Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Music Review(Tamil): Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga

Music Review(Tamil): Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga
Music Composer: Imman


      Imman starts off the title song with lovely retro rock and roll mood and especially guitar cum key combination along with drumming takes the listeners totally to 80's swing. Sooraj Santosh and Kailash Kher's complemented the retro styled song with their peppy vocals while Na Muthukumar makes his presence felt with his witty lyrics.Imman unveiled breezy melody Sona Sona with pretty much engaging and hummable tune along with interesting elements like cool guitar usage, mild percussions and highlight being Sax in the second interlude. Bollywood singer Armaan Malik makes the cool debut with this laid back song while Varun Parandhaman gives ample support with his backing vocals.

          Lucka Maattikkichi is a pedestrian tune and reminds Deva's yesteryear songs in not a postive note while Imman's beats in the background also too staid and drab. Dholak Gana Jagan, Senthildass and Palaniammal vocals being the only silver lining in this average tune and the vocals too unable to clasp the listeners for four minute duration. Adada Onnum Sollatha rides mainly on the vocals of Benny Dayal - Shakthishree Gopalan whereas tune and the structure is more like reduced tempo version of Mazhakaatha from Oru Oorla Rendu Raja. Imman's background percussion beats also gives heard before feeling and lead singers rendition mitigates the above glitches in the song.Naa Romba Busy is another song to appease the particular section of the audience and there is nothing to boast of in terms of tune and arrangements. The song is passable at its core and engaging mainly due to the quirky lyrics by Na Muthukumar and Snighdha Chandra. Particularly loved the inclusion of Goundamani dialogues in the middle. Santosh Hariharan, Neethi Mohan and Sharanya Gopinath props up the tune with their singing but felt their potential is under utilized.

Verdict: Imman starts off the soundtrack really well but the album fizzled out towards the end. However,VSOP is better than Imman's previous venture.

My rating: 6.5/10

Pick of the Album: Sona Sona, Adada Onnum Sollatha, Vasuvum Saravananum







Saturday, July 25, 2015

Music Review(Hindi): Brothers

Music Review(Hindi): Brothers
Music Composer: Ajay-Atul

Brother Anthem is eponymous to its title, anthemic, energetic with exciting string sections and thumping percussions in the second interlude accentuate the overall feel of the song. The predictable tune is a owned totally by Vishal Dadlani with his verve and sprightly rendition. Gaaye Jaa is soothingly melodious and Shreya Goshal delivers it beautifully with her spot-on nuanced rendition. Ajay-Atul adorned the backgrounds with gorgeous violins, keys and ended the song with orchestration reaches crescendo  while at the same time gives haunting feel mainly due to humming. Gaaye Jaa's male version had Mohammed Irfhan behind the mic, Despite Irfhan's earnest effort, Shreya's version fares better than this. Sapna Jahan is another gorgeous melody where western classical rules the interludes especially lovely second one with flutes cum strings combo and  Indian classical tabla adorning the antaras. Sonu Nigam is particularly brilliant with his rendition while Neeti Mohan ably supported him. Mera Naam Mary is catchy item song rides mainly on the engaging vocals of Chinmayi and tune is quite a redux of chikni chameli.

Verdict: Two engaging melodies by composer duo makes the brothers album enjoyable.

My rating:7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Gaaye Jaa (female version), Sapna Jahan

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Music Review (Tamil): Kirumi

Music Review (Tamil): Kirumi
Music Composer: K


OC soru is frolic, amusing mostly due to lyrics and raw vocals of Gaana Bala while K balances the arrangements with local kuthu templated percussion which aids well the proceedings. Naanal Poovai is the pièce de résistance in the soundtrack where everything works beautifully especially the way the frothy voice of Janani S V is interspersed with composer's charming and pleasant vocals. Wish composer will sing more songs too.  Naa Parakka has brilliant usage of guitar and harmonica while G V Prakash handles the rock'ish tune quite effortlessly and guitar strums towards the end are heady. Lyrics by GanaKaravel portraying the nature of  protagonist complements well with rock arrangements. Vaal Veesum country styled arrangements and Gaana Bala reminds the setting of Kakidha Kappal from Madras but K marks his presence with the brilliant concoction of whistles, violin, trumpets, accordion and other sounds. Boom Boom Boodham starts off like aayiram sooriyan from Maryan but the effect is mitigated greatly by Yazin Nizar's effortless singing and enticing guitar-drum combination throughout the song. K ends the soundtrack with dark gloomy Orayiram Ottaigal and once again composer's singing along with screeching guitars works more than the tune.

