【干货】国外网络媒体对单曲和专辑的乐评

转载了三篇国外网络媒体对What U Need和Lose Control两首歌以及专辑的评价。为了大家看得方便就把一些我认为关键的字句翻译一下吧。 耐不住性子的，可以拖到前两篇的最后看评分，对应的标准是 10-9分 杰出 8-7分 精彩 6-5分 优良 4-3分 贫乏 1-2分 糟糕 Song Review: Lay – What You Need? 原文地址https://thebiaslist.com/2016/10/07/song-review-lay-what-you-need/ Though several former EXO members have struck out on solo careers in China, Lay’s What You Need is the first major push from a current member of the group. Though he’s been less visible in more recent EXO tracks, SM Entertainment seems content to give Lay some freedom when it comes to his home country. 张艺兴在团队曲目里的存在感越来越低，但这次SM决定在中国的舞台上放飞他。这是EXO首次有成员以个人身份正式出击。 What You Need? is a pre-release from his upcoming album, though it arrives with a slick music video and feels like a convincing step into solo superstardom. The song is co-written by production team Devine Channel, whose work hasn’t always been to my taste in the past. What You Need shares some of the same issues I’ve had with their material, floating along a melody that doesn’t really go anywhere or pack any true punches. But luckily, this is underlined by a funky, 90’s r&b beat that gives the entire track a fun, breezy appeal. This helps brush over any of What You Need‘s shortcomings. And weirdly enough, the lack of any standout melodic moments may just give the song more longevity. It’s simply a good vibe, and it’s hard to get sick of a good vibe. MV很精巧。但是笔者说Devine Channel（WUN跟张艺兴合作的编曲方）的作品一直不是很对他的胃口，这次在某些部分上仍然不例外，比如旋律上有点轻飘飘地，并不很出彩，也没有力度。不过放克和90年代的R&B节奏使得整首歌有那么点清爽的趣味，这个优点把其它的弱项掩盖住了一些。很奇怪的是，尽管这首歌没有很抓耳的旋律片段，但反而让它更耐听了，哈哈。总之氛围很好就对了。 On the production side of things, What You Need‘s bright, horn-assisted instrumental is simple but effective. Rather than trying to hit listeners over the head with breakdowns and tempo shifts, the song opts for a much more classic, unfussy approach. This would have been an excellent track to throw on in the background during the summer. It’s certainly more fun than we’ve heard Lay have for awhile, and that alone makes What You Need a success. 编曲比较明亮，简单但有效。用了一种比较经典的，不那么繁琐的方式。这首歌可能比较适合当做夏日的背景音乐吧。 评分 Hooks 7 Production 8 Longevity 8 Bias 7 RATING 7.5 Song Review: Lay – Lose Control 原文地址https://thebiaslist.com/2016/10/28/song-review-lay-lose-control/ A couple of weeks after pre-releasing the upbeat r&b funk of What You Need, EXO member Lay is back with his debut solo EP. To herald its release, Lose Control slows things down and sexes things up, giving his sound yet another layer. 路康桥把节奏放慢，氛围挑逗起来，让他的声音更多了一个层次。 From the very beginning, Lose Control screams late 90’s/early 00’s radio r&b. Almost every instrumental affectation recalls Timbaland-produced Justin Timberlake or Usher, down to the stuttery beat and plucks of guitar. Of course, this particular style isn’t new to k-pop (or c-pop, since this is technically a Chinese track), but we haven’t heard it in awhile. On first listen, its throwback simplicity is almost underwhelming — lacking the vocal and instrumental fireworks we’ve become used to in this day and age. But like What You Need, the track improves with further listens. It takes its time setting a vibe, and for better or worse, this takes precedence over melody. At times, the song feels more like a series of advances than an attempt at enduring pop songcraft. 