CD : Thoo Daranee - bor aow... khon kee ju

Thoo Daranee's album is straight forward lukthung, no pretensions to rock or pop or even classical just good old lukthung. Of course this means its not that original. "Sao kern" which opens the album is a case in point, a good fast paced track with some guitar picking and pretty good vocals driving it along. Good little song but not something you haven't heard 100s of times before and often better too (though often a lot worse too!)

Thoo Daranee's vocals are good enough, better than adequate but again do not stand out. The title track "Bor aow khon kee ju" is quite interesting though with some variations in tone and is driven along with exuberance. "Suam kao" has some nice organ but again travels down well worn tracks. "Jarng mun ter" does have an intriguing intro sequence though that sounds like 1970s prog rock.

So its not original but thats not the point. Does it sound good, yes. Can it pass the time, yes. Will it sound great blasting out of a passing taxi's stereo? Oh yes. None of the tracks are what you could call bad and none are exceptional. Its just a pretty good lukthung album.

Rating : 7.5/10

Favourite songs : Suam kao, Sao kern