Are the first few songs “hard to listen to”? I think it’s more “hard to sing”!
Music Critic, Pickup Sound Machine 拾音机 ~ Weibo’s most influential music critic in 2022 and 2024, and has 2.123 million followers.
Last time I mentioned at the “Bay Area Rising Moon” party that the possibility of Xiao Zhan’s “singer” identity is far greater than we imagined. I didn’t expect the new album to come so soon! After listening to the first few songs of this album, my first feeling was still surprise! Continuous progress and daring to try this, in my opinion, is more precious than any result.
“Us” is Xiao Zhan’s first solo album. It is a gift for music fans, but for Xiao Zhan, it should be a new chapter in his musical journey. So it is not only a simple musical work, but also a profound display of his musical aesthetics and emotional expression. If you calm down and listen to this work again, you will find that the intention it expresses is actually worthy of deep thinking. Through musical language, Xiao Zhan depicts a complex and subtle emotional connection between the self, others and people and the world.
“Us,” as the title song of the album, leads the audience into an inner world of emotional confrontation and self-reconciliation through lyrics and melody. Xiao Zhan’s voice is particularly sincere here, and every word seems to carry his deep insight and understanding of human nature. Unlike the early immaturity, Xiao Zhan’s voice and singing style have changed significantly now. The more stable and thicker texture is more suitable for the spiritual core that this song wants to express!
“All the Same” explores the universality and particularity of life journey from an almost philosophical perspective.There is a sense of detachment and open-mindedness. Different from the previous song, the style of this song is fresh and relaxed, which is very suitable for people who are busy and confused. This profound understanding of the essence of life can easily make the listener find a trace of comfort in this song.
“Restore/Returned”is a self-analysis of the soul, and it is also the courage and growth of everyone in the face of inner fragility. Learning to accept and re-examine oneself is the shortest shortcut to regain the long-lost sincerity and purity.
And “Glimmering” is one of the works that I personally feel has the most power. Although it is “weak/soft,” it is firm! Use the smallest power to gather into the light that illuminates the world. In addition, the music arrangment of this song is very careful, and the clever combination of pedals, breathing and strings creates a warm and powerful atmosphere! It is pleasant and healing~
Just like the surprise he gave us on the stage at the last evening party, I think he is no longer limited to a certain musical style, but is constantly trying different styles, which is the most rare! Looking forward to the works in the next few sections, I hope there will be more diversified musical styles and challenge more musical works that are not in the “comfort zone.” I think from a musical perspective alone, through this album, I saw a more mature and confident singer Xiao Zhan!
I listened to the first four new songs from Xiao Zhan’s new album. In fact, they are quite consistent with my imagination of his first personal music work. It mainly takes a “finding self” route, finding a true self in confusion, and finding a beam of light in complexity. The main behind-the-scenes lineup of the first four songs is Zheng Nan and He Jiale. Zheng Nan’s skills are still there. The difficulty of the song is increased, but it is stuck within the range that his vocal can control. The production tries to highlight his clean vocals that have been attractive since his debut. The production is very delicate and fits the character image. He Jiale is an expert in creating atmosphere. The “Glimmering” he created and produced is good at rendering the atmosphere without indulging in deep digging. It sounds burden-free, but warm and bright. It is my favorite song among the four songs so far.
Music Critic, Wu Du Du 五毒毒
In general, I personally think it is quite good, not tacky, the musical image is consistent with the past and can stand on its own, and you can also hear the aura created by the joint efforts.
The part of Xiao Zhan’s first official solo album “Us” that has been revealed so far must be good rather than bad. After all, at a variety show where almost all members sang live a while ago, Xiao Zhan’s live singing skills, which can be described as “solid,” are his hard weapon in the music industry, and their importance must be ranked before his popularity.
Music Critic, Sanshiyisheng ~ one of the most influential critic on Weibo in 2022
The reason why I define the category of “good” is because I heard about his and the music team’s serious and meticulous song selection, production and performance in the first four songs of the “Us” album. The behind-the-scenes lineup includes Zheng Nan, He Jiale. From Zhang PengPeng to Xiao Zhan, he participated in writing the lyrics, and even “sacrificed” the catchy singing song style. But it (this album) definitely established the quality of “singer” Xiao Zhan, regardless of the singing and composition content, or the production and other hardware aspects.
The creation of four restrained songs is like giving Xiao Zhan a thread, giving a glimpse of his inner most side outside of the screen. He is a little sentimental and a little self-conscious. Even if he cannot connect everyone’s emotions, his attributes have been embedded in DNA of these songs. I particularly like the song “Restore”/”Return.”
