飛行部落 - Track by Track

Get high – Incorporates rock+hip-hop elements. The result is a high energy track with a catchy, infectious melody that would get your feet tapping. However, the repetitive lyrics+chorus proved slightly mundane after a few listens. Not to mention it sounds like a song for a commercial, which it is.

雨櫻花 – My favourite track on this album. Very refreshing style which they call 和式摇滚, with the use of Japanese instruments in the arrangement. The lyrics are a perfect match for the melody, and Faye’s vocals shone in this song.

天天夜夜 – One word - Overhyped. LeAnne Rimes was “underutilised”, considering they had her back in the studio for this recording. They might as well have used her original rendition. There is a palpable lack of chemistry between Faye and 阿沁. Either a vocal mismatch or the harmonising just didn’t work for me.

飛行部落 – Not a particularly strong first single, glad that they didn’t use it as the first track. Elaborate arrangement – this time they chose a tribal theme (“印加古文明元素”) – as with 千年之戀.. Great guitar solo in the middle. But why does the guitar rift threading the song sound so familiar?

北極圈 – One of F.I.R.’s signature ballads. Reminds me of 我們的愛 and 把愛放開.

你很愛他 – Not so F.I.R.-ish on the first listen. Probably because of the relatively plain folk acoustic guitar accompaniment. A little quiet and Faye’s vocals sounded strained and artificial. However, the song slowly grew on me after a few spins. A valiant attempt at something less flamboyant given F.I.R.’s taste for grandiose arrangements. The most radio-friendly ballad in the album.

1234567 – Jazzy, playful, uplifting. Although I didn’t like Love Love Love (another jazz track from the last album), 1234567 is a lot more fun and it’s really jazzed up!

眷戀 , 我最愛的人 – Characteristic 阿沁. compositions. Typical ballads with clichéd lyrics.

I don’t care – Intro’s a little pretentious. F.I.R. doses out some heavier/edgier rock in this track. Showcases Faye’s dynamic vocals. I like it when they rock (pun intended). =)

Overall: More creative elements, in general a positive departure from previous efforts. The entire album sounds polished and coherent. I like the flow of songs, and there’s a good mix of fast, mid-tempo and slow numbers. Excellent recording and arrangements as usual. Faye’s vocals weren’t showcased as much as in previous albums – vocal gymnastics on 塔羅牌 in their self-titled debut and brilliant range on 千年之戀 in 無限. Also lacks really strong ballads like Lydia/我們的愛 and 把愛放開/刺鳥 in their first 2 albums respectively. Nevertheless, I feel that this is their strongest showing thus far, and heartily recommend it. (4 stars/5)

Recommended: 雨櫻花, 你很愛他, 1234567, I don’t care