Music Review (Tamil): Annadurai

Music Review (Tamil): Annadurai
Music Composer: Vijay Antony

Thangama Vairama starts off in a high note but once the outdated tune kicks off in Ananthu's vocals, the song fails to entice the listener. The interludes are strictly pedestrian and generic while Ananthu and Karthik tried to infuse life with the sincere rendition. The more memorable and inventive tune could have made this song an engaging listen. Vijay Antony brings back Nenjorathil fame Supriya Joshi to croon GST with the similar soundscape especially Tabla base. Though the tune fares tad lower than Nenjorathil, Vijay Antony able to deliver an adequately listenable song especially interludes and charanam portions. Arun Bharathi throws  GST in the lyrics to gather enough attention.

Apart from the slightly mellowed background soundscape, Odathey (Pathos) and Odathey doesn't have much variations, especially in terms of Ananthu's vocals. The tune strictly confines to the tried and tested Vijay Antony's stock list and also falls in the quite generic climatic soaring tune. Annadurai theme song falls into the composer's generalised melancholy template and Ananthu pushes a languishing tune with his effectual vocals but tune fails to engage. The only solace being the beautiful Piano interlude in the middle of the song.

Verdict: Vijay Antony's Annadurai is another unremarkable soundtrack from the composer and the short soundtrack from the composer has hardly any memorable tracks.

My Rating: 6/10

Pick of the Album: GST 

P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn

Music Review (Tamil): Theeran Adhigaram Ondru

Music Review (Tamil): Theeran Adhigaram Ondru
Music Composer: Ghibran

Ghibran opens up the album with the stellar song Oru Veetil, Ghibran's haunting tune starting from the chorus prelude till the end and Thamarai's poetical sensual lyrics makes this one easy winner. Ghibran's layered arrangements especially brilliant flute and strings-laden interludes combined with the superlative singing by lovely Shashaa Tripathi makes this one an immensely enjoyable song from Ghibran. Inno Genga provides fabulous support to Shashaa. Ghibran delivers gloomy track O Saathiye and once again arrangements are top notch especially lovely Carnatic violin solo in the second interlude. Ghibran sets the Charanam portions with the tabla base and engaging chorus while composer's immersive tune and Uma devi's affecting lyrics makes this one another easy pick of the album. Armaan Malik delivers the song effectually.

Ghibran channeled his inner Ilayaraja in Laali Laali and the melodious tune is adorned with the consistent engaging arrangements while Pragathi Guruprasad's humming along with the thumping rhythm works like charm. Ghibran's simple yet hummable tune and the brilliant Charanam portion crooned perfectly by Sathyaprakash makes this song an easily accessible one.The title track is in lines with the expected soundscape, highly racy explosive track but the tune doesn't work to its favor as in other songs. The debut singers Aravind Srinivas and Sarath Santosh did a neat job with respect to vocals, However, the arrangements strictly confined to the relatively known hard rock material. Ghibran comes up with quite a surprising thing in Tamil album, a complete song featuring Hindi lyrics in Tinga Tinga. Though the accent by Padmalatha is questionable, the tune is lovely one with an enjoyable predominant folk sound throughout the track. Ghibran started to use Padmalatha's vocals differently after Magalir Mattum unlike his initial collaboration with the singer. Apart from the inconvenient vocals, the track is enjoyable till it lasts. Ghibran ends the soundtrack with another simple lovable melody Sevatha Pulla and the interludes are incredibly lively one with the sprightly sounds sprinkled throughout the song. KG Ranjith sails through the neat tune effortlessly.

Verdict: Ghibran's delivers an impressive enjoyable soundtrack for the high profile commercial entertainer and the melodies standout in the album.

My Rating:8.5/10

Pick of the album: Oru Veetil, O Saathiye, Sevathapulla.

P.S: You can listen to the songs on Gaana.

