[Vai Freak] Glacius

Uglymen - UGLY Review






After watching these guys for the first time in their jamming session before the Fusion Party, during the fusion party and on the screwed up September 2nd episode of HOMEGROWN on 8TV, I needed more of their music! I've become an Uglymen addict.. hahaha


Rhythm guitarist, backing vocals and vocals for "CHIAK KA KI" (only the peeps who went for the fusion party and their jamming sessions would know how powerful this song can get.. :D), Tai Suan, messaged me on MSN, informing me about the merchandise they're selling off. T-Shirts (and a new design too!), stickers, posters and their debut album; UGLY.


As a multiply whore, I always go to other sites to check them out, or go web surfing, until I've downloaded short samples of their music into my PC, which didn't ease the temptation to buy one of their CDs.


Yes, after long awaited months, I've finally got their CD! Same goes for WoRmY and Schizzow, where the humble Tai Suan biked on his EX5 (surprisingly) to pass us our stuff. It was pretty hilarious as Tai Suan forgot to bring his hp out, and by doing so, I found out that Tai Suan is already married!


So, I finally popped in UGLY and started listening to it. I've heard most of the songs due to the jamming sessions, but not 2 songs. Which is "Xiang Nian Ni" (Missing You) and "Take My Hand". It didn't matter as some the kick of some songs never die (Like my strange obsession with Steve vai's Tender Surrender), and this album, UGLY is one of my favourite albums for the moment.


*ahem*






For those people who don't know who's Uglymen, they are an Alor Setar band (which means, to Malaysians, they're local), and they play music that fits their mood of their everyday life. A 4-piece band, consisting of 2 guitarists (Michael Lee and Ong Tai Suan), 1 bassist (Sow Say Hooi a.k.a. Metal), and a drummer (Loi Kai Jiunn).


After 10 years, they have finally released their album which consists of 11 songs.


All self-composed, and nothing but fused music. Yes, Uglymen plays any sort of music, as long as they like it. This album consists of rock, metal, alternative, slight-punk, and pop. And not only they play in the genre they like, but they also sing in the language they like! They've recorded songs in mandarin, hokkien, Cantonese and English!


So, here's the list of songs they have in their album, UGLY. In brackets, would be the english translation for the songs.


- WAH LAU EH!
- Zhe shou ge zhi you san ge zhi (This song only has 3 words)
- Si ai bin (I can't really explain this..)
- Ai qing pao mo cha (Love bubble tea)
- Zhui hou ban ji (Last flight)
- Sar lao (Fool)
- Bie zhuo li kai wo (Don't say you'll leave me)
- Chiak ka ki (masturbate.. I mean... Eat yourself.)
- Xiang nian ni (Missing you)
- Qi qhi ren shi wo he ni (Robots are you and I.)
- Take my hand (Na wo de shou)


WAH LAU EH!

Michael - Piano, vocals
Tai Suan - Guitarist, backing vocals
Metal - Bassist, backing vocals
Kai Jiunn - Drummer


This is just a short intro. On the piano would be Michael Lee, as he has learnt piano before and achieved to a certain grade. After that would be a short "bridge" that they sung from "Si Ai Bin" (3rd track).


Zhe shou ge zhi you san ge zhi (This song only has 3 words)

Michael - Guitarist, vocals
Tai Suan - Guitarist, backing vocals
Metal - Bass, backing vocals
Kai Jiunn - Drums

To not confuse a lot of Fusion Party fans, this is the song where you do the sing-a-long, "Do Mi Do". This is more onto the punkish side. It is sung in mandarin, and I've read the lyrics. The whole song is something that you wouldn't expect. It's about the writer, trying to write a song, figuring the melodies out and all, but it's extremely hard. So, he decided to write a song that only consists of Do-mi-do. And those are the 3 words. DO MI DO...!!!!! Anyways, since I've got some free time, I'll do a brief runthrough on the lyrics that they present in mandarin..


---
I'm going to write a song today, took up my guitar and started to sing along
"Li li, la la". Sounds kinda dumb. To write a song which is nice to listen to, is very hard.

[I can't really translate the first line.. my mandarin isn't that good], Just to write a song would leave my head real sweaty.
aiya, this is bad. What am I going to do? I guess I'll go home and sleep first then I'll consider it (the song) later.

