Tinna Tinh – Mu Tac

Tinna Tinh impressed me with her debut performance of “Tra Lai Cho Toi” on Van Son in Taiwan not because she looked kind of hot and she could rock, but she sang her own tune—something extremely rare among the young Vietnamese pop stars. Her new album strangely titled Mu Tac (Wasabi) features nothing but her original works. Although Tinna is half Vietnamese and half Czech, she writes and sings Vietnamese with confidence.

As a singer, Tinna has a strong, slightly gruff voice. In the opening track, “Hoa Lai Mau Xanh,” she knows how to maneuver her way around the upbeat drums and guitar riff. The best part is that she could make her Vietnamese lyrics flow so damn natural in a rock-up tempo. In the self-reflecting “Xin Loi Cuoc Doi,” she starts off by trading sentimental thoughts with a strumming guitar, but progresses into a hypnotic rock chorus.

The album actually gets a bit weary with the pop-rock flavors, but the closeout “Co May” stands out. The track begins with the street noise, follows by a simply strumming guitar, and proceeds with heavy rain and children’s laughter. A minute and thirty seconds into the song, she pours her heart out on a story of an abandon kid in the middle of the big world, in which she observed, “Mot lan di dao pho thay nha cao cua rong xe hoi, net mat sang trong / Lai thay mot dua be nam tren chieu tran truon co ro / Giua the gian menh mong trong be, nho be, cang be.” It’s quite a heartfelt tune.

Tinna has definitely stepped into the right direction. Keep up the passion and rock on.