S.H.E – The Flowers Bloom Again

Text: Joelle Chong

You don’t know what you are missing out if you haven’t heard reigning Mando-pop diva group S.H.E’s latest release The Flowers Bloom Again.

The album opens with the dramatic ‘Bo Bu Ji Dai’, which translates to “[we] can’t wait”, appropriate for expressing the trio’s desire to sing as a group again.

Title track ‘Hua You Kai Hao Le’ starts with a confusing oriental tune before changing into a dance-pop melody and layering the song with a baffling mix of classical tunes in the background. That said, the lyrics -- penned by Taiwanese rock band Mayday’s lead singer A-Shin -- incorporates the group’s song titles over the past 11 years and will resonate with their fans.

The treasures of this album are evidently the slower tracks, which thankfully make up almost the rest of the record. There is no doubt S.H.E are good vocalists and their harmonising prowess proves why they are one of the few long-lasting girl groups.

Ballads such as ‘Bu Shuo Zai Jian’ and ‘Qin Ai De Shu Dong’ tug at the listener’s heartstrings as S.H.E croons over lost love and makes the songs believable. Worthy of a mention, the group composed and wrote the lyrics of ‘Bu Shuo Zai Jian’.

‘Ming Tian De Zi Ji’ is an especially enjoyable tune, which brings the listener back to the 80s with its lazy melody; while the arrangement of ‘Xiang Nv Hai De Nv Ren’ is simply beautiful with its careful selection of string instruments in different parts of the song.

Recommended tracks: ‘Xin Hai Shi Re De’, ‘Ming Tian De Zi Ji’, ‘Xiang Nv Hai De Nv Ren’