If every song has only 3 words, it'll be good.
I won't need to stress my brain

Do.. mi do. My new song has only three words, which is
Do.. mi do. Everybody clap your hands and sing with me!
---

Or something like that.. Go figure the rest of the lyrics yourself.. :)


Si ai bin

Michael - Vocals
Tai Suan - Guitars, backing vocals
Metal - Bass, backing vocals
Kai Jiunn - Drums

This song is sung in cantonese and hokkien. Dope, no? some of us would usually stick to a song that would be in English, or BM straight..but this is just pure dopeness and I thought I was the only one who was trying to do a track in mandarin, BM and english. But anyways, this song goes out to those people who are thick faced, arrogant and probably, an attitude problem. This song is more onto the metal-ish side. I can't write much about this song as I don't really understand Cantonese (SEriously. hokkien's a problem to me, and now it's cantonese??). But I've read the lyrics that came with the CD, which is written in mandarin, so I'm not gonna complain about it. Besides, the way this song is arranged is good.


Ai qing pao mo cha (Love bubble tea)


Michael - Piano, vocals
Tai Suan - Classical guitars, backing vocals
Metal - Bass, backing vocals
Kai Jiunn - Drums

This song is sung in mandarin, once again. Lyrics written by Michael Lee, and its genre is pop. With soothing intro being played by Tai Suan on a classical guitar (if my ears don't prove me wrong, that is), it can be told that it's going to be a soothing song. With Michael on the vocals, and lyrics written by himself, this song has turned out to be one of the best love songs compared to the other 4 love songs on this track. But I didn't say that the other 4 tracks are horrible!! The kick of this song always goes stronger and stronger everytime when I sit down, alone in my room and I listen to it. It's extremely nice and soothing. Since I've got some parts of the lyrics stuck in my head, I'll try and translate the lines I like as accurate as possible into English, for those people who aren't that familiar with Mandarin..


Verse I (after the first 5 lines)

wu liu qi dian pei ni, chi fan hou qi kan si (I'll accompany you at 5, 6 and 7 o'clock, after we have dinner, we'll watch a movie)
ba dian yue guang xia zhuo wo ai ni (under the moonlight at 8 o'clock, I'll say "I love you"..)


Simple, yet beautiful. I guess you can say I'm starting to appreciate songs in different languages after being introduced to the local music scene in Penang.. Anyways, the translation may sound a little bit crappy, but hey, you should listen to the song itself.. it's one of the best tracks on this album.


Zhui hou ban ji (The last flight)

Michael - Guitar, vocals, PA announcement fella (hahahaha.. I had to put this in because it’s stated on the album itself)
Tai Suan - Guitar, backing vocals
Metal - Bass, backing vocals
Kai Jiunn - Drums


Funny thing about songs is that when I listen to them, I just go along with the groove. The melody for this would be awesome as it always makes me groove along with it. Funny thing about this song is that this sounds more onto the (believe it or not) Japanese side. Not to say that the language used SOUNDS Japanese, but I mean the musical melody. The lyrics are obviously in Mandarin, but one thing bad about me is that, my Mandarin has turned rusty, therefore making me difficult to understand this song. I guess through reviews on lyrics I can’t write much on this..


Sar lao (fool)

Michael – Lead Electric Guitarist, vocals
Tai Suan – 2nd Lead Electric Guitarist, Rhythm Guitarist, backing vocals
Metal - Bass, backing vocals
Kai Jiunn - Drums

This song starts with Kai Jiunn and Michael on the lead intro. After that would be a harmonizing riff from both guitarists, Tai Suan and Michael. Since my Cantonese is weak, I guess I’ve just missed out on all the fun, AGAIN, through the lyrics. I’m guessing that this would be a mix of rock and a little bit of funk influence. I apologise once again because I can’t really write a review on a song I don’t understand. It’s Cantonese people! I’m a complete idiot when it comes to Cantonese. (that’s why I didn’t survive in KL the last time I went there.. hehe)


Bie shuo li kai wo (Don’t say you’ll leave me)

Michael - Piano, vocals
Tai Suan – Acoustic guitar, Electric guitar, backing vocals
Metal - Bassist, backing vocals
Kai Jiunn - Drums

Once again, Uglymen never cease to amaze me when they tend to jump from one genre to another. This one is another simple love song, titled “bie shuo li kai wo”, which entirely means “Don’t say you’ll leave me”. With Michael, whom I’m starting to admire because of him being multi talented, starting the song with the pianos, he sings this song in Mandarin. He sings about a usual breakup. This song is best heard when the environment around you is quiet. It’ll bring out the real meaning sealed in its melody and lyrics.


Chiak ka ki (Eat yourself)

Michael - Guitarist, backing vocals
Tai Suan - Guitarist, vocals
Metal - Bass, backing vocals
Kai Jiunn – Drums

Well, between fame and popularity among the songs, I guess THIS song would be the top among all. The genre is grunge punk (..?) Or in other words, Nirvana-ish. Why famous? Hahaha..this is a review which is going to be read by a LOT of people. But like what Ong Tai Suan announced on the Fusion Party night..