这首歌有超级明显的90年代末期21世纪初期的电台R&B风格。让人想起Timbaland制作出来的贾斯丁和阿舍的歌。第一次听的时候感觉复古风格到了近乎苍白的地步，没有我们这个时代所习惯的、丰富和磅礴的人声和器乐及它们之间的交织。但是和WUN一样，这首歌也是越听越好听，它需要时间来定下一个基调、一个氛围，这比旋律更重要。有时这首歌听起来更像是一系列的递进发展，而不是一首持久的流行乐章。 This isn’t an inherently bad thing, though I’m not entirely sold on Lay as the purveyor of this particular sound. He does an admirable job providing smooth — and at times powerful — vocals, but his warm tone feels slightly at odds with the track’s conceit. Lose Control would have been elevated if given some grit. It’s certainly no fault of Lay’s, and he pounces on each line with a palpable dedication. He’s such a slick performer, but Lose Control calls for something different — a nasty sort of r&b attack that abandons smooth precision and just grabs hold of the beat. Still, given the track’s provocative music video, I suspect many fans will be enjoying this comeback with their eyes just as much as their ears! 张艺兴唱出了很柔滑——有时也很有力——的感觉，这一点令人钦佩。但是他的温暖音色跟这曲子的自负狂妄有那么一些不协调，如果他能更咬牙切齿一点的话就更好了。张艺兴是一个很聪明的艺人，但是Lose Control还需要一些不同的东西——一种肮脏险恶的、放弃精准而只抓节奏的R&B攻势。这首歌的MV很具挑逗性，所以粉丝除了耳福以外，眼福也是少不了的！ 评分 Hooks 8 Production 7 Longevity 7 Bias 7 RATING 7.25 Album Review: Lay – Lose Control https://kelandmelreviews.com/2016/10/27/lay-lose-control-album-stream/ 这一篇是对整张专辑的整体评价 Featuring the bouncy single What U Need?, EXO’s Lay releases his first solo EP and it is a lot more R&B than we were expecting. 这张专辑比我们想象的要R&B得多。 Full of slow jams that really show of the singer’s ability to entrance and audience with his tone, this is a bit of a babymaker. While most of the tracks aren’t pure R&B (there are a lot of pop elements) and a LOT of autotune on tracks like Relax, there is a lot here to enjoy. There is the high possibility that some of his fans will be turned of thanks to the fact that many of the songs slow down and don’t fall into the high-energy realm that we expect from EXO, but it does separate the singer for the pack and allows him to have a personality outside of his group. 大量的慢节奏让张艺兴展现了他用音色控场的实力，听了感觉要怀孕了。大多数曲子都不是纯粹的R&B（有非常多的流行元素）,还用了很多Auto-tune（自动调谐，电子修音）比如说Relax。很有可能他的一些粉丝会觉得，这些歌慢下来，没有走EXO团体曲目那种劲爆路子的感觉也挺好的，这些歌也确实把张艺兴跟其他成员区分开来，展示了一点他自己的个性。 The biggest issue seems to be the vocals (there are a few issues with the lyrics, but we think we have a bad translation from the original Mandarin). Lay’s natural tone is actually a win for him and, despite not having the deepest voice, he does sing with gravitas and confidence. The problem is that there is just too much autotune leveling out the character in his voice and making him sound like “everyone else.” When he does let himself shine, the songs are really enjoyable; but the autotune moments can be a little too long and sometimes make you tune out. 最大的讨论点是在人声上（歌词也有些问题，但是我们觉得可能翻译要背锅）。张艺兴的自然音色是他的利器，尽管不浑厚，但唱起来仍然是很庄重和自信。问题是电子修音太多了，把他的特色和辨识度掩盖住，听起来不像张艺兴了。这种修音太多太长的话就让人想关机。 Our favorite tracks are Relax and Lose Control. The most skippable track is the acoustic version of MYM. While we actually like is as a standalone better than the original, in the sequence on the album and the tonal shift of the production makes listening to it a little jarring. 我们最喜欢的曲子是Relax和Lose Control。最不喜欢的是MYM的不插电版，编曲上的音调变化听起来不是那么和谐。 ====翻译工的分界线==== 总地来讲这篇乐评的打分，比我对他的评分7/10要高那么一点点。也许歪果仁没仔细研究歌词写来写去就是那么几个字眼吧。希望下次能改进这一点，再把编曲好好丰富一下。 祝大麦！