Verdict: Kirumi is K's best soundtrack in recent times but still Annayum Rasoolum remains my favourite from this talented composer.

My rating: 8/10

Pick of the Album: Naanal Poovai, Vaal Veesum, Naa Parakka

Listen to the songs here

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Music Review(Tamil): Thani Oruvan

Music Review(Tamil): Thani Oruvan
Music Composer: Hip Hop Tamizha


        The title track of the album is energetic, the mighty package of synthesized sounds and also predictable without much awesome moments in the four-minute song. Bobo Sashi and Hip Hop Tamizha's prop up the average tuned song to listenable one with their sprightly rendition despite tune is languishing and monotonous.The highlight of the lovely melody Kannala Kannala is the delightful vocals of debutante Kaushik Krish and Padmalatha. This is the second track for Padmalatha with Hip Hop Tamizha and she aces the song with her nuanced singing. Hip Hop Tamizha's arrangements are also pleasant with beautiful ghatam, flute sections in the interludes and the tune ends with Sufi style singing by lead singers.

       Kadhal Cricket (Love not out) opens with jingli'sh xylophone sounds and the most delightful part is the twinkly ambience created by the composer with strings, brass sections and keys. Khareeshma Ravichandran offbeat vocals complemented the song very well and lyrics by Hip Hop Tamizha  will surely bring chuckles to listener's face.Theemai Than Vellum's orchestration is pretty much background material and also quite repetitive throughout the track.However dialogues by Aravind Swamy gels neatly with the singing of Hip Hop Tamizha and the composer's lyrics are remarkable, however, it got sabotaged in the first half of the song where sound overrides the vocals. Aasai Perasai (The Greedy Good) is the heady mix of dialogues by the film's protagonist Jayam Ravi and exhilarating sounds by the composer.This one scores well compared to the Aravind Swamy's version mostly due to Hip Hop Tamizha's racy score from the start till it ends and composer brought out the fiery feel in the theme very well.


Verdict: Hip Hop Tamizha consolidated his position in the industry with this vibrant and refreshing third album and the songs are engaging and script oriented.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Kannala Kannala, Kadhal Cricket, Aasai Perasai

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Music Review(Hindi) : Drishyam

Music Review(Hindi) : Drishyam
Music Composer: Vishal Bhardwaj



Carbon copy is a cool, laid back guitar laden track and the song has Vishal's stamp all over it. Ash King carries the beautiful tune with improvs in his rendition. whistles interpersed generously and gels well with the flow of the track. Dum Ghutta Hai is a kind of gloomy composition and the mood elevates much with the title hook. Vishal Baradwaj's arrangements are splendid especially Ghatam laden second interlude and Guitar strums throughout the song. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Rekha Baradwaj are splendid with their vocals but Rekha's singing sounds repetitive and the magic in her voice is surprisingly missing. Kya Paata is another serious track which rides mainly on the soulful rendition of Arijit Singh and also this is the kind of track Vishal frequently delivers with perfection. Vishal entices the listeners with mild jazz flavoured arrangements in the background especially brilliant usage of oboe/clarinet in the second interlude. Kya Pataa comes in another hard rock version as Kab Kahaan Se with thumping guitars and drum laden arrangements. But still soulful Arijit's version works well than grungy KK's version.

Verdict: Vishal delivers yet another engaging album but this one still ranks lower than the composer's previous works.

