Dear Pennies & Pens,
Welcome to LAYLAND, aka a review of LAY’s Flawed Crown album.
The moment you press play, you enter LAYLAND. The rest of the world fades away and you’re completely immersed in LAY’s world.
I literally put Flawed Crown on while driving home from work and before I could even make it through the intro, I was already there. I wasn’t sitting in traffic anymore. I wasn’t hot. I wasn’t irritated after coming home from work. I was just in LAYLAND, chilling.
That’s what makes Flawed Crown feel like such a masterpiece. LAY effortlessly blends the Chinese and English languages with traditional Chinese culture, modern R&B, as well as pop, to create his own sound. The album has its own pulse, rhythm and energy, but everything still feels like it belongs together.
When “Call My Name” starts, the album immediately feels powerful. As I’ve been learning more about the story of Sun Wukong, the song made me think about his journey and the importance of identity throughout his story. “Call My Name” feels like a statement piece for the album and a perfect introduction to the world Lay is creating.
But Flawed Crown doesn’t stay in one place musically.
LAY gives us different styles of R&B throughout the album. “Again” brings sexy R&B, while songs like “Living” show another side of his sound. There are slower, more introspective moments alongside songs with more energy. That diversity keeps the album interesting without making it feel disconnected.
And then there’s “Smoke and Mirrors.”
If you’re an Xback, then you already know how much LAY loves and looks up to Michael Jackson. You can hear that influence throughout his career, but “Smoke and Mirrors” is different.
Girl, LAY finally got his Michael Jackson song.
If I heard “Smoke and Mirrors” without knowing it was Lay, I would think somebody had found an unreleased Michael Jackson song. Nah, that’s LAY Zhang. That’s HIS song. The Michael Jackson influence is there, but LAY has reached a point in his artistry where his inspirations can exist within music that still feels completely his own.
That’s ultimately what I love about Flawed Crown. This isn’t an album where you listen once, pull one or two songs for a playlist and move on.
This is a press play, vibe-with-LAY album.
It’s the kind of album where everything around you stops mattering for a little while. You press play and let LAY take you into his world. Then when the album ends, you want to go right back in.
Flawed Crown sits with you.
This album is exactly why I call LAY the King of Mandopop. He created something that feels distinctly Chinese, completely modern and undeniably LAY. Flawed Crown isn’t an album you simply listen to. It’s an album you experience.
So press play and come to LAYLAND.
And there it is. de la Pen…All Pen Everything. With us, keeping it real never goes wrong.
