[Album Review] Lay Zhang Yixing 张艺兴- LAY 02 SHEEP

Be careful sheep in the neighbourhood!! Guess whose song is this? It's none other than Lay a.k.a. Zhang Yixing's album! I really like this album so I decided to do up a review on what I like (or perhaps what I don't really like too) in this album. 

[WARNING: Very biased review ahead as the writer's ultimate bias is Yixing. Be warned! ]

Lenticular album cover!

Design

The album comes with a slid cover if you buy the version released in China. If you buy it from Korea (or from Korean pop album sellers like Grape Music etc), you will most likely receive the album without the cover. The contents of the albums are the same, just whether it comes with a cover or not.

Front of Cover

Back of Cover

Front of Album
(the streak of light over Yixing's head
is not part of the album design)

Back of Album

Angles matter! From this side, you can view Yixing.

Angles matter! From the other side, you can view a sheep!

Upon sliding the album out of the cover, it will expose a lenticular image of a sheep and Yixing. The image depends on the angle you view it from. Cool, right? I was very intrigued when I got my hands on it after raving online about it hahaha

Look at how thick the album is! Comparable to a 300-page book

The album is really heavy and its quality reminds me of a book. According to reliable Yixing fansites which handled the bulk orders, one album weighs about ~2kg. This is way, way, way more than the weight of normal albums. Hence, after browsing through the album at a moderate pace, your hands may be tired.

Inside the album, as usual, to the delight of Xingmis, there are a lot of eye candy photographs. Casual Yixing, Well-groomed Yixing, King Yixing, you name it, the album has it. This album is the ultimate merchandise that should be in every Xingmi's collection. To me, it is not solely an album but a very detailed and well thought-out photobook. Obviously, Yixing knows what his fans would like to see in the photobook very well. And for those of you who are curious, there is NO PHOTOCARD in the album. It is only available if you order the YinYueTai version and it comes separately.

Sneak peak of the contents of the album!

Front view of a Sheep Note... I wonder what is it for? 

Back view of a sheep note- it can be found a few pages into the album

Concept 1- King Yixing

Lyrics of Sheep

Calling out to all Xingmis, this album is FOR YOU!

Concept 2- Boyfriend Yixing

Cannot get enough of this boyfriend look ahhhh The picture on the right is my favourite picture in the album!

Like the metaphor of Yixing and the lion statue. Both are equally grand. 

I shall not spoil it any further, if you are curious about what other photographs are inside, you can check out album unboxing videos on YouTube! For me, I wanted to keep the contents of the album a surprise and build up the excitement before I received it. Hence, I waited until the day I received the album and opened it gingerly to reveal what's inside. The feeling's similar to playing the Gashapon machine and wondering eagerly about what you'll get! :D

You can find the CD in a paper sleeve attached at the end of the album.

Psst! Here's a little secret shared among Xingmis-
at a certain angle under the light, you can spot the letters SHEEP at the back of the CD!

Okay, the only room for improvement would be how fitting the album and the cover are. Hmm... the cover may fall apart in a few years as there are some cracks in it. It is more fragile as it is made of paper (as you can tell from the pictures the cover is a little dented at the corners). It is also difficult to pull the album out of the cover so I try not to slot it in completely. I'm afraid it would get stuck inside and I can never take it out again unless I trim the cover. Well, this is not so big of an issue so let's move on to the songs! 

Songs

Sheep (羊)

I didn't really get the MV at first and I even thought that it was eccentric. But the beat of the song kept me hooked and I replayed the MV a few more times on the day of release and paid more attention to the lyrics- they resonated more with me and I knew that Yixing was writing about his life as a celebrity and his journey thus far. E.g. He was called as 小绵羊 during Go Fighting and born in the year of the Sheep in 1991, so he mentioned his nickname as Little Sheep in quite a few interviews.

I Need U (需要你)

My personal favourite out of the entire album- it was love at first listen! It's my favourite because I never get sick of listening to this song again and again.

This song is a continuation of "What U Need" back in 2016. Yixing even rallied his grandparents to act in the music video and it was filmed in Paris, with a romantic atmosphere and background that complemented the MV to a tee. Very aesthetic.  Other than the visual appeal, the MV's story plot was outstanding. Most songs are about the fanciful side of love, but how about an everlasting love? A love that lasts a lifetime 'til death do us part? That was what I Need U was about.

You may ask, why did he ask his grandparents to act in the MV then? It's because he dedicated this song to his grandparents as a gift for their 50th wedding anniversary, and so that they can create memories while filming in Paris. How sweet and meaningful!!

Peach (桃)

The song's totally in English. I enjoy the beat and tune of the song and it's easy to follow because it's so catchy! However, I don't really like the lyrics so they are kind of... how do I describe this? The lyrics are filled with innuendos. Nonetheless, it was a wise decision for Yixing to try to emerge and set footing into the global market. The song also pertains to international tastes and proven its success- no.1 in iTunes charts in quite a few Western countries too. 

I'm the boss, the boss, I make you feel this vibe.

Boss (老大)

"Think you think you know

 But you but you really don't

You're not even near my level

You gotta know I'm the boss"

Another fave song of mine in this album. The song gives out cool vibes which make you want to groove along to the beats of the song. You really feel as though you are the boss wearing shades and sitting on a mighty throne in this song.

This song is also entirely in English, but I've got to mention that Yixing's English pronunciation is very on-point. Thumbs up for his hard work and effort for learning English. Did you know that he hired an English tutor and his English tutor is always with him? That means that he can always practise the language and practice makes perfect. 加油!

Mask (面罩)

Yixing performed this song a few times along with Sheep and I Need U during award ceremonies and countdown performances in China. If you pay close attention to the lyrics, you will realise that Yixing is kinda talking about himself, showing his real self and not pretending. That made me like the lyrics and the entire song. 

Just to mention, he also performed this with the Idol Producer trainees recently. Yixing was wearing a red jacket and his stage presence was exploding! (Anyways Yixing is not only the composer and lyricist but also the arranger of the song.) 

Director (导演)

"Can I tell you something? 

喜欢这种 feel 

Looking to the camera

记录你现在动人魅力… "

(Okie I cannot take it any further as I'm such a Grammar Nazi! I thought the lyrics were "Look into the camera" previously. Grammarly then wanted me to correct it to "Looking at the camera"...)

Haha, this is the most memorable part of the song for me! I like that the lyrics are so sweet. :) To capture my ears' attention, songs definitely need to have a catchy tune plus relatable lyrics. This song fulfils both requirements. 

Behind the scenes video of Yixing preparing for LAY 02 SHEEP album! This was shown during his showcase last year. 

X-Back (兴迷)

For your information, X-Back is what Yixing calls his fans as. They are also known as 兴迷(Xing Mi). Hence, this song is dedicated to Yixing's fans! To me, it's just a very chill song to end off the album.(or to lead back to Sheep if you're looping the album)

Conclusion

Do note that Yixing is the
producer of this album!

牛掰?  真的! It is really awesome, as Yixing mentioned in his interview before his 二胎/second child (he refers to his albums as his children :P) was born. 

It is an experimental album where Yixing challenged his limits and tried out a new genre- hip-hop after he rocked R&B so much. He is working towards bringing Chinese music to the global stage. I am sure he is- slowly but surely. The album's songs grew on me after more listens. I guess… this is the magic of Yixing's music? 😇

I will leave you with Yixing's dope performance to admire.

And if you didn't get enough of it...

Cheers,

Glissie