Music Review (Tamil): Chekka Chivantha Vaanam
Music Composer: AR Rahman
Bhoomi's screeching guitar strums and Sakthishree Gopalan's alluring vocals carry the listeners to the world of ecstasy. Rahman weaves the unconventional tune around the Vairamuthu's beautiful verses while Shakthishree brings life to the words and especially the rendition of Idhayam Thaangumo stanza is pitch-perfect. Mazhai Kuruvi's tune is the easy throwback to good old Rahman days and he packed the tune with the ebullient arrangements and one wish that he could have roped some other singer rather than singing by himself. The singing sounds to be off key in high pitch verses, however, the lovable tune and the buoyant soundscape makes this one an easy earworm. The charanam easily reminds me of the Nendhukittaen from Star. Sevandhu Pochu Nenju has an instantly catchy hook and the track starts with the grim prelude while Rahman ups the ante with the Ada Naana Ada Naana verses by Sunitha Sarathy while Arjun Chandy and Sathyaprakash backs her effectively. The rousing techno sounds towards the end sounds to be an odd fit in the overall tune. Nee Kalla Kalavani's arrangements sound more like Kaara Aaattakaara while the unconventional meandering tune fails to clasp the listener, but the sound mixing is top notch especially with the Lady Kash's brilliant high pitch singing. Rahman's exotic sounding Hayati is astoundingly hypnotic especially with Mayssa Karaa's singing backed by explosive Shivang Vaishnav rap portions. The best of the lot is undeniably Madhura Marikozhundhae and it's a delight to listen to Anuradha Sriram's vocals and Rahman's minimal arrangements and the chant-like rendition by the lead singers Aparna Narayanan, Shwetha Mohan makes this one a mesmerising listening experience and one wishes that song could have been longer. Karthik is spectacular in calming Jazzy track Praaptham and the intense rendition with intermittent explosive burst make this one an enjoyable listen in the album.
Verdict: The soundtrack doesn't match up to the bar set by the combo but the tracks are immensely enjoyable for the brilliant unconventional free flowing tunes and sound mixing.
My Rating: 8.5/10
Pick of the Album: Madhura Marikozhundhae, Bhoomi, Mazhai Kuruvi
P.S You can listen to the album in Saavn. Totally hate the trend of single release and hopefully, Rahman's Sarkar will get the release as a complete album.
Music Review (Tamil): Raatchasan
Music Composer: Ghibran
Ghibran churns out a winsome melody in Kaadhal Kadal Dhana and wonderfully weaved the melody in the backdrop of intriguing sounds especially in the Charanam portions. Ghibran beautifully mixed the sarangi synth sound effectively throughout the song while Sathyaprakash and Chaitra Ambadipudi's pitch-perfect rendition easily makes this one an enjoyable song with Umadevi's fine verses. Kannamma Kanvizhi's mood is set by the intense prelude and followed by Sean Roldan's reverberating vocals while Balaji's violin solos accentuate the melancholy effectively. Ghibran's brilliant arrangement kicks in the charanam portions with the consistent mix of strings and flute in the background.Ey Piriyame Piriyame's unconventional tune takes time to sink in, but the song turns out to be best in the short soundtrack after a few listen. The track starts with the buoyant guitar strums which pave way for the Pragathi Guruprasad's mesmerising vocals and Rathnakumar enters with the catchy hook Pera Solli. Maayangal Naanaada's funky rock base on the conventional pop tune is sufficiently engaging and the song sounds low key for the investigative thriller theme song. However, the tune work like a charm with ample support from the singers Yazin Nizar, Shabir and Ranjith.
Verdict: Ghibran continues his prolific output irrespective of the scope of music in the film and in Raatchasan also, the young composer impresses with the two melodies.
My Rating:7.5/10
Pick of the Album: Ey Piriyame Piriyame, Kaadhal Kadal Dhaana
P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.
Music Review (Tamil): Sandakozhi 2
Music Composer: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Kambathu Ponnu is adequately enjoyable thanks to Yuvan's right mix of techno rhythms and folk sounds intermittently thrown throughout the song. Yuvan's off-key singing continues to be the troublesome one his diction in Pallavi, However, the track is saved by the easily listenable tune which is engaging till it last while Yekadasi kept his lyrics simple and stays true to the roots. Meesai Vacha Vetaikkaaran is a typical temple festival celebratory song where the song has all the indispensable elements one can expect in the songs of this genre. Though the tune confines to its zone, Yuvan's thundering percussion sounds in the charanam and highly effective chorus works like charm. The genre is the cakewalk for Mahalingam and he aces the singing part effortlessly.
Alaala's tried and tested rhythm pattern and the mood is accentuated further by the sweeping strings section and the only part that works to the song's favour is the neatly done interludes especially which gives the haunting impression to the song. Kailash Kher still sounds exotic despite singing the considerable number of regional songs.Sooriyanum Sooriyanum is another celebratory festive folk song which starts with the extended prelude and the arrangements works effectively despite the short duration of the song.Sengarattan Paraiyula is the dance number where Yuvan mixes the right dose of techno sounds and folk flavour but unfortunately, the tune is hardly catchy while Ramani Ammal imbues life to the tune with her rustic vocals with adequate support from Senthil das.Yuvan Shankar Raja ends the soundtrack with the rustic instrumental track and theme may reach well along with the visuals than as a standalone track.
