Magazine

Written by Tom Lin, Jimmy Liao
Produced by Chen Kuo-fu, Wang Zhonglei
Cast Xu Jiao, Lin Hui-min, Harlem Yu, Kenneth Tsang

Maybe it's the summertime that's making me fall in love with this folk record, but the new release "Acedia" by Black Walls has been making me press repeat over and over again. The moody singer-songwriter Ken Reaume is able to pull off an 808 in a folk record like it's no big deal.

Sweet Lights marks the first full length LP for Shai Halperin under the Sweet Lights name. This is a beautifully produced, if not an occasionally eerie, 11-track success. The Pink Floyd and Beatles influences are put on display throughout the album, their aesthetic invoked imaginatively, which could seem like simply an homage to them if not for the fact that Halperin takes control and makes the sound his own. Vocally, Halperin almost seems to plead to be heard, his delicate voice sliding through the music where at any moment, with no notice, it could get lost without a trace.

Once in a while you manage to witness something you may never get to see again: a star on the rise captivating an audience in such a way that it's clear the entertainer has some serious star quality. More substance than hype, Odd Future-related singer Frank Ocean managed to silence naysayers with a terrific 70-minute set at Club Soda that saw him display his full vocal abilities.