ANDREW CHEN You Just Might (Self-released)

Here’s a very pleasant surprise from S-ROCK wunderkind, Andrew Chen. I first heard Andrew play at Singapore Arts Cafe and was deeply impressed by his maturity despite his tender years.

No, the surprise is not how good his debut CD is but that instead of favouring the jazz-pop confections I first heard him delivering, Andrew’s first album is filled to the brim with authentic old-school good ol’ Philly R&B soul that is rather astonishing (think: Delfonics, Harold Melvin etc). For a Chinese boy, he evokes first class blue-eyed soul ala Todd Rundgren and Daryl Hall/John Oates. All pretty left-field as far as I can tell…

If you wanna witness the future of S-ROCK, look no further. Forget about the pre-fabricated, talent-less pretenders lining up for Singapore Idol, Andrew is the real deal. Rather inspiring and concrete evidence that Singapore music has the chops to go to the next level.

Official Site