The debut album of mainland newcomer Yuan Quan stands out among other firsts - in terms of packaging, at least.
It is designed as a brown paper notebook. The cover is simple, with a tiny picture of Yuan, while the back features a big-eyed, black-haired doll that resembles the artist.
Yuan's name isn't mentioned anywhere, suggesting that the Hunan -born actress is trying to sell her songs rather than her looks or fame.
The 16-track album is far from disappointing, but it could have been better, given the comparisons Yuan has received to Faye Wong. Yuan's voice is magnetic, haunting and sometimes spooky at low-pitch. But unlike the iconic Wong, it is weak and breaks when she attempts high notes.
The opening track is the bouncy and catchy A Lonely Flower, but the male voice screaming out cheesy phrases like 'I love you' or 'You belong to me' in the middle ruins the song.
Most of the tracks are easy-to-like piano ballads. That Crazy Small Thing Is Called Love, Question Mark of A Hug and Searching For A Dream are especially distinctive.