Verdict: Yuvan's Sandakkozhi 2 album sounds too casual despite trying to stick to the soundscape of prequel and the soundtrack is a blip in an otherwise impressive year for the composer.
My Rating:6.5/10
Pick of the Album: Kambathu Ponnu, Sooriyanum Sooriyanum
P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.
Music Review (Tamil): Vada Chennai
Music Composer: Santosh Narayanan
Sandanatha is the high octane raucous kuthu comes off lively by Ka Ka Balachander and Gaana Bala's vocals. Though the tune treads along in the well-known path, the real fun lies in the Martin Vijay's Trumpets and Trombones. From the prelude, expected that the song will be dark haunting track, but turns out to be celebratory track totally owned by Santosh Narayanan's arrangements. Goindhammavaala is a wacky track in lines with Santosh Narayanan tracks and he employed the chorus brilliantly. Though, Rokesh's lyrics sound to be oddly fitted to the tune, the playful Jazzy tinged piano by the composer himself and Ganapathy's Kanjira while the casual tune is a cakewalk for Dhanush. The stunner of the soundtrack is undeniably Kaarkuzhal Kadavaiye with huge backing by Vishnu Vijay's flute which gives a mild nod to Bombay's Poovukkena Poottu. The wonderful line of singers Sriram Parthasarathy, Vijay Narein, Ananthu, Pradeep Kumar and Santosh Narayanan did a fantastic job with respect to vocals. It's great to see the Indian flute Phrase idea by Sean Roldan in the 1st BGM. The interludes are brilliantly concocted with the classical sargams and flute tabla background while mixing underplayed techno sounds in the Charanam.
Maadilla Nikkira Maanukutty throws us back to Enda Maapla from Cuckoo, lovely gaana Jazz where Telfie's guitar stands out. The catchy anupallavi and Gaana Bala's singing makes one groove to the catchy tune while Dhee joins him towards the end to give the fantastic finishing touch. Sid Sriram collaborates with Santosh Narayanan after Server Sundaram for Ennadi Maayavi Nee and the composer gives a much better-tuned song to the singer who aces the rendition as usual. However, the star of the track is undeniably string section by F.A.M.E's Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra while Sid Sriram's improvisations are the delight to listen. Eppadiyamma is a traditional North Madras melancholy Gaana tuned by Shenoy Nagar Shanmugam which may work well along with the movie. Mathiya Seraiyila is another track on the same lines with completely filled with live sounds. Alangaara Pandhal is where Vettrimaran brings back North Madras native singers to tune the song and the track sticks true to the genre. King of the Sea and Vada Chennai Theme are grand resonating theme tracks with Ananthu's vocals and the grandeur is emphasized effectively with the help of F.A.M.E's Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra. Especially, the hauntyVada Chennai Theme track is the highly effective piece for the gangster flick. The dark track turns into a mellower tune in the middle before finishing off with the grungy vocals of Ananthu.
Verdict: Vetrimaaran's association with Santosh Narayanan replacing GV Prakash turns out to be a splendid combo and the composer churns out the supremely engaging soundtrack for the gangsta flick. Santosh Narayanan is on a roll this year.
My Rating: 8.5/10
Pick of the Album: Kaarkuzhal Kadavaiye, Maadila Nikkira Maankutty, Goindhammavaala, Vada Chennai Theme
P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.
Music Review (Hindi): Manmarziyaan
Music Composer: Amit Trivedi
Amit Trivedi brings back his Udta Punjab vibes in Manmarziyaan where traditional Punjabi sounds mixed modern techno sounds which are sprinkled all throughout this 1 hour long soundtrack. F for Fyaar sung by one of the movie's lead Vicky Kaushal and the modern Punjabi track is incomplete without the rap and it's fulfilled by Sikander Kahlon. Though the rap portions are the pedestrian affair, Amit Trivedi's synth sounds on the background of groovy tune gives the album a good start. Amit Trivedi brings out his best in Daryaa, which starts with the soothing prelude and the flute portions are heavenly. The tracks turn into an anthemic soft rock with oh-oh chorus reaching crescendo gives way to the splendid first interlude. The brilliant song ends with the 1 minute long flute version of the Pallavi. However the song's unplugged version by Deveshi Sahgal pales in comparison with Shahid Mallya's vocals. Though, Amit did a brilliant work with respect to the guitar-laden arrangements especially the lovely first interlude.
