The Padres are one of the older names around. There's only ever been one constant in a continually-shifting line-up, founder Joe Ng, formerly of Corporate Toil and CU1359. Five years after their first released recordings (two tracks on BigO's New School Rock II in 1992), they've finally released their debut album, Night.
The album is on Rock Records, which has promised to give it a regional push. That's a far cry from the almost-total lack of marketing support for other recent, equally-deserving local releases. And it's certainly good enough to be the breakthrough album for the local record industry, given sufficient marketing push.
There have been lots of changes. The simple but catchy pop of the Padres' past releases has been replaced by a harder-edged rock sound. The compact pop songs have been replaced by classic rock song structures, complete with almost-relentless soloing. Ben Harrison's more restrained guitar-playing has been replaced by Nigel Hogan's psychedelic, effects-laden Edge-fixation. Joe's childlike singing has acquired maturity and confidence.
But the two most important things, the lyrics and the melodies, are still there.
The lyrics remain obliquely cryptic, yet obviously painful. The melodies are as strong as ever. Just listen to Kiss In The Dark, probably the poppiest and catchiest song on the album. Or Water, the infectious lead single, and a song which Tarcy Su recently made into a Mandarin hit.
The real show-piece of the album must be the sweeping two-part mini-rock opera, Let Her Shine/ÉOn. Let Her Shine is a tenderly beautiful ballad, about love and sex (recurring themes throughout the album). It features some particularly touching lyrics, for instance "Just like you/I'm so afraid/I might fall in love with you". The track also stands out, for Nigel's restrained yet powerful playing.
It segues into ÉOn, a raging foot-stomper. Nigel lets loose here, ripping into his guitar like a man possessed. The only downside to the entire piece is the shouted vocals in ÉOn, which stick out like a sore thumb. Otherwise, it's simply magnificent.
Night ranks along with Humpback Oak's recent Ghostfather as the best local releases this year. Hopefully, with Rock Record's marketing push, Night can also become the breakthrough for the local record industry. On merit, it's certainly a worthy contender.
- Xiao Jinhong
