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Dou Wei—Hallucination
It would have been easy for Dou Wei to use his recent split with Faye Wong
as an excuse and ride the headlines to sales on another ambient,
stare-at-my-shoes album. Luckily, he didn't do that.
While fans of Dou's two previous efforts, "Sunny Days" and "Mountain River
Water" won't be disappointed with the Eno-esque nature of "Hallucination,"
his fourth studio work, neither will fans of the heavier landmark album
"Black Dream." Dou finally seems to remember his faux-metal roots and the
fact that guitars make sounds other than chiming bells. Helping in this
effort is former The Face guitarist (Deng) Ou Ge, who seems ready to rock
when Commander Dou gives the order. Also backing in his band "E" are
bassist Chen Jing, a longtime Dou disciple with whom he has played since
their days in The Dreaming band (Zuo Meng), and part-time Zang Tianshuo
drumnmer Song Xiaofan, who goes ballistic when anyone suggests that the
material on "Hallucination" is easy to play.
However, this album is not without its shortcomings. The influence of the
Cocteau Twins is rampant on many of the lighter songs, especially in both
Ou
Ge's guitar sound and style. Dou's lyrical delivery has also felt the hand
of obscure British group Bark Psychosis upon it, with its heavy
exhalations,
not to mention that some of the songs on "Hallucination" are written in
English. That is for the listener's ear to confirm, as the liner notes for
the record contain no lyrics.
"Hallucination" represents neither the apex work of "Black Dream," nor the
sleep-inducing "Sunny Days." It's the best Dou Wei has produced in five
years, and is extremely palatable material, neither too light nor too
heavy,
but more musically advanced than "Don't Break My Heart." Either way, it's
love it or leave it, as Dou performs only music from "Hallucination" during
his live performances, content to move only forward and not ponder where
he's been.
Copyright Chinabuzz 1999. All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission.
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