong Kong Version). It's hard to believe, but Against the Light
already marks Stephanie Sun's ninth album in seven years, and that's
including the year-and-a-half hiatus she just took. A new record
company, however, doesn't necessarily mean a new style, especially when
she only joined EMI to follow former Warner executive Sam Chen. While Against the Light
shows that Sun is beginning to take charge of her style by taking on
the executive producer position, the Singaporean pop diva found her
critical and commercial success with the karaoke-friendly Taiwanese pop
formula, and she's not about to change a thing.
The reason why Against the Light
feels a bit like déjà vu is because frequent collaborators Peter and
Paul Lee, who penned some of Stephanie's biggest hits over the years,
contributed six of the ten songs on the album. Thankfully, not only has
the hiatus helped prevent the redundancy felt in some of Stephanie's
previous albums, the Lees also wrote some of the most solid songs of ... [Read more]
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