Music Review (Tamil) : 2.0

Music Review (Tamil) : 2.0
Music Composer: A R Rahman

Endhira Logathu Sundariye, as expected highly techno sounds laden track and Rahman's mixing make this one immensely enjoyable as well as the hummable track. Madhan Karky deserves special mention for his imaginative lyrics like Java Roja and invoking every robot parts in the verses. Sid Sriram nails the rendition as usual while Sashaa Tripathi mesmerizes the listener with her whispery brief sound cues.Rajaali Nee Gaali is the techno mass and majestic track for Rajini and Rahman once again ensured that the sounds are groovy enough to clasp the listener's attention. Composer's consistent engaging rhythm structure and the mastery in sound mixing is evident throughout the track. However, the lyrics sound discordant especially with all the grandeur with the sounds. Blaaze, Arjun Chandy and Sid Sriram deliver exceptionally well.

Verdict: Rahman's unique sound mixing and Madhan Karky's imaginative lyrics is sure enough to satiate composer's fans.

My Rating: 8/10

Pick of the album: Endhira Logathu, Rajaali Nee Gaali

Music Review (Malayalam): Chakkaramaavin Kombathu

Music Review (Malayalam): Chakkaramaavin Kombathu
Music Composer: Bijibal

Bijibal delivers simple foot tapping Manjaniyum and the rhyming tune sung effectually by the kids Dev Dutt Bijibal and Sreya Jayadeep. Bijibal brilliantly employed earthy sounds throughout the track. Alanjoriyana brims with the lovely throwback melody which the composer always weaves his magic while the interludes evoke pleasant feeling especially the extensive usage of flute sections. Bijibal aces with his splendid rendition. Bijibal ends the soundtrack with another gorgeous melody backed by Subha's lovely rendition. Loved the way veena and the consistent mesmerizing rhythm employed in the arrangements.

Verdict: Ultrashort soundtrack (less than 10 mins) but immensely likeable work by Bijibal.

My Rating:7.5/10

Pick of the album: Mele Manathu, Alanjoriyana.

Music Review (Telugu): Oxygen

Music Review (Telugu): Oxygen
Music Composer: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Adi Lekka hardly sounds like the Yuvan Shankar Raja music and the composer totally blends with the usual sound cues which are familiar in Thaman or DeviSri Prasad soundtracks. The track, unfortunately, sounds dull and Ramajogayya Sastry's lyrics about the Telugu language being the only highlight in an otherwise boring start to the album.Yuvan easily scores in the synth-dominated melody O Kshanam and Thanks to the lead singers Aishwarya and Deepak for their splendid radiation. Composer kept the rhythm structure simple and though nothing stands out especially in terms of arrangements, neat pleasant melody makes this one listenable till it lasts.

Aakaasam also suffers from the shades of heard before sounds and MLR Karthikeyan's hard-hitting vocals being the highlight of the song while Yuvan splendidly employed the plucked string instruments in the second interlude. Aishwarya provides the splendid support to Karthikeyan and one wish that the tune could have been little more engaging one. Queen of Dhaba as the title and Geetha Madhuri in the credit list easily ticks off everything in the genre of the song one can expect. Yuvan's brass usage aside, the song has little to take away. However, it's a delight to listen Geetha Madhuri's astounding energy level despite the middling tune and hackneyed lyrics by  Srimani. Watch out for danger theme track hardly evokes any interest despite Blaaze in the vocals and the theme track fails to elevate from the mediocre level.

Verdict: Yuvan's much-expected Oxygen turns out to be a downer and the tracks are unremarkable except for the single melody.

My Rating:6.5/10

Pick of the Album: O kshanam, Aakaasam

Music Review (Tamil): Ippadai Vellum

Music Review (Tamil): Ippadai Vellum
Music Composer: Imman

Imman provides the optimistic positive attitude title song for Shreya Goshal and the lady aces it perfectly with minor hiccup during the arousing chorus sections. However, Imman beautifully crafts the background, with the standout Nathan's woodwinds and Saxophone work. Arunraja Kamaraj shines with his aspirational lyrics for this title song. Aadharaa's fangled rendition of Arunraja Kamaraj's verses aside, Godfather Kanmaniye is predictable with very less awe or influencing element in the track. The tune also fails to evoke interest except for the occasional brilliance in the form of Raghavasimhan's solo violin.