Composer churned out another winner, this time with the duet melody, Grey Waala Shade crooned by delightful Harshdeep Kaur and Jazim Sharma. The simple melody and the catchy hook by Ishq nazariya and Shelle's lyrics about the new age love makes this one an instant chartbuster in the album. Dhyaan Chaand is another funky Punjabi dance track where the free-flowing lyrics of Shellee along with Amit Trivedi's likable tune makes this one a listenable track till it lasts. Harshdeep Kaur and Jazim Sharma joins hands again for another beautiful folk melody and the Esraj bits are vintage Amit Trivedi which makes me to replay some of the composer's hits from Kai Po Che and Guddu Rangeela. The way Harshdeep sings Naache is lovable and makes me to hit the replay button. Sheele lyrics about the feeling of love where he makes everyone do a dance of love from Alexander to cities of Jalandhar and Amritsar. Amit Trivedi brings in Jyoti Nooran and gives her the dark melancholy Hallaa with the tinge of Sufi touch in the tune while completely the background is revamped with the punchy synth sounds. Jyoti Nooran aces the singing as usual where Shelle brings out the complex emotions of love vividly with the hard-hitting lyrics.
Sachhi Mohabbat takes me instantly to Composer's Sooiyaan, the tender folksy tune and the esraj combination which Amit aces it like a pro. The Shehnai in the first interlude accompanied by Jonita Gandhi's vocals makes this one another instant chartbuster in the album. Jaisi Teri Warzi starts off with the heartfelt rendition by Harshdeep Kaur backed by minimal arrangements and turns into the punchy Punjabi background with the entry of Bhanu Pratap Singh. However, the melody along with the singer's rendition makes this one works. Bijlee Giregi is a headbanging trance which brings out the female leads fiery character and I wish that the song could have been crooned by some female singer instead of band of male singers.
Kundali is much more enthralling despite with the trance background and the amusing factor is mostly due to Shelle's superb lyrics and the tinge of retro sounds sprinkled generously. Jala di is the usual Punjabi track with techno twist but the song hardly works because of the jaded tune and the arrangements. Fyaar Pe Duniya also falls on the same category as Jala di despite Alamgir Khan's superlative singing. Amit Trivedi ends the soundtrack with the short enriching trance track Sherni and the haunting background works like charm.
Verdict: Anurag Kashyap brings out Amit Trivedi from slump and extract the best work from the talented composer and the 14 track album broadly traces out the best of Amit Trivedi from the manic Udta Punjab to soulful Kai Po che.
My Rating: 9/10
Pick of the Album: Grey Waala Shade, Chonch Ladhiyaan, Daryaa, Sachhi Mohabbat, Halla
P.S You can listen to the songs in Youtube.
Music Review (Tamil): Pariyerum Perumal
Music Composer: Santosh Narayanan
Karuppi, the dark as well as kind of disturbing video which was released as a single earlier is an engaging listen especially for its simple and hard-hitting lyrics by Vivek and Mari Selvaraj. The tune treads along the familiar Santosh Narayan territory, the blues-rock which reminds of the composer's Veera Thurandhara from Kabali. The vocals of Santosh Narayanan also gels well with the tone of the song and especially the intermittent female vocals. Vanakkam Vanakkamunga stays true to the genre, raw folk tune which may work well with the visuals than as a standalone soundtrack. It's always a delight to listen Santosh Narayanan's guitar-laden track and Potta Kaattil is an absolute gem from the composer. The falsetto voice in the prelude and the consistently buoyant guitar work by Naveen and Telfie makes this one a ravishing listen. Yogi Sekar of Elanda Pazham fame from Aandavan Kattalai and Fareedha with ample support Ananthu and Vijay Narein's acapella bits makes this one an engaging listen. The sargams and the guitar riffs towards the end is a fascinating touch from the composer. Engum Pugazh Thuvanga is another folk song sung effectually by folk Marley Anthony Daasan and Kallur Mariyappan and akin to Vanakkam Vanakkamunga, this also may work well in the movie. Vaa Rayil Vidapolama is another effective composition sung brilliantly by Super Star singer fame Prithika and piano by Santosh Narayanan comes off as a second vocal. The lyrics by Vivek are once again simple and hard hitting while Santosh builds up the arrangements in the background especially in the interludes. Santosh Narayanan ends the soundtrack with the foot tapping angsty Naan Yaar and the pop soundscape especially with the synths and ooh ooh chorus sections works to its favour despite the off-key singing by Santosh Narayanan in some places.
Verdict: After Kaala, Santosh Narayanan churned out another winner in 2018 and the composer's trademark tune works much better than the folk tracks.
My Rating: 8/10
Pick of the album: Potta kaatil Poovasam, Vaa Rayil vida Polama, Karuppi
P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn
Music Review (Tamil): Adangathey
Music Composer: GV Prakash Kumar
Composers continue to utilize Arunraja Kamaraj's vocals in a single dimension and Adangathey's title track also strictly follows the tried and tested route. The tune is more like conversational and the jarring vocals of the Arunraja don't help either and Arunraj as a lyricist tries to score points with the Tamil's jingoism.Yaaradi Neril Thondrum's sprawling string sections along with Sathyaprakash's rendition works like charm and one can easily mistake him as GV Prakash if not for the credit list along with