My rating : 7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Kya Pataa, Carbon Copy, Dum Ghutta Hai

Music Review (Telugu) : Srimanthudu

Music Review (Telugu) : Srimanthudu
Music Composer: Devi Sri Prasad

Rama Rama is a typical standard DSP package which is rhythmic, catchy and Ranina Reddy's folk section towards the end is a surprise one. Sooraj Santhosh bolsters the song with his energetic vocals. Percussions in the second interlude with brass work is the highlight in an otherwise typical DSP track. Jatha Kalise starts off well but deja vu flavour in the tune makes this tiresome listen while Sagar and Suchitra's vocals supports the heavily languishing tune. Charuseela, though reminds nangaai, DSP's cool arrangements with guitar strums, brass sections and effective vocals by Yazin Nizar makes this song enjoyable till it lasts. DSP's second track with Raghu Dixit for another hard rock number Jaago and Dixit pulls off this one too with his effortless singing. DSP's arrangements with heavy drumming and raging electric guitar usage complements well with vocals. Dhimmatirigi is usual monotonous stuff from DSP and there is nothing special in this passable mass number except for enticing nadhaswaram usage. Title song is interesting for its string usage and rides mainly on the rustic vocals of MLR Karthikeyan.

Verdict: DSP's Srimanthudu is his usual stuff and the songs are enjoyable despite nothing offbeat in the tune or arrangements.

My rating: 7/10

Pick of the Album: Jaago, Srimanthuda, Charuseela

Music Review: Sakalakala Vallavan/ Appatakkar

Music Review(Tamil): Sakalakala Vallavan/ Appatakkar
Music Composer: Thaman


      Album opens with Bulb Vangitaen Machi, manageable kuthu track and Thaman brings exciting combination of Deva, Vivek and Jayam Ravi to croon this track with amusing lyrics. But staid and pedestrian template of the tune makes this tiresome listen except for the exciting credit list. Visuals may prop up the level of the song among the masses. Thaman brings back his templated Telugu flavoured song in Mandayum and the result is that the song is passable and mediocre to its core. Even Nivas's vocals unable to salvage this tedious track and the tune though templatized, it works partially in some portions but overall it's a drab one in the album.

     Thaman's Buji Ma Buji Ma is the redux of the composer's Telugu hit song and the song works here also mostly due to the energetic vocals of Imman and Mansi and partly due to the upbeat chorus. However, lyrics is the main turn off in an otherwise enjoyable track from Thaman. Thaman brings 2014's famous Telugu song Cinema Choopistha mava to Tamil as Hitu song and another set of exciting singers STR, Ramya Nambeesan, M M Manasi, M M Monisha. Overall the fun and mass quotient of the song is intact in Tamil version also. Surely song is bound to create enough airwaves and top the charts. Thaman brings back his another hit Telugu song Dethadi Dethadi from Dookudu to Tamil as Un style Eh power but the tempo is reduced compared to Telugu version of the song. Despite the heavily autotuned vocals of Deepak and Sharmila, engaging tune filled generously with percussion elements and energetic vocals along with chorus makes this song work.

Verdict: Thaman's Sagalakala Vallavan is nothing but recycled work of his telugu hit songs and surely songs will appeal to the masses. Exciting visuals along with peppy dance movements may make this recycled work of Thaman memorable.

My rating: 7/10

Pick of the Album: Hitu Song, Un style Eh Power, Buji Ma Buji Ma

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Music Review(Tamil): Maya

Music Review(Tamil): Maya
Music Composer: Ron Ethan Yohan


          Thoonga Kangal is a haunting solo track which rides mainly on the confident vocals of Shakthishree Gopalan. The haunting track will be incomplete without piano and here too Piano dominates the arrangement. Orchestration shifts toward soft rock towards the end while Guitars and drumming bring together an ambience of the song in an engaging manner throughout the song. Aayiram Aayiram starts off in a spooky manner with bell sounds and other eerie ambience paves the way for the hard rock guitars and drumming although nothing special with the rock arrangements apart from sporadic piano keys. But the highlight is ever reliable Chinmayi's kickass vocals in an unheard genre and she owns the song with her spot-on rendition.Swetha Mohan aces in Naane Varuven, the free flow tune with her mellifluous rendition and Ron Yohan kept the orchestration minimal while Swetha's nuanced singing along with lovable humming throughout the song takes the front stage. Progressive string sections along with Piano keys complement the singer very well in this unique unstructured
composition.

