When Penny Tai made the leap from lyrical pop to rock with her band Buddha Jump in 2011, it seemed like there was no going back. The shift, which garnered her four Golden Melody Awards primarily for composition and production, was further cemented by her 2016 rock-powered album Thief. While the singer-songwriter taps her roots on 被動的觀眾 (“The Passive Audience”)—her first solo album in six years—she returns evolved, renewed and refreshingly centred for an era of online collaboration. Offering a deep dive into her stylistic wheelhouse, the album puts her early acoustic sound and patented ephemeral vocals alongside rock flavours—and even indulges in synth-heavy arrangements on the blippy “多虧你啊” (“Thanks to You”). Tai retains the same relatable and unaffected air that won hearts on her breakout 2000 hit “你要的愛” (“The Love You Want”). She struggles with 21st century insomnia on “三四點了還沒睡” (“Still Awake”), remarking “finding someone to chat with just doesn’t seem right”, and offers encouragement on “小失誤” (“Little Mistakes”) when she’d rather be “hiding to cry alone”. The direct, emotional ballads that are Tai’s speciality are bolstered here with poetic allusions to the pitfalls of passivity in relationships, from emotional vampires in “密室逃脫” (“Escape Room”) to questions of self-sacrifice in “背信者” (“Traitor”). The album closes on an upbeat, punchy number that finds Tai celebrating self-empowerment and taking charge of life on her own terms—and encouraging the listener to do so as well.