7. Jane Zhang- The Seventh Sense
I have always respected Jane Zhang. Her amazing vocal range, loveable personality and emotive delivery have kept me hooked for many years. However, she's never had an album that's managed to blow me away from start to end. That is until now.
The Seventh Sense came out earlier this year and was one of the biggest surprises for me- I was totally unaware of it coming out until it appeared on certain blogs spouting praise for it. After I could stop drooling over THAT cover- something just totally does it for me when I see a pink haired Jane in high heels- I sat down and listened to it on headphones for my first experience.
Instantly, I knew Jane had finally hit the mark with this one. It's warmth was the first thing I noticed- it was a delightful warm. The kind of warm you look forward to when going to bed on a cold night. A loving, motherly like warmth that you only hear in albums once in a while. The opening track, "
I Belong To Myself" (using the English titles here) is amazing, yet totally simple- a triumphant pop anthem that grips the listener from its very first note. After that it is a stream of delightful, soft, calming tracks that become all the more rewarding on repeat listens.
Jane also delivers two English songs here- and unlike many other Asian pop artists that have tried this- she never slips up. When she does sexy, it works, never sounds
awkward (say, like Utada Hikaru's
Poppin' or
Dirty Desire for example) and comes off as tantalizing yet never, ever
cheap.
The instrumentation is tight and beautiful. It is totally smooth and just a delight to listen to any time of the day. There is plenty of variety here, but for the most part it is a restrained mix of pop/rock and RnB that suits Jane's singing style perfectly.
Most of all, the vocal performance here is A grade stuff. (Just listen to her on
Is There Any?- it sends shivers up my spine). She never goes over the top and shows a notable amount of restraint this time round. But man, does it work. Little flourishes of her
trademark highs peek through the silky smoothness of the majority of it and adds that added element of personality that many albums of this kind seldom show.
I am in love with this album. It is the
best Chinese pop album of 2014. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes this style of music.