STRlighT - Ever Lasting
STRlighT’s second album, "Ever Lasting" (永·恒), gives nostalgia a restless pulse. Across thirteen tracks, the Chinese producer brings piano, strings and guitar into a sound shaped by future bass, dubstep and electronic pop. Written over two years, the record circles around youth, separation and the memories that remain difficult to put away. Its quieter arrangements give those subjects room before the heavier passages take over.
"December" provides the clearest example: a string-led ballad that breaks into dubstep towards its conclusion, turning tenderness into something more unsettled. "Fate" brings organ textures and a strong melodic focus, while "You Light Me Up" introduces a more hopeful mood. These changes give the album direction; regret is a recurring subject, but it never becomes the only feeling available.
Closing track "Fairytale" with Lightfighter and Mitsucaster, brings piano and vocals into a fuller electronic arrangement. It is a fitting finish for a record whose appeal rests on the movement between small details and big gestures. The musical vocabulary is familiar, and some lyrical ideas follow well-worn paths. Still, the range of arrangements gives "Ever Lasting" enough character to sustain its subject across an album.
