Through the themes of decay, rebirth and blossom — it has taken more than eight years for Cheer Chen to finish her “Trilogy of Flowers”. After 2005’s Peripeteia and 2009’s Immortal, you would assume that the last installment, Songs of Transience, is a grand finale.
历时八年，陈绮贞终于完成了她的“花的姿态三部曲”——“腐朽、重生、绽放”三个主题。继2005年专辑《华丽的冒险》和2009年的《太阳》之后，人们想当然认为最终篇——《时间的歌》将为三部曲画上圆满的句点。
But after listening to the 12-song album, not only did I find it a little introverted and thin as a finale, my other reaction was: Where is the Cheer Chen that we used to know? The long-haired, innocent singer who often wore a white T-shirt and a Bohemian skirt, holding a guitar and humming catchy folk melodies, is no longer there.
但当我听完专辑里的12首歌之后，除了发现它作为最终乐章稍显含蓄和单薄之外，更多的是感到疑惑: 我们所熟悉的那个陈绮贞哪儿去了？那个一头长发、常常穿着白色T恤和波西米亚长裙、抱着吉他哼唱动人民谣的纯真歌者不见了。
Instead, you’ll hear a lot of piano, drum and orchestral arrangements, and the songs on the albums, especially in the first half, are somewhat difficult to sing along to.
取而代之的是，编曲中加入了大量钢琴、鼓和管弦乐元素；而且专辑里的歌，尤其是前半张专辑的几首，传唱度都不怎么高。
But I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. Actually, it comes as a pleasant surprise, because after 15 years of singing the same kind of indie folk songs, it’s good to see the 38-year-old singer trying something new.
我并不是说这是什么坏事。相反，这种改变有些让人喜出望外，毕竟她已经唱了15年的独立民谣了，如今38岁的她终于开始尝试全新风格，这是件好事。
Her poetic lyrics gradually took me back to the old Chen. Well, almost. Title songs from her previous albums, such as Travel with Sound and Fly for You, often dealt with her perception of and confusion in relationships.
新专辑中如诗般的歌词渐渐让我想起从前那个陈绮贞。好吧，还算没有“面目全非”。她前几张专辑中的主打歌，例如《旅行的意义》和《失败者的飞翔》，往往会探讨她对于情感的看法和困惑。
But if you carefully read into her words on Songs of Transience, you’ll see that her vision has expanded — from humanity and philosophy to life’s best moments — although in the same talking-to-herself tone. For example, she talks about the life struggles and anxieties of ordinary people in Gypsy in Memory, loneliness and helplessness in Home (《家》), and larger-than-life love in Peace and Revolution.
但是如果你仔细读过《时间的歌》中那些的歌词，你会发现她的视角已经从人性和哲学拓展到了生命中最美好的瞬间，尽管她还是采用了一贯自言自语的调子。例如，她在《流浪者之歌》中触及了平凡人生活中的挣扎和焦虑，在《家》中展现出孤独和无助，而在《Peace and Revolution》中则体现了至高无上的爱。
At the age of nearly 40, Chen certainly can’t limit herself to love and affection anymore. But Chen takes on so much at once that it feels like her strength can’t match her ambition. Maybe that’s why I said before that the album sounds “a little introverted and thin”.
年近40，陈绮贞当然不能继续将自己局限在谈情说爱里。但陈绮贞这次一次性呈现得太多，似乎有些力不从心。或许这正是我之前提到的这张专辑听起来“稍显含蓄和单薄”的原因吧。
Despite these small shortcomings, you have to hand it to Chen for her skillful playing with musical concepts. For example, she uses “time” as the theme on Songs of Transience, symbolizing that blossoming is a magnificent but transient process.
抛开这些小瑕疵不说，你不得不承认陈绮贞玩起音乐理念来驾轻就熟。例如，你选择“时间”来作为这张专辑的主题，象征着花开璀璨却短暂的过程。
Whether she’s already bloomed or not, I’m already looking forward to what Chen brings us next.
无论陈绮贞的才华是否已经完全绽放，我都同样期待她的下一部作品。