           Hope and Despair, in eponymous to the title, orchestration too follows up and downs with brilliant intriguing string sections and Piano laden interplay. The theme is filled with silence in the mid -way and ends with upbeat string sections. Always a woman is also filled with piano and strings backed by the chorus and the theme turns interesting as it progresses where strings reach the crescendo. Darkest hour is apt to the title starts in an eerie way and the arrangements are truly splendid which brings out the required mood in a perfect manner. Overall debut composer gave rich expansive score for the haunting horror movie with his theme tracks which works well with visuals rather than standalone tracks though each theme track is considerably longer duration.

Verdict: Ron Yohan's debut is commendable and composer proves his mettle in his first movie with genre oriented songs. Surely songs and score prop up the visuals especially rich theme tracks elevate the visuals of the movie.

My rating: 8/10

Pick of the Album:  Thoonga Kangal, Aayiram Aayiram, Naane Varuven


Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Music Review (Hindi): Bangistan

Music Review (Hindi): Bangistan
Music Composer: Ram Sampath

Listen here - gaana


Ishq Karenge is faux quawalli handled well by lead singers Sona Mohapatra, Abhishek Nehwal and Shadib Daridi and the fun remains till it lasts. However song has nothing special or offbeat to boast especially. Ishq Karenge's EDM version is quite a dancy gimmicky version of the original. Ram sampath nails in the arrangements of Hogi Kranti especially for its march band music and european styled instruments with accordion leads the arrangements which will gel with the movie setting in Poland. Lyrics by Puneeth Krishna deserves special mention. Overall engaging listen in the album. Ram Sampath extends the sound from previous song especially brilliant usage of violin (though sounds more middle asian or european) and packaged it with exhilarating addictive techno beats to create Saturday night. Benny Dayal, Aditi Singh sharma's energy makes this song trippy ride. However processing of Aditi's voice initially irks but Ram sampath's heady arrangements mitigates those minor grouse. 


It's time for relaxing, wistful number Maula from Ram Sapath after back to back dance tracks in the album, However this one too borders around sufi in the mid way with tabla, claps and singing by Ram Sampath and Rituraj Mohanty rides on that genre. However surprise is the way Ram Sampath ends the track with mild sitar touch. Next song in the album Meri Zidd starts off slowly but sudden explosion of guitar laden frenzy drums didn't blend well with the start but song turns into head banging listen and reminds us Ram Sampath's D K Bose song from delhi Belly. Siddharth Basrur energetic rendition matches well with the fiery arrangements of the composer. Is Duniya Se ladna hai rides mainly on Suraj Jagan vocals and arrangements are predictablle which makes it laborious listen.

Verdict: Ram Sampath delivers funky as well as dance tracks in tandem with the theme of the movie and the songs partially works.

My Rating:7.75/10

Pick of the Album: Hogi Kranti, Saturday Night, Maula

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Music Review (Hindi) : Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Music Review(Hindi): Bajrangi Bhaijaan
Music Composer: Pritam

Selfie le le re is to satiate purely bhai fans and as a standalone track this one passes muster despite energetic rendition leaded by Vishal Dhadlani. Pritam fares much better in the next track Tu chahiye with techno beats in the background and Atif Aslam earnest rendition saves the track. Brilliant usage of sarangi is the highlight of the track, but the feel of sarangi didn't gel with the techno beats played along with that. Bhar Do Jholi Meri, traditional quawaali and Adnan Sami's rendition aside, the song has nothing enticing enough to engage the listeners for 8 minutes. Bhar Do Jholi Meri's reprise version with Imran Aziz behind the vocals didn't get anything better. Aaj Ki party is another mediocre song in the album, only Salman's screen presence will make this bearable. Chicken song is a lovely listen especially for its Goan flavoured arrangements and nadaswaram bit is a surprise package. Mohit Chauhan's lively rendition makes this song enjoyable. Zindagi has trademark pritam stamp all over it but nevertheless the song is more enjoyable especially for the lead singer Zubin Nautiyal's rendition and its second interlude. Zindagi's reprise version comes with the vocals of another proficient singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and additional bonus is Rekha Bharadwaj's vocals. Vocals alone makes this one fared tad better than the original.

