Friday, July 28, 2017

Music Review (Tamil): Aramm

Music Review (Tamil): Aramm
Music Composer: Ghibran

Ghibran showcases his prowess in the album's stunning opener Melam Kottuda and the blissful orchestra by Prague Philharmonic orchestra elevated the charm of the folk tune and Sikkander lyrics is in tandem with the movie's theme. The intermittent pauses for the verses and the sudden outburst of of orchestral sounds is a delight to listen. Vaikom Vijayalakshmi's effective vocals and Uma devi's beautiful verses makes Thoranam Aayiram and the singer's intonation in delivering the Tamil words is the aural splendor. Prithvi's percussion add the wonderful rhythm layer along with the captivating oboe sounds in the interludes from Prague Philharmonic orchestra. Polladha Kaalangal is the incredibly catchy hook in the track. Though Pudhu Varalaare falls tad below, strictly in comparison with the other tracks in the album, the orchestrsal brilliance of Philharmonic remains intact topped by minimal percussion makes this one also an engaging listen in the album.. The earnest rendition by Sundar Ayyar crooning Uma devi's lyrics deserves special mention.

Verdict: Ghibran shines in this short brilliant soundtrack with ample support from Prague Philharmonic orchestra and the singers delivering the top notch rendition for the immersive tunes.

My rating: 8.5/10

Pick of the Album: Melam Kottuda, Thoranam Aayiram

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Music Review (Hindi): Qaidi Band

Music Review (Hindi): Qaidi Band
Music Composer: Amit Trivedi

Qaidi band soundtrack features two singers, Arijit Singh and Yashita Sharma as the film is about the band in the prison where the protagonists are leading vocals for the band. Arijit sounds quite different from his usual tone in most of the songs. 



       For the track titled I am India, the song sounds least patriotic and more of the celebratory festival music with the thumping percussions. However, the track is barely interesting one and even the title hook is also not a catchy stuff from the composer. The escape version sounds much better comparatively, mainly because of the harmonium and the consistent engaging background. Hulchul is the typical rock stuff from the composer with snazzy guitar strums in the interludes makes it an interesting listen despite treading on the familiar path of the composer. 

       Phir Nayi has an endearing melody sung by Yashita Sharma effectually while Amit layers the soft rock sound with a mesmerising flute solo and other sounds. Junooni lacks an arresting melody and soundscape becomes weary after initial few minutes. Udanchoo starts off in an interesting manner and the tune's intermittent surprises make this one an engaging listen. The arrangements are dominated by rock drums but with I'm India's flute version employed brilliantly along with the pleasant percussion sounds amidst the live drums. Apart from the deftly done bass line, Jag Mag has little to offer and the rap portions also come off as a pedestrian one. Poshampa is next to I'm India where Arijit's vocal is in another extreme from his usual tone and the track has nifty guitar strums backed by retro bass sounds. The highly energetic soundscape makes this one an enjoyable song in the soundtrack. The reprise version of Phir Nayi is also adequately engaging one, Thanks to Yashita's vocals and thumping march past rhythm in the background.

Verdict: Definitely not the composer's best despite the movie has the core theme as music and also not the bad one though. The album suffers mainly from the familiar Amit Trivedi's signature sounds in some of the songs.

My Rating: 8/10

Pick of the album: Phir Nayi/Phir wahi, Udanchoo, Poshampa

You can listen to the songs in Saavn.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Music Review (Malayalam): Thrissivaperoor Kliptham

Music Review (Malayalam): Thrissivaperoor Kliptham
Music Composer: Bijibal



Maangappoolu is the typical Bijibal tune with old world charm and an endearing Anupallavi makes up for the heard before soundscape of the track. Though the arrangements are nothing out of this world, the simple, likeable pleasant sound makes this one engaging listen. Bijibal tried to take the different route for Kada thala Kola with the upbeat mix of synth and native percussion elements especially udukkai, however, the tune sounds pale when compared to the backgrounds. Sannidanandan spruces up the song with his energetic vocals despite sounds processed intermittently. Venne Vennakal Penne also sounds contrast to the sounds one can associate with the composer, however, Sayanora Phillip's vocals and the second interlude makes this one worthy listen. Oruthari Aasha's discordant backgrounds aside, the standalone classical tune is blissful enough to clasp the listeners.Vivek Moozhikkulam's confident vocal prowess is apparent in this short track and one wishes that Bijibal could have made this one full-length track. Pushpavathy who hails from Thrissur croons the fun filled Thrissooru and Bijibal's splendid backgrounds sounds is the highlight of the track apart from the top notch singing. Thaikkudam bridge's vocalist Vipinlal croons Kaantha and Bijibal employed Chenda melam exquisitely but the same cannot be said about the synth elements and also the track is short to make an impact.

Verdict: Bijibal produces a different album for the debutant RatheishKumar but the album falls short of awe factor despite engaging sounds throughout the tracks.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Oruthari Aasha, Maangappoolu, Thrissooru

P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.


Monday, July 17, 2017

Music Review (Telugu): Goutham Nanda

Music Review (Telugu): Goutham Nanda
Music Composer: Thaman

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is a tedious listen and the templatized techno sounds from Thaman makes it hard to listen while 6 minutes duration of the song augments the boredom further. NSK Ramya's vocal brings the little respite while mangling of Yazin Nizar's vocals with processing continues with this track also.Black and white is another painful listen where Thaman reused the background rhythm from his selfie song in Kannada movie Jaguar. Divya Kumar's contrasting vocals being the only highlight in this pedestrian song where the familiar tune doesn't help the song either.