“This song is very interesting.. To the guys out there”.

There’s a Hokkien saying that goes something like, “Tiam kao ka si lang”, which means: “Silent dogs bite people to death”. Relevant to the meaning that you’ll have to figure out in “Knowledge is like underwear; everybody wears it, but they don’t show it off”. Through these sayings, I’m just trying to put a point that only some of us who has watched Uglymen during their jamming sessions and live performances WILL know what is the real title for this song. Which means, GO WATCH THEM LIVE AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE SONG TRUTHFULLY!

Due to several OBVIOUS reasons, the title was changed to “Chiak ka ki” which NEARLY means the same thing as the previous title. Being the first song presented by Tai Suan through vocals, this would be more onto a Penang-ish song where this song is being sung in Hokkien. Tai Suan sings about an everyday life of a normal citizen that lives. And applying the title, “chiak ka ki”, which means “eat yourself”. Through this meaning, you know it’s about how useless you can feel when you’ve got nothing else to do in your life. I can’t elaborate much on this song as it’s just Grunge rock, and a comedic song.

If you happen to listen to the song, live, be thankful! Because that’s where the joke lies in!



Xiang nian ni (Missing you)

Michael - Guitarist, vocals
Tai Suan - Guitarist, backing vocals
Metal - Bass, backing vocals
Kai Jiunn – Drums

Unlike the other 2 love songs featured on this album, this is more onto a joyful song instead of a sad love song. I can’t really do a review on this song because it’s very.. common in a way. I’ll probably get someone to do this song review based on what s/he thinks soon enough? But don’t worry. This song doesn’t suck. It’s still good. :D



Ji qhi ren shi wo he ni (Robots are you and I)

Michael - Guitarist, vocals
Tai Suan - Guitarist, backing vocals
Metal - Bass, backing vocals
Kai Jiunn – Drums

Other than “Si ai bin”, “Ai qing pao mo cha”, “Chiak ka ki”, this would be one of my favourite songs on this album. Usually on live shows, Metal Sow would be the one on the vocals for this song. This song would reflect on a daily life of someone working. I guess repeating the same old working procedures until s/he feels like a robot. This song is unique in a way. I guess it has been a long time since I last listened to a simple rock song. This song would be easily recognised by listening to the bass solo later on in the song. I like this song because of the way it’s composed. The melody is good, the bass solo is something you don’t hear everyday through bands. YES, there IS a bass solo! Not to say that there are no bands doing bass solos or something, but you don’t listen to bass solos so often nowadays in the commercialized music industries. They just concentrate on the main instruments to do the lead melody. One good example is the guitar. You see a guitar, you can already imagine a Guitar God shredding his/her solos on it.

I actually think that bands should show their uniqueness not only the songs they play, but the skills that they truly have! Uglymen earned my respect a lot because of this song (and their other compositions, of course).



Take my hand (Na wo de shou)

Michael – Piano, vocals
Tai Suan - Guitars, vocals
Metal - Bass, backing vocals
Kai Jiunn – Drums

Please note: The mandarin translation is just for fun and is not featured in the album. Since they had all the songs in Mandarin characters, might as well do some inversion for this one. Hehe.

ANYWAYS, quoting what I wrote a couple of months ago; “every story that begins has a way to end”. That means that this album has finally reached its last song, which is Take My Hand. Not to be fooled by its title, the song is presented in Mandarin. Which means that it’s another love song, with Michael on piano and vocals. But one thing that separates this song from the others, it has this unique sound. It’s different compared to the other tracks, for some reason, and I can’t seem to really identify what that uniqueness is. I guess if you all want to know, please check back in a few weeks time. I’m not sure what sound this is, but it’s good. The intro’s very soothing in a very unique way. Maybe it’s because of the musical arrangements that you don’t find elsewhere on this CD? I’m not sure..









I know my review isn’t very appealing to the eye, but to actually understand more, why don’t you purchase a copy of your own Uglymen CD and stop letting me enjoy all the good music? :D.. Go to Uglymen's official website for more information.


Overall, I like Uglymen because of the album they’ve produced, songs they’ve written and lastly, their attitude! Why? They’re extremely humble when you see them offstage!


I guess this would end my review. If anyone of you are interested in the album, do not hesitate to contact any one of the Uglymen members, or I can always book those albums for you. They are now selling their albums, posters, stickers and T-shirts that comes in 2 designs!