Tu Jo mila is soundtrack's best which comes in two versions with KK and Javed Ali respectively. Pritam kept the arrangements simple with mild rock flavour it to it making it overall pleasant listen especially song turns wonderful listen for the guitar riffs toward the end of the song. Song beats in the background reminds me phir le aaya dil opening played in the fast pace. However wonderful listen in the album. Song's reprise version handled by Papon rides mainly on the piano, however original version scores much better than this version despite earnest rendition from papon.

Verdict: Pritam maintained balance in Bhajrangi Bhaijaan delivering both class and mass songs for the listeners. Overall album gets enjoyable with the newly released set of songs. 

My rating: 7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Tu Jo mila, Zindagi (both versions),Tu Chahiye

Music Review(Tamil): Pugazh

Music Review(Tamil): Pugazh
Music Composer: Vivek- Merwin


Anirudh Ravichandar and Diwakar's sprightly vocals notwithstanding, Naanga Podiyan is a pedestrian track from composer duo. Composer's arrangements mainly dominated by brass sections are also energetic enough to match with the rendition of Anirudh Ravichandar. Surely this song will appeal to masses and as a standalone track, this one is passable at its core. Arijit Singh, current sensational singer in Bollywood makes his debut in Tamil with Neeyae which is breezy solo track dominated by cool guitar strums and synthesized sounds. Arijit Singh's Tamil rendition is commendable and listenable for the singer from the north. Composer interspersed the song with buoyant string sections and flute portions in the interludes are enjoyable. Overall, cool and ear friendly track from the composer duo. Podu Podu opens with 'Hara Hara Mahadev Ki' and sure one can expect more funny one-liners in the track and the lyricist Tupakeys and R J Balaji didn't disappoint. Composer duo itself crooned the song although mainly lyrics drives the track there is very little space to think about the tune of the song. However, the composer duo employed noteworthy rock'sh guitar and drums with occasional synthesised Thavil sounds in the background.Vizhigalil Vizhundhaval is easily the winner of the album especially for its instant catchy tune and the classically inclined tune is the cakewalk for Hariharan and Chitra. Captivating tune aside, Composers mark their presence by mixing enticing lively beats with thavil and veena (mandolin?) sounds throughout the song generously. Sharpu Gangu is the tweaked version of Naanga Podiyan in the vocals of composer duo and once again the song is peppy enough to scorch the dance floors. Rokesh delivers what one can expect from his lyrics which is witty enough. Overall another dance track and it's sure to satiate the youth audiences.


Verdict: Vivek Merwin's sophomore album is mainly the  extension of their debut and targeted mainly for youth audiences. Composer duo succeeds in churning out another set of engaging songs akin to Vadacurry.

My rating: 7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Neeyae, Vizhigalil Vizhundhaval, Naanga Podiyan

Friday, July 3, 2015

Music Review (Tamil): Avam

Music Review (Tamil): Avam
Music Composer: K S Sundaramurthy

Thevaiya is out-and-out dubstep genre which is explored rarely in Tamil film music as a full-fledged song, but song is strictly for the lovers of this genre and for normal music listeners even three minutes song appears quite long despite throaty vocals of M C Vickey. Hope visuals prop up the level of the song much further. In contrast to the opening number, Yaen Yennai is pleasant melody and credit mainly goes to impeccable singing by Swetha Mohan. K S Sundaramurthy complemented her singing well with soothing arrangements backed by tabla, guitar, keys and mesmerising flute in the interludes. Kaarirule which was already released as a single is a progressive rock track where guitar and drumming dominate the arrangements. Loved the way composer employed the violin amidst the grungy guitar sounds. Kamal Hasaan's rendition is spot on bringing all emotions through his vocals and lyrics by Karky brilliantly evocates the dark mood of the song. Sana Sana's highlight is optimistic lyrics by Madhan Karky and breezy feel provided to the tune by the composer throughout the song especially in the interludes. However, little bit  enticing and compelling tune would have made this number arresting listen. On the vocals front Satya Prakash and Suchith suresan's rendition is commendable. K S Sundaramurthy ends the  soundtrack in style with the theme song and it is the most compelling listen in the album especially for its brilliant fusion of veena and rock guitar in an engaging manner. Surely winning concoction of sounds for the dark mood of the theme.

