Hoang Thuy Linh – Dung Voi Vang (Vol 2)

Poor thang. My future ex-mistress Hoang Thuy Linh has fallen into a sophomore slump. Luu Thien Huong has made an erroneous move by replicating the success of Hoang Thuy Linh’s debut. Dung Voi Vang ended up sounding like leftover junks from the first album.

Dance-pop formula once again applied, but way less effective on Dung Voi Vang. The productions are still high quality, but static even the club joints. The lyrics are banal with no punchlines. The heavy use of Auto-Tune makes Hoang Thuy Linh sounds more like machine than human. It also exposes her weakness: limited range.

Whereas the previous album has three solid, addictive slow jams (“Cam On Vi Da Yeu Em,” “Anh Co Nho Gi” and “Cho Nhau Loi Di Rieng”), this one has none. “Lai Lan Nua” is just slow and boring. On “Em Se La Giac Mo,” she sounds as if she was rather sleeping than singing. The English hook, “I wanna run,” on “Chay Tron” can get really irritating. The closing “Giau” is the only tune that she’s actually feeling the beat.