Taeyang returns as R&B vocalist on ‘Rise’

Taeyang
“Rise”
(KT Music)

Nearly four years after the release of his debut solo album “Solar,” Taeyang from the popular K-pop boy group Big Bang has returned with his second full studio album, “Rise.”

While Taeyang’s past releases have been characterized by flashy performances and catchy electronic and hip-hop sounds, his new nine-track album is geared more toward showcasing his soulful vocals and colors.

The hit lead single “Eyes, Nose, Lips” is a bare, slow tempo R&B song devoid of electronic noises and stripped down to only Taeyang’s heartfelt vocals. Taeyang passionately bellows out regrets about a past lover, recalling every feature of her face down to her eyes, nose and lips.

Beginning with a simple piano accompaniment, the song grows increasingly intense and grandiose line by line, building up to an explosive chorus backed up by the sounds of the strings and percussion. The song settles down to a close as the singer declares his lover a memory.

Taeyang introduces a rhythmical, synth-pop melody on “1 AM,” which begins with a powerful intro reminiscent of Bruno Mars’ high-octave crooning. The song describes the painful process of getting over a past lover: “Don’t think about her, stop missing her / How should I erase you tonight?” asks Taeyang. “I jump in my car go for a ride / I scream madly, hands in the air / now it’s all over, it’s okay / my friends cheer me up / but I wish you were here by my side right now / … when I think of you, it’s 1 a.m,” sings Taeyang.

“Stay With Me (feat. G-Dragon)” features a powerful vocal-rap exchange between Taeyang and fellow group mate G-Dragon of Big Bang whereas the more upbeat “Body” playfully praises the beautiful “body” of a lover.

Taeyang’s previous hit single “Ringa Linga” is included in “Rise” as well. The catchy hip-hop dance track stylistically stands out from the rest of the album and provides listeners with a dose of the singer’s former musical style.

(jiyoung.sohn@heraldcorp.com)


50 Cent shows rust on ‘Animal Ambition’

50 Cent
“Animal Ambition”
(G-Unit/Caroline/Capitol Music Group)

50 Cent made a ginormous splash more than a decade ago with his multiplatinum debut “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” pushing out early career hits from “In da Club” to “P.I.M.P.”

But the rapper has been unable to live up to his first album’s success, which ultimately led to his departure from Interscope Records and Eminem’s Shady/Aftermath. He’s since found a new home with Caroline, the independent label at Capitol Music Group.

Now, as an independent artist, 50 Cent releases his first album in five years with “Animal Ambition: An Untamed Desire to Win.” He often shows rust on his fifth studio offering, but the 11-track set is not a total disappointment.

50 Cent still possesses a high level of cockiness, effectively displaying his street mentality on “The Funeral,” ”Chase the Paper” and “Irregular Heartbeat,” with Jadakiss and Kidd Kidd. He raps about still keeping a gun under his pillow on “Hold On” and talks about his thirst to become more successful on “Hustler” and “Winners Circle,” featuring Guordan Banks.

But while “Animal Ambition” shows some promise, there are some missteps. His rhymes are too simple and easily forgettable on the title track. He teams up with Trey Songz on the Dr. Dre-produced “Smoke,” but the track lacks the infectious spirit that lived in past club hits such as “Candy Shop” and “21 Questions.” (AP)


Miranda Lambert shines on ‘Platinum’

Miranda Lambert
“Platinum”
(RCA Nashville)

Country star Miranda Lambert describes her fifth album “Platinum” as transitional: She wanted to show the maturity of an award-winning artist who has turned 30 and settled into marriage.

But don’t worry, she’s still the wildest risk-taking Nashville singer roaring through the back roads. She frontloads the new 16-song collection with a saucily slurred lyric about the power of bleach jobs (”What doesn’t kill you only makes you blonder” she cracks in “Platinum”) and another (”Little Red Wagon”) that rips a would-be Romeo with a string of putdowns delivered with punkish glee.

Yes, Lambert continues to grow. But at her core, she continues to celebrate the colorful drama of working-class lives, punching them up with the freshest country rock arrangements this side of Eric Church. The way she reflects modern women, complete with risqué word play and edgy humor, is what makes Lambert a fully three-dimensional country star.

“Platinum” only falters when Lambert leans on country clichés, as when she waxes nostalgic about a pre-digital world in her recent hit “Automatic” and on a one-dimensional tale (”Something Bad”) about wicked women that wastes a duet pairing with fellow superstar Carrie Underwood.

But, as usual, Lambert is as entertaining on album tracks as she is on radio hits. From the western-swing throwback (”All That’s Left”), recorded with dance-floor revivalists The Time Jumpers, to a cheeky send-up of celebrity marriages (”Priscilla”), Lambert keeps proving that life, in all its messy glory, is much richer than most of her Nashville peers ever suggest. (AP)