Thodra Paakalam verses are tailor-made for Arunraja Kamaraj's vocals but Imman's vocals also work adequately for the pedestrianly composed tune by the composer. Keba Jeremiah's guitar and punchy percussions go well with the energy in the verses but the tune hardly sticks to the listener's mind. The tune reminds some of the Imman's earlier days compositions. Kulebaa Vaa rides mainly on the adequately engaging Kaviraj's Arabian Rhythm and the tune standalone doesn't make quite a cut but still, the overseas singers Kumaresh Kamalakannan and Nalini Krishnan make this one a listenable track till it lasts. One wishes Imman could have done a more imaginative track with this rhythm sound.The theme track is the tweaked upbeat version of the title song with a few intriguing sounds added to get the thrilling effect but makes the lesser impact mainly because of the vocal portions.

Verdict: Imman continues to be pigeonholed with his stock sounds and Ippadai Vellum is not an outlier either.

My Rating:6.5/10

Pick of the Album: Ippadai Vellum Nichayame, Kulebaa Vaa

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

Music Review (Tamil/Malayalam) : Solo

Music Review (Tamil/Malayalam) : Solo
Music Composer: Assorted Composers

Roshomon's buoyant and lively tune has the Russian folk music flavour and Alok Kulkarni's jaunty guitar is undeniably star of the song. The underlying programming by Sreerag Saji brings out the accordion sounds quite effectually. Overall, Prashant Pillai opens this multi-composer soundtrack with a highly infectious stunning track crooned by the string of singers led by Ashwin Gopakumar. Filter coffee selects Jog Raag based classical song Sajan More Ghar Aaye and builds the fantastic atmosphere around it with Swarupa Ananth's brilliant Konnakol and Jhanvi Srimankar's splendid rendition. The unconventional musical structure accompanied by Govind's solo violin cues make this one an engaging song till it lasts. Sooraj S Kurup of Valleem Thetti Pulleem Thetti fame delivers the song of the soundtrack in this multi-composer soundtrack. The classical song crooned in a splendid manner by Renuka Arun after Endaro in Telugu and she aces the classical rendition brilliantly. Hope composers utilize her vocals frequently. Sooraj's minimal sounds in the background accentuate the reverberating vocals.

World of Siva opens up with Masala Coffee's Aal Ayaal and the track is synchronous with the band's signature sounds rooted in Malayalam folk. Sooraj Santosh aces the vocals part as usual while adorning the track with magnificent arrangements topped by Krishnaraj's violin and awesome bass guitar work by Paul Joseph. The song's reprise version is done in a more stylish manner with much emphasis on Preeth P S's guitar strums and Sooraj's vocals. Thaikkudam Bridge reproduced the famous Aigiri Nandini and gave the haunting treatment to the track and the Govind's gloomy rendition and vocal texture gel perfectly with the arrangements. The arrangements turned towards the expected rock genre but the violin and guitar solos make this one easily works despite the overall familiar sound. The track has predominantly the sound of Thaikkudam bridge's latest brilliant album Navarasam. Govind presents his another adapted classical track Shiv Taandav composed by Raghini Bhagwat and the energetic arrangements sung in an effectual manner by Saylee Talwalkar works seamlessly. The drums rhythm and the singer's vocals amalgamate well and make this one wonderful listen.

Madras Kuthu meets the rap in Singa Kutty in the track composed by Sez on the beat. Though the track is less intriguing compared to other tracks in the album, Chinna Ponnu's vocals and Balasubramani's Nadhaswaram keeps the song afloat amidst other sounds.Thoovanam is the conventional mainstream sound in the album composed by Abhinav Bansal and the tune is a cakewalk for Vijay Yesudas. The tune didn't work for me except for the brilliance of the lead singer. Harish Sivaramakrishnan effectually recreated their hit boat song and the pulsating rock fusion easily works and the thittithara is the highlight in this highly effectual song while Agam brilliantly infuses the serene version of boat song in Uyiraagi especially the way Thittithara is incorporated. Shashaa Tripathi gives life to the song with her mellifluous vocals.

