And our (Republic of) C-pop brings up the rear but with an even better video.
[Video][Website]
[5.88]
Sonya Nicholson: I hope it’s really true that all the songs up for review today are good, and not that I’m hearing everything as much better than it actually is. This sounds great on first listen, but thinking about it some more, I guess it’s got the trappings of high-concept without really being high-concept… I mean drawing a line between a sexy girl and a James Bond theme, or machine music and science fiction, not mention this 80s-by-way-of-Gaga sound, none of it’s exactly groundbreaking. But man, Jolin Tsai really knows how to give herself over to the song in those choruses. She really elevates the whole thing.
[7]
Anthony Easton: Though she hints at the fast breathing and shallow effect of a certain kind of disposable pleasure seeking, it remains unconvincing, as doesthe tension between excellent technical skills and scaled up production. Extra point for the bouncy bits in the middle.
[6]
Alfred Soto: Projecting and signifying over sequencers, Tsai is Kylie transformed into sonic affect, a blip of desire, a concept writ small.
[7]
Brad Shoup: Mandopop, Scandipop: the language could be the only giveaway these days (provided there’s no trace of hip-hop, that is). Co-written with a Finn and a Swede, this pulses like Robyn and EQs like an asshole. If you imagine hard, it could be a third-tier New Wave hit.
[5]
Iain Mew: “Beast” bears a minor resemblance to Girls Generation’s “Run Devil Run”, if the instrumentation was largely stripped back to an electro pulse and some spooky sound effects to better promote its devilish credentials. Tsai is certainly up for some patient menacing and carries it out just as well through distortion or otherwise, which is a good thing because the song has to get by more on mood than catchiness or dynamics. The wobbly alien jellyfish bit towards the end is a hell of a payoff, though.
[7]
Sabina Tang: I take it on article of faith (and Youtube subtitles) that Jolin performs in my mother tongue; I’ve never been able to understand a word she’s singing. Mind you, I’ve never discerned any personality in her voice either, so mushmouth is not the most salient issue. Props for the gothy electro, though; would be better with a real chorus, a singer capable of performing dynamic changes — and an ending.
[5]
Edward Okulicz: Tsai’s voice, the blips and electric shocks stalk, and the chorus swoops, but the beast catches no prey. It finishes too neatly for that.
[5]
Patrick St. Michel: Dig the chorus, but the rest of this seems far from beastly.
[5]