Friday 15 February 2013

MV : "Chuntana" by Dear Sasitorn

Friday 8 February 2013

Takkatan Cholada ตั๊กแตน ชลลดา - kon ngao tee kao jai ter

OK well this is the big one i guess. Takkatan is now the chosen one as far as GMM are concerned. And on this 4th album can she solidify her position at the top? Well the album starts with a nice little tune "Looh jarng sao rong ngarn". Slow and well sung with tasteful instrumentation. "Sao tai soy" is a faster song, in the past Takkatan has done pretty well with these, this one is again decent. A driving melody and a good chorus. So far so good, and quite slick.

But what we need is the "killer song". Takkatan always has THE song on her albums, a massive slow track that can even tug at the strings on my heart of stone. The title track "Kon ngao tee kao jai ter" is the latest attempt at this by Takkatan. Great melody and vocals that could strip the paint off my car. Superb song.

Right that's the mega-hit out of the way, how about the rest? "Mhuen derm eak tee nueng" is a bit of a departure, with it's piano melody and airy feel. "Warng warng yah luem kid tueng gun" is another decent Takkatan slow song though maybe a bit anonymous. To be honest apart from the title track the album is a little bloodless. "Kuen jai hai gun" is a good ballad with a steady build-up however.

Takkatan's album taken together is nice and very listenable. One song stands out from the rest of course. The others are fine, good songs. But you probably won't remember most of them too much afterwards though. But you'll get this and enjoy it of course. Its an accomplished album by a singer at the top, its slick and polished. A little too polished for my liking i admit.

Rating : 9.2/10

Favourite songs : Kon ngao tee kao jai ter, Kuen jai hai gun, Looh jarng sao rong ngarn

Tai Orratai ต่าย อรทัย - fhun yung klai jai yung ngao

After the slightly ill-judged morlum album last year Tai Orratai is back with her 7th album of what she does best : polished, weepy lukthung torch songs. Personally i thought the morlum album was OK but then again i'd buy anything she did. Even if she just read out a list of the Bangkok telephone directory i'd probably buy it. (Not that GMM should take any notice of that!)

Anyway this album is back to what she does best. And of course you will know what it sounds like as it sounds like the first 6 albums more or less. Powerful slow ballads like "Fhun yung klai jai yung ngao" and more up-tempo / traditional tracks like "Mue dai si kid hord". Its predictable maybe and definitely higher-budget and more polished than some artists who might have more "street cred" but its also totally wonderful. Tai sounds as she always does: fantastic. The music is as it always is: tastefully judged and matches her voice perfectly. So get it.

Rating : 9.8/10