Quang Dung – Xuan

A concept album for Lunar New Year has to capture the spirit of Vietnamese’s most celebrated holiday; the key element Quang Dung fails to deliver on his latest release titled Xuan. He sounds mechanically dull and the cheap studio productions only make it worst.

Let’s face it. Tunes that are suitable for a kid, a grown-ass man like Quang Dung shouldn’t even consider. His lame-out version of “Mua Xuan Oi” doesn’t even come close to little Xuan Mai’s. On “Cam On Mot Doa Xuan Ngoi,” he sings like he could fall asleep in any second. Gone is the charming prince who pretended to be so sincere in “Vi Do La Em.” With “Neu Xuan Nay Vang Em” he sounds like a bored married man who does what he has to do to make his wife happy even though he means the opposite of what he say. The title suggests, “If you won’t be here this spring,” but what he truly mean is “Please don’t be here this spring.”

Needless to say, Xuan is as mundane as it gets. If his sudden marriage was a big disappointment to the ladies, this album is his big disappointment to the fans.