No's Innovation Annoys

By Jerry Chan

Innovation is a rare thing, and with so many would-be rock vocalists wailing for your attention, it can be difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Unfortunately today's music industry A&R executives have all too often mistaken lack of talent for ingenuity, resulting in many cases in utter annoyance. The last decade witnessed a host of singers achieve varying levels of commercial and critical success both as solo artists or as the most "vocal" member of their respective groups. If anything, the 1990s will be remembered as the decade of the navel-gazing vocalist, a time the air waves were dominated by both the introspective mewls and growls of the likes of Alanis Morissette, Liam Gallagher, Bono and Bjork.

No Game

As the core member and vocalist for No, Zuzhou is no exception to this trend. On his sophomore release "Temple Fair Tour," the ambitious singer groans, grunts, and wails his way through what could otherwise be considered nine decent songs. To his credit, Zuzhou enlisted the services of some of China's most talented musicians including drummer Zhang Wei (The Fly, Sick Doctor) and guitarist Xiao Long (Tongue) to play on the album. However the resulting tracks are inconsistent at best.

While some savvy listeners may be able to discern some fairly cutting edge influences (namely Tom Waits), the album is still plagued by an uneven blend of pretentious vocals, acoustic guitars, and the random drum machine beat, a la Enigma. Thus, much like a talented basketball team that lacks a strong center, "Temple Fair Tour" simply never seems to get into its game. Quite fittingly the album's most interesting track is Zuzhou-less. "Star of Memorial Day," is a tongue-in-cheek electronic satire of revolutionary songs complete with ethereal guzheng (Chinese zither) samples and fuzzed-out guitars.

Caterwauling

Other tracks like "Dustbin" and "Lunar New Year's Eve" capture moments of No's potential for true brilliance, particularly in their use of traditional Chinese melody lines and random samples from old Chinese phonographs. However these intermittent glimmers of hope are tragically undermined by Zuzhou's erratic caterwauling.

In spite of their weaknesses, No can't be faulted for their earnest attempt to make interesting and original Chinese music. In a market where true commercial success seems only possible for those rock groups who choose to go the Ling Dian/Hei Bao, pop-metal route, this is not an easy task. None-the-less, with "Temple Fair Tour" No proves they still have a long way to go before they can stake a claim on the world's stage of cutting edge music.