Trieu Hoang – Xuc Cam
Trieu Hoang’s seventh release, Xuc Cam, takes damn near three years to complete, yet the quality pays off. The lyrical contents are forgettable, but the flows and the productions are memorable. Right off the opening track, “Buong Xui,” producer/songwriter Nguyen Hong Hai crafted a wicked beat (rock-pop with a club flavor) to go with Trieu Hoang’s throaty voice. The result is stunning. The title track gets even better with just Trieu Hoang pouring is heart out on nothing else but the solo piano. Unfortunately Trieu Hoang’s own tunes bring down the album. “Hen Uoc” is straight Chinese-melody jacked and “Yeu” is just ill-rhymed. Even a top-notch production can’t save lyrics like this: “Moi dem anh ngu anh mo / Chi thay em ma thoi (Every night I sleep I dream / I only see you).”