Sunday, November 3, 2013

Album Review

Taijuan Moorman
Malaysian recording artist Yuna is on her third studio album, yet you still don't know who she is. And this particular album, entitled Nocturnal, may do nothing to change that.

Nocturnal starts off strong: Falling is a soft, upbeat song about forgetting a past relationship; Mountains is a soft, upbeat song about trying to please someone; Rescue is a soft, upbeat song about being independent. Do you see what I'm saying?  When listening to Nocturnal, as time goes on, if you're not completely focused it can be hard to tell where one song ends and  another song begins. There's nothing special. There's no variety. The production is always upbeat and positive even when Yuna sings about heartbreak and disappointment, her vocals are always soft and pleasant, without a challenging note or melody in sight (or hearing really.) You could easily study or write a paper with this album in the background and not notice it was there. In fact, that's what I was doing.

But don't get me wrong, I like this album. Yuna is an artist that I only recently discovered, her island vibe and peaceful voice was what caught my attention. In today's music, her chill attitude is refreshing. Still, I can't help but want more.

Maybe this album wasn't meant to stand out. Maybe it avoids experimenting with anything out of the ordinary in order to keep focus on the lyrical content. I wouldn't be surprised considering what Yuna says in her lyrics. In fact, this is her strongest point, she has a message to give & she does it well. The only problem is making sure people listen.

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