Songstress Yuna proves she's more than ready for the mainstream with her first album on a major label showing a professional polish that belies her age
YUNA/ YUNA
Back in her home country, Malaysian singer-songwriter Yunalis Zarai, aka Yuna is an indie phenomenon. The 25-year-old chanteuse started her career as a solo artist by doing covers on Myspace (remember that website?) in 2006. Since then she has gained a solid fan base and put out three releases in Malaysia before being signed to US-based label Fader. This self-titled album is Yuna's first full-length with the label following her Decorate EP, released last year.
The first track, Lullabies, effectively showcases Yuna's unique vocals. Tinged with sadness, her voice still sparkles as she pines after a lost love. It's fair to say that this is Yuna at her most vulnerable. Favourite Thing lightens up the mood with diary-like lyrics and puppy-love optimism reminiscent of contemporaries such as Taylor Swift.
Remember My Name is one of the album's most upbeat numbers (the other being the brilliant See You Go), featuring vibrant acoustic guitar, clapping and Yuna's crystal-clear crooning. This one transports us right to the beach.
Yuna gets sentimental again on Decorate, another Swift-esque piece set against acoustic background and light percussion. ''Finding reasons to hate you more than before/Like how you said you would call/But never at all/Got rid of your number that I know by heart,'' she laments.
Stay, on the other hand, sees the singer getting tough, giving her man an ultimatum over an accented bassline: ''I won't stay, unless you change your ways.''
These lovelorn offerings aside, there are positive spots on tracks such as Planes and Fading Flower, the reggae-inspired Bad Idea and the cruisy Island. Although arriving late on the album, the Pharell Williams-produced first single, Live Your Life, still does an excellent job of setting the tone of her music for the rest of the album. With inspiring lines such as: ''Find your light, don't hide from what you are/And rise before you fall, and hope for something more,'' this is one of the most genuine feel-good tracks we've had the pleasure of hearing in recent memory.
In the sea of today's emerging artists, Yuna manages to stand out without resorting to a larger-than-life persona or visual idiosyncrasies. This is an artist who truly lets the music speak for itself. While the album is heavy on love songs, it never comes across as cliched or overly sentimental _ thanks in part to Yuna's polished, lighter-than-air vocals. If you're looking to kick back and relax, we highly recommend playing this album on a lazy Sunday afternoon, or better yet, in your car when you're stuck in Bangkok's traffic.
THE PLAYLIST
Rita Ora (featuring Tinie Tempah)/ RIP
Former British Eurovision contestant Rita Ora teams up with MC Tinie Tempah to give us RIP, the first teaser from her upcoming debut album. Written by Canadian R&B singer Drake and produced by famed London electronic duo Status and Chase, the song turns out to a pretty standard made-for-the-charts affair. It's hardly a surprise why this dubstep-laced, synth-laden grime number with an obligatory rap section is in the No1 spot in the UK charts at the time of writing. We are not moved by it, however. The only good thing about this tune is probably the sampling of Nneka's wonderful single, Heartbeat.
Jodie Harsh and Melanie C/ Sunrise
Here's a relatively more exciting collaboration. Sporty Spice returns to music with a new EP, Night, produced by one of London's most sought-after DJs, Jodie Harsh. The first single, Sunrise, is a perfect club banger featuring stadium-sized synths and a propulsive beat. It's a challenge these days to make a dance tune that doesn't fall into the same trap as sounding like what's already in the Top 40, however, the duo pull it off. ''We dance through the night, from darkness into light/Let's stick together, watch the sun rise,'' Mel C croons, reminding us that she was one of the two Spice Girls who could actually sing.
TI/ Like That
After the rather tame first single, Love This Life, American rapper TI returns to top form with Like That. Over a high-energy bump and grind beat, he gets brutally honest about the business and the expectations it has of him. To be honest, we actually prefer the angry TI to the more laid-back and timid version. If this is the kind of energy that we can expect from his eighth studio effort, Trouble Man, then we can't wait to hear the rest.
Far East Movement (featuring Justin Bieber)/ Live My Life
The American hip hop collective welcomes the Canadian teenage heartthrob on their new single, Live My Life. Produced by famed hit-maker RedOne (Lady Gaga), this is no-frills dance-pop designed to move your every muscle. The party bunch still manage to deliver their usual MC antics while Bieber sounds refreshingly mature _ that's if you're willing to forget the fact that he's essentially equating living his life with going on a bender. Far East Movement's forthcoming album, Dirty Bass, is due next month.
The Saturdays/ 30 Days
The brand new single from the British all-girl pop quintet is a solid dancefloor filler where the girls take turns singing about the anticipation of meeting a long-distance lover. The track starts with a thumping club beat, leading up to one very infectious synth-laden chorus: ''Thirty days to us, 30 days to love/Each second I'm here thinking what I wanna do, when I get to you.'' The lyrics may sound a bit cliched, but at least they're not about wild debauchery as most club anthems usually are.
