Abi Scaife

Garnering the most attention in her solo career for lively dance single Shake That Brass, new album ‘Rogue Rouge’ from f(x) member Amber Liu turns expectations on their head. Though the K-Pop influences are still there in the clean, precise production, the album as a whole is far more honest and revealing than previous releases by the confident tomboy, and yet as a piece of music, it is brilliant. 

Get Over It is an earnestly sweet track telling of past love, in which Amber is begging herself, and a past lover, to move on from their previous relationship. Simplistic, yet passionate vocals set to the echo of a 90s boom bap beat under a chillwave mix lend for a mystic experience – out of body and mind, enthralled in the track and the story. 

Closed Doors initially is very similar to the opening track, quietly impassioned with a steady beat, until the chorus hits. Here, the track seems to bring in ballad influences; the vocals more constant, the climax coming as Amber reaches the top of her vocal range. An artist that is most well known for her rapping ability and husky vocals, this is a new and intriguing feat, pleasantly effective in creating the emotive atmosphere. 

High Hopes keeps the momentum going, a song that isn’t quite angry, but has the indignantly inspiring aura of 80s rock, all the while carrying on the synth-wave sound present throughout the album. Rather than a vocal climax, the choral beat drop is the centrepiece of this song and, despite the slightly subdued feel of the album, would not feel out of place played at a high school party scene in your typical American film. 

Right Now, featuring Gen Neo – a composer turned singer who has been good friends with Amber for several years, is the passionate duet the album has been building to. The album seems to revolve around the conclusion of a relationship, and Right Now is a conversation between the two parties, displaying an impressive belt from Amber as she begs her lover ‘come back to me’. 

Lifeline sets off to a more sombre start than the impassioned Right Now, but is just as personal, if not more. Singing of looking for a lifeline, but deciding all she needs is ‘you’, the unknown object of some form of affection, the beat unexpectedly drops at the chorus, turning what initially reads like a wishy-washy love song into something far more meaningful. 

A bright tune, Three Million Years bucks the trend of the album, speaking of a new relationship rather than mourning the previous one, as the other five songs of the album have done. Additionally, the synth-wave mix has been dropped, instead sung to the plucking of strings and gentle backing singers it becomes a summery love song. The final track on the album, Amber appears to be reconciling the past pain she has been singing of. Now, she sings about how this new love soothes her anxieties; an album that seems to be about the end becomes about the beginning.