Basthi Dorasani starts off surprisingly well but soon spiralled downwards into the typical Telugu commercial song where the catchy hook is the rehash of Gandi baat. Nakash Aziz who is regular in Telugu songs these days salvage this song to some extent and Ramajoggaya Sastry's lyrics standard also dives deep along with Thaman's music.Bole Ram Bole Ram saves this soundtrack and credits to enjoyable pleasant melody with the flavour of Nuvve Nuvve from Kick 2 while the soundscape also follows the same song. However, the track is immensely enjoyable when compared to other tracks in the album while Ramachandra Murthy's flute and Chennai Strings Orchestra's violin in the interludes are the mesmerising stuff. Srikrishna and ML Sruthi breezes through the melody effortlessly. Theme of Goutham Nanda has nothing extraordinary to offer except for the deft usage of Kebab's guitar and the track may work well with the visuals rather than as a standalone track.

Verdict: Goutham Nanda is another forgettable commercial soundtrack filled with Thaman's templatized sounds and the rehash of his own tunes.

My Rating: 5/10

Pick of the Album: Bole Ram Bole Ram




Sunday, July 16, 2017

Music Review (Hindi): Jagga Jasoos

Music Review (Hindi): Jagga Jasoos
Music Composer: Pritam Chakraborty




Ullu Ka Patha's buoyant vibe mainly because of Daniel Garcia Diego's flamenco guitars which easily transcends the listeners to the country side and Vivienne's ululle vocal is a catchy hook which Pritam brilliantly employed in the track. Arijit Singh and Nikitha Gandhi has such a fun in crooning this track which adds up to the charm along with the arrangements. Galti Se Mistake is where techno sounds meet Assamese tribal sounds and the fun track is adequately enjoyable Thanks to the energetic vocals of Arijit Singh and Amit Mishra and the tune is tailor made for Nakash Aziz's voice. Jhumritalaiyya's soft rock and thodi thodi hook is absolutely enjoyable one and Pritam used the chorus portions exceptionally well. The arrangements are done in a neat manner starting from the simple guitar laden prelude and eventually moving towards the soft rock one while Arijit Singh and Mohan Kannan sails through this breezy lovely song. Arijit Singh totally aces Phir wahi with his earnest rendition and Pritam kept the arrangements minimal with the enjoyable guitar laden portions and ends the song showcasing Arijit Singh's singing prowess. The addition of lovely saxophone and Arijit's usual ooh ooh sound is icing on the cake. Musafir is another soft rock genre song sung eventually by Tushar Joshi, the only song where Arijit's vocal is not in the soundtrack and the track is absolutely enjoyable thanks to the hummable tune and the track reaches crescendo towards the end with the thumping chorus portions.

Verdict: Pritam continues to deliver his best for Anurag Basu and the soundtrack is the best from the composer in recent times since Barfi. Hopefully, the remaining musical tracks which are due to release next week is equally enjoyable.

My Rating: 8.5/10

Pick of the Album: Ullu Ka Patha, Jhumritalaiyya, Musafir 

Monday, July 10, 2017

Music Review (Telugu): Fidaa

Music Review (Telugu): Fidaa
Music Composer: Shakthikanth Karthick




Vachinde is a delightful celebratory song delivered by Madhu Priya's squeaky vocals and supported by Ramky's terse verse. However, Shakthikanth Karthick props up the song with the Kishore's Sitar and Biju's harmonium serves as a wonderful rhythm which sets the mood of the song. Suddala Ashok Teja's colloquial banter lyrics gels well with the tone of the song. Edho Jaruguthundhi is the standard English Pop material dominated by the synth elements by Santosh and the tune is pleasant and also very templatized one carried effortlessly by Aravind Srinivas and Renuka. One wishes that tune could have been better rather than following the well-trodden path. Shakthikanth shines in the native folk song Hey Pillagaada, penned by Vanamali and the prelude easily entice the interest of the listeners while the composer's interesting usage of Shyam Ravishankar's violin and Shruthiraj's Khanjira and Percussion adds the flavour to Vanamali's lyrics. The song ends with the brilliant solo show by violinist Shyam while Sindhuri's effortless vocals add charm to the song.

Oosupodu's melancholy-drenched tune is salvaged by wonderful arrangements especially the way Babu's trumpet and wonderful bass line by Keith Peters accompanied by Navin Iyer's flute. Hemachandra tries hard and able to sail through the tune well. 24 Violin's strings background makes this song enjoyable till it lasts.Hey Mister, once again falls into the zone of tried and tested tune, however, the song is adequately enjoyable, Thanks to the Martin's Saxophone and the catchy title hook. MC Chetan's rap portions blend smoothly with the Deepak's vocals. Fidaa is an another pleasant melody and though nothing extraordinary in terms of tune and the arrangements also, the track is adequately listenable till it lasts. Hemachandra and Malavika sound adequate enough to keep the song afloat. The composer effectively blends Hey Pillagada sound cue towards the end of the song. One wishes that Babu's banjo could have been used extensively and it would have made song more interesting one.

Verdict: Sekhar Kammula's music sense continues to be winsome one irrespective of the composer and Shakthikanth Karthick strikes in his sophomore soundtrack confidently.

My Rating: 8/10

Pick of the Album: Hey Pillagaada, Vachinde, Oosupodu

P.S: Updated to Above Average album as totally hooked into recos.