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Jolin Play (Jolin Tsai) | 3.5/5

SINGAPORE - Jolin Tsai has a long list of albums going back more than a decade, earning herself a reputation as Asia pop’s dance queen. Some call this album a reinvention of sorts, and Jolin Play is nothing short of an artistically crafted electro-pop record. The album melds dancehall with bubblegum pop, breathtaking love songs with hilariously catty weirdness and euphorically catchy melodies with propulsive rhythms. The opener, Gentlewomen, is a cross between Lana Del Rey and Lorde (a refreshing take for Tsai that’s she has never explored before) while Play - with its dub-step break down about pop culture influences on society - is easily the edgiest song she has ever released. The anthemic We’re All Different, Yet The Same and The Third Person And I are decent enough ballads (read: Nothing spectacular) but, more noteworthy is I’m Not Yours, which sees Asia’s two biggest female music icons - Tsai and Namie Amuro - joining forces in one track. In today’s all-or-nothing world, Tsai’s willingness to experiment with album conventions may feel like an ingenious gimmick, but there’s no artifice to her vibrant vocals and party-starting beats. She has once again proved that she can come as close as possible to perfection with this one.

SINGAPORE - Jolin Tsai has a long list of albums going back more than a decade, earning herself a reputation as Asia pop’s dance queen. Some call this album a reinvention of sorts, and Jolin Play is nothing short of an artistically crafted electro-pop record. The album melds dancehall with bubblegum pop, breathtaking love songs with hilariously catty weirdness and euphorically catchy melodies with propulsive rhythms. The opener, Gentlewomen, is a cross between Lana Del Rey and Lorde (a refreshing take for Tsai that’s she has never explored before) while Play - with its dub-step break down about pop culture influences on society - is easily the edgiest song she has ever released. The anthemic We’re All Different, Yet The Same and The Third Person And I are decent enough ballads (read: Nothing spectacular) but, more noteworthy is I’m Not Yours, which sees Asia’s two biggest female music icons - Tsai and Namie Amuro - joining forces in one track. In today’s all-or-nothing world, Tsai’s willingness to experiment with album conventions may feel like an ingenious gimmick, but there’s no artifice to her vibrant vocals and party-starting beats. She has once again proved that she can come as close as possible to perfection with this one.

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