Finally, there is a song in which Xiao Zhan is willing to put aside his cheerful appearance, reveal some of his inner fragility and the fragments of himself that have softened his edges, and sings it bravely and softly for people to listen to. The fans will naturally understand it, but those who don’t know much about Xiao Zhan, maybe you will understand Xiao Zhan a little more because of this song, if you are willing to listen to this album carefully, or listen carefully to the song “Restore”/”Return.”
I have worked overtime a lot in the past two weeks.The main reason for overtime is to ensure that the new song of Xiao Zhan laoshi is launched perfectly and accurately to Xiao Zhan’s friends on time.
Music Critic Chen XiaoBei 陈小北
So every song, every note, and every character of this album, I wish I can grow in my head. To be honest, this is high-quality and good-sounding album.
So far, my favourite song is “Lighthouse,” which was just put online more than an hour ago. I have listened to it about a dozen times.
This was a song written by Tang HanXiao for Xiao Zhan. The style is also in Tang’s own comfort zone, so whether it is lyrics and music production, or singing, it is very ironing and comfortable. Xiao Zhan’s experience perfectly matches the energy of this song.
Finally, I wouuld like to remind everyone not to use the photo mode when listening to Xiao Zhan’s songs, otherwise you will really get red when he stares at you while listening to songs…
From Xiao Zhan’s album that I had listened to so far, I like “Life of Us” the most. From the transition from the first part, I feel that he is opening himself up little by little. His own singing is a relatively straightforward type. The songs in the second part are more “grounded” and more direct, which is more suitable for his singing.
Music Critic Dai ruomuyi 呆若木一
The rock elements led by the distorted guitar pave the narrative, and in the chorus, it raises the question “what is a dream, what is my greatest fear, what is a dream, and what do I want most”, with the roar of layers of distorted guitars, what is felt is the brightness that gradually awakens from the haze and confusion, and the firmness of finding the direction in a life that goes with the flow.
This is also my favorite work in the album at present. The level of instrumental and harmony arrangement is also a plus. It also uses a nearly one and a half minute coda to extend the emotions and sense of picture, making the length of the song exceed five minutes. this seems very willful at the moment when most songs are controlled within three minutes, but I think it is very good. The synthesizer part is interwoven with the guitar with a retro warm color, like the confrontation between the morning glow and the night before dawn
Songs from Xiao Zhan’s new album “Us” have begun to be released one after another. Amond the four songs released today, the title song “We” with the same name can be seen to have been devoted a lot of energy and effort. The overall content of the MV tells the story of the variouus emotions encountered in “We” and the confrontation with them.
Music Critic Huang Liye
The first scene of the opening is full of doomsday wasteland style,and the unique timbre of the handpan directly pulls the desolate and lonely emotions to the maximum.The rapid flashbacks ofthe scenes are like retrospection of time. This wasteland seems to be a restricted area for life, and are those who go on adventures also exploring the truth of life? The spatial sense and technological attributes of the prelude are fully displayed. The red sand, the abandoned space warehouse, the half-broken underground passage, the giant gears…They are placed irregularly.
The whole space seems to be a place where no species can grow anymore, and the lives that survived by chance live in this desolate world, as if they are looking for the true meaning of their own lives, but how can the road to knowledge be so smooth? The MV uses a lot of semitones to push the suspense and unknown of the whole song to the top, just like watching a suspense drama and being led forward unconsciously.
The switch turned on the interlude is a projection of breaking the shackles and peeping at the truth of life from the gap. The cramped space warehouses are specimens of many emotions, which seem to come from the depths of our hearts. An outsider “person” suddenly visited. He seemed to be out of the matter and watched these emotions happen, but he was inevitably deeply involved in them. In the end, he was locked in the space warehouse, revealing the number plate hidden in a secret place, which may indicate that he is also a product of emotions. The moment when the escaping “emotion” looksback, it is like reincarnation, not knowing what will come back next time.
The theme is further sublimated at the end. Soil mixed with water is the best culture dish for life, and the little sprouts represent hope. Perhaps the hope that comes out of the ruins is precious. The rapid continuous playing of the handpan and the sound of broken glassat the end are the obstacles of hope breaking thropugh despair. The song ends here, giving the listener more room for thinking, which is a very clear design.
Xiao Zhan’s song”Us” is really not a simple pop song. It is an exploration and pursuit of the heart. At the end of the MV, has “hope” really disappeared? Not necessarily. Maybe somewhere, in a corner, there will be another “me,” existing in a different formof”hope.”