Separation is led by Ashitha Ajit's brilliant vocals and Gaurav Godkindi's serene arrangements topped by solo violin intermittently.Karaiyaadhe is another sing-along soft rock song crooned by Siddharth Basrur splendidly. The arrangements are dominated by typical English pop sound but work beautifully till it lasts. You is an English version of Karaiyaadhe and Siddharth owns the song with his pitch-perfect vocals.

Verdict: Extraordinary soundtrack for an anthology film and Bejoy Nambiar extracted another brilliant album from the multiple composers after David.

My Rating:9/10

Pick of the Album: Just listen to the whole Album and you won't regret.

Music Review (Tamil): Nenjil Thunivirunthal

Music Review (Tamil): Nenjil Thunivirunthal
Music Composer: Imman

Yechacha Yechacha  starts with famous Muthu dialogue which has been added solely to justify the title but soon spiral towards typical Imman tune which usually composer reserve for himself but handed over to Jithin Raj in this track. The track has the busy arrangements in the background but nothing sticks out except for the enticing usage of trumpets in the second interlude amidst the gibberish sounds. The mild awkward imitation of rail sound aside, Rail Aaraaro is a neat listen dominated by guitar-laden arrangements and brilliant singing by Shreya Goshal along with current favorite Pradeep Kumar and the improvisations by the singer is phenomenal. Imman kept the interludes also engaging along with the brilliant show by the lead singers.

Imman roped Hariharan to croon the classical tinged track Aram Seyya Virumbu and it's always delight to listen Hariharan's singing. Though the tune lacks instant appeal, the sitar cues throughout the track and the lead singer makes this track enjoyable. Madhan Karky's trendy lyrics and equally fangled rendition by Aditya Rao and Sharanya Gopinath aside, Sophia has very little to offer. The interludes are hardly interesting one while Sharanya Gopinath's thunderous vocals and Karky's lyrics makes this song listenable till it lasts. Aei Arakka's middle Eastern rhythm structure has been heard umpteen number of times and Benny Dayal is able to infuse life to the song with his energetic vocals. The singer able to do justice for both the lyrics and busy orchestration by the composer. Dark Rooster has an intriguing atmospheric soundscape created around it and the theme should go well along with the visuals rather than as the standalone track. Badass Theme music fails to make an impact with the sonorous chant packed in less than one minute and the track has the shades of earlier Suseenthiran films. 

Verdict: Nenjil Thunivirundhal is the weakest album from the composer-director combination and it's high time that Imman should reinvent himself.

My Rating :6/10

Pick of the Album: Rail Aaraaro, Aram Seyya Virumbu

Music Review (Tamil): Meyaadha Maan

Music Review (Tamil): Meyaadha Maan
Music Composer: Santosh Narayanan and Pradeep Kumar

Thangachi song treads on the familiar Santosh Narayanan's sound cues and except for the brilliant bassline throughout the song, the track for most of the parts is a dreary listen. Anthony Daasan's limited vocal range brings down the song further. Apart from the surprising guitar strums and piano keys, the song has very less to offer. Pradeep Kumar composes the blissful Enna Naan Seiven and the soft rock laden track has irresistible Santosh Narayanan flavor to it. Composer employed brilliant guitar strums and the pause in the interlude before Kalyani Nair's humming gives reverberating effect. Pradeep sings the song also and the rendition is top notch as usual.

Santosh Narayanan comes with a quirky Address Song- S Madhu and the composer nails both the arrangements as well as the singing portion. Though the lyrics sound pedestrian, the amusing tone of the song gels well with the track. The minimalistic rhythm portions work to the song favor, however, composer tries hard for the intoxicating tone in the interludes. Area Gaana brings back to the Santosh Narayanan's debut film Attakathi and Ka Ka Bala sounds astoundingly similar to Gaana Bala. The tune fails to engage the listener and SaNa's template sounds to be overused and becomes wearisome listen.