Verdict: Avam is a promising debut by K S Sundaramurthy and songs are non-filmy which stays true to the genre employed in each song.

My rating: 7/10

Pick of the Album: Kaarirule, Avam Theme, Yaen Yennai

P.S Edited version of the review will be available here.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Music Review (Tamil) : Orange Mittai

Music Review(Tamil) : Orange Mittai
Music Composer: Justin Prabhakaran

Straight Ah Poyee was already released as a single has impressive usage of grungy guitar and other assorted sounds mainly pipe instruments but the song lacks interesting tune and also lyrics by Vijay Sethupathi itself is  also mediocre. However, intermittent dialogues are witty enough and Vijay Sethupathi's vocals support the languishing tune very much. Theerathe Aasaigal switches between simple breezy melody and teen pop with ever reliable Karthik behind the mic to bolster the soundtrack very much with his vocals. Justin Prabhakaran adorned the interludes with strings and recurrent rainy ambience and drums sound to complement the mood of the song. Overall easy winner in the album. Orae Oru Oorla is another song with offbeat sounds created by the composer and this too has vocals by Vijay Sethupathi. Lyrics by Vijay Sethupathi revolves around the humorous story about lion and rabbit which will appeal to the kids a lot. Overall passable song with enticing sounds by the composer being the highlight. Payanangal Thodaruthe is another soothing melody from Justin in the vocals of Naresh Iyer and Padmalatha. The arrangements by Justin is spot on with tabla  and anklet sounds while grand string sections and percussions lead the first and second interlude respectively. Good to hear Naresh Iyer after a brief hiatus.The minimal orchestration throughout the song accentuates the feel of the song a lot.


Verdict: Orange Muttai is an engaging follow-up for Justin Prabhakaran after Pannaiyarum Padminiyum. Justin keeps the soundtrack simple and soothing with two melodies being a winner of the soundtrack.

My rating:7.25/5

Pick of the Album: Theerathe Aasaigal, Payanangal Thodaruthe, Straight ah Poyee

P.S Edited version of the review can be found here.


Music Review (Tamil): Urumeen

Music Review (Tamil): Urumeen
Music Composer:Achu

Achu owns Baby Baby from start till end with his captivating arrangements dominated by guitar riffs whereas the deja vu feel in the tune is a minor grouse even though it's engaging to the  large extent till it last. Mani Amudhavan's funny lyrics makes this song listenable and tune is cakewalk for Anthony Daasan. Hey Umayaal is short breezing melody and Vijay Yesudas rendition is spot on. Achu's arrangements augment the tone of the song well especially brilliant usage of mandolin and strings rule the background throughout the song. Lyrics by Kavin are simple and appealing. Hey Umayaal comes with unplugged version comes with unplugged version builds on the Piano base and Kavya Ajit's humming is an additional asset to the soundtrack. Achu tweaked the charanam portions a little and makes this more charming and lovable than the original version. String portions in the background is kept intact as in the original one. Siru Nadai takes the listener back to En Uyire from Achu's wonderful soundtrack Maalai Pozhudin Mayakathiley. Karthik- Achu's combo once again creates magic with Siru Nadai and this one too is absolute gem from the composer. Karthik's vocals are well complemented by minimal orchestration backed by strings and violin in the first interlude is a pure bliss. Only grouse is song is just three and half minutes long. Siru Nadai's reprise version has piano as a base and Veena replaces the violin in the first interlude. Roshini Suresh's nuanced singing is commendable and enjoyable too. Overall Achu retains the highly listenable factor in the Reprise version also but this one ranks lower compared to the original version.After a slew of melodies in the soundtrack, Yaadhum oorae takes an ominous grungy ride with an excellent set of vocals from Guna, Rohan Prakash and Kamalaja Rajagopal. Achu's arrangements are simple and predictable with Guitars and sporadic discordant percussions dominate the track.

Verdict: Achu returns to form after a brief hiatus in Tamil and Urumeen proves once again that Achu is one of the promising composers  to look out for.

My Rating:7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Siru Nadai (both versions), Hey Umayaal, Baby Baby

P.S Edited version of the review will be available here.