Megamo Aval rides mainly on the soulful rendition of Pradeep Kumar and Ananthu while Santosh Narayanan weaves his magic in the arrangements with his serene piano and synth backdrop. The brilliantly tuned anupallavi and the classical flute in the interludes linger on the listener's mind even after the song ends. Santosh Narayanan brings back Dhee after Irudhi Suttru and hands her once again brilliant string dominated song Rathna Katti. The strings sections are an absolute delight to listen and the singer's idiosyncratic vocals able lift the appeal of the song. Though the song may not be an instant chartbuster, the brilliance in the arrangements deserves repeated listen. Pradeep Kumar ends the soundtrack with Nee Mattum Podhum where retro tune meets rock flavored arrangements. The funky arrangements are backed by lovely rendition by Sid Sriram and Thanks to Pradeep for using Sid's vocals for a different kind of tune. Dharshana KT supports the singer effectively.

Verdict: Santosh Narayanan and Pradeep Kumar deliver a classy set of melodies for Meyaadha Maan and the melodies work much better than Santosh Narayanan's quirky tracks.

My Rating: 8/10

Pick of the Album: Enna Naan Seiven, Rathna Katti, Address Song, Nee Mattum Podhum, Meghamo Aval

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

Music Review (Kannada): Dalapathi

Music Review (Kannada): Dalapathi
Music Composer: Charan Raj

Early morning starts off with the gibberish sounds and follows into typical Kannada high-octane song and it's very surprising that this song is composed by Charan Raj. The only highlight being the brief Nadhaswaram sound and the tune is easily cakewalk for Vijay Prakash. The soundtrack turns slightly better with Gunu Gunuva backed by lovely Nelson's violins in the background and Guitar strums. Sindhuri Vishal steals the show with her terse husky vocals towards the end. Wah Re Wah with its Islamic style music in the background is adequately engaging mainly due to splendid rendition by Vijay Prakash and the classical guitar in the interlude is the brilliant touch from the composer. Yaarige Beku Ee Preethi is a short track sounds like an almost continuous melancholy version of Wah Re Wah mainly due to rhythm structure. The affecting violin is the highlight of this short track. Ishq Dishq is an another average techno sounds laden track which is hardly interesting despite all the pretentious arrangements. The title song starts off well with the folk prelude but soon treads on the familiar path but able to clasp the listeners due to Ananya Bhat's vocals and energetic background.

Verdict: After inventive tracks in GBSM and Pushpaka Vimana, Charan settles down to commercial soundtrack with mixed results.

My Rating:7/10

Pick of the Album: Wah Re Wah, Gunu Gunuva

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

Music Review (Tamil): Spyder

Music Review (Tamil): Spyder
Music Composer: Harris Jayaraj

Boom Boom's tune is a usual Harris Jayaraj material, but the mild Eastern flavoured background and the alluring sounds throughout the songs with Keba Jeremiah's racing guitar strums do wonders. Nikhita Gandhi owns this song with the right attitude and the song is an engaging listen despite treads on the familiarity zone and Karky's lyrics make it an interesting song till it lasts. Ciciliya Ciciliya is fairly good melody backed by guitar laden arrangements and Harris throws his gibberish sounds for the chorus. The percussion rhythms in the background gel well with the chorus while particularly loved the classical tinged brief moment by Sakthishree which is accompanied by mild classical flute by Jayanth. Overall, a lovely melody which is sung well by Haricharan and Sakthishree.

Aali Aali falls into the predictable groove and the tune sounds to be outdated while Brijesh Tripati Sandilya, Harini and Jogi Sunitha pump up the energy to this song. Harris channels his Andangakka sounds in the charanam portions effectively. However, the song is an engaging one, thanks to the lovely Manoj's solo violin and Seenu's Mridangam in the second interlude. Otrai Iravukai's absurd rhyming lyrics and fangled rendition by Pravin Saivi and Christopher Stanley aside, the track is a decent one from Harris and Sathya Prakash owns the second half with his semi-classical second half. Though the switch to classical stuff sounds discordant, Harris makes up with neat arrangements throughout the song. Spyder On Mission sticks to the composer's latest penchant for Techno sounds and the short track is adequate background material and fails to make an impact as a standalone theme.

Verdict: Harris Jayaraj's dependable sounds throughout the soundtrack and the tracks are engaging one despite borders on the familiarity.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Ciciliya Ciciliya, Boom Boom, Aali Aali

Music Review (Tamil): Sathya

Music Review (Tamil): Sathya
Music Composer: Simon K King

Kadhal Project's main drawback is the tune treading on the familiar territory as well as quite an uninspiring tune despite being an energetic one and sung sprightly by Benny Dayal. However, composer made the other elements in the song interesting with Keerthana Vaidyanath's classical tinges and splendid drums and solo violin by Vasanth David and Akshay Ganesh respectively. Yavvana is the brilliant stuff from te composer, semi-classical melody builds upon the rock base with brilliant Kalyani Nair showcasing her prowess while surprisingly Yazin Nizar sounds off track in the pallavi portions. Composer's stupendous arrangements with Vasanth David's drums and Vikram's Tabla make this one song of the soundtrack.

Sangu is the generic high octane rock track and the tune hardly turns into an interesting zone while the inclusion of Kuthu in the grungy rock track doesn't help the song much either. Godfrey Immanuel's guitar work being the solo highlight in this track. The song's area version has the same arrangements with Karky's lyrics replaced by Rokesh but that doesn't make the track better one. Yavvana's reprise version gains a lot from the beautiful semi classical melody and the minimal arrangements add charm to its allure. The melancholic version of the same tune works exceptionally mainy for the Keerthana Vaidyanathan's earnest vocals and decent support by Yazin Nizar. Srivatsa's woodwinds set the mood of the song perfectly in the interludes Simon King ends the soundtrack with the brilliant In search of Satya theme and the santoor touches are the absolute highlight apart from the curious mood set by the string sections. Overall fitting theme track for the crime thriller.

Verdict: Simon K  King's third album is the most promising work from the composer with ample support from the lead singers.

My Rating:7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Yavvana, In search for Sathya, Kadhal Project

Music Review (Tamil): Thiruttu Payale 2

Music Review (Tamil): Thiruttu Payale 2
Music Composer: Vidyasagar

Nee Paarkum works beautifully with the breezy guitar laden backgrounds and Sathyaprakash doing wonders with his vocals. Vidyasagar's laid back melody is adequately engaging and the tune in the Charanam portions are a delight to listen especially the tune set with the single words accompanied by the singer's improvisations.Thiruttu Payale's sequel has much better title track when compared to the retro track in its first part. Vidyasagar's employed brilliant lazy Jazz arrangements dominated by drums and sax in the arrangements and the only grouse is the pedestrian lyrics which doesn't gel with all the flamboyant backgrounds.

Achukku Buchukku is another poorly written song where Sanjana Kalmanje's vocals being the only highlight and the tune also stays in the average range. The song gets better toward the second half but cringe-worthy lyrics makes the listener to easily press the skip button. Vidyasagar comes to his forte in the final song of the soundtrack Neenda Naal and the track ticks off every element one can associate with the composer. The semi-classical tinged melody, Karthik and Swetha Mohan's splendid vocals and brilliant Manonmani's Sarangi solos make this one easily the best song in the soundtrack.

Verdict: Vidyasagar's quality melodies continue to work effectually for this sequel and it's baffling that this composer is less in action nowadays.

My Rating:7.5/10

Pick of the Album: Neenda Naal,  Nee Paarkum

P.S you can listen to the songs in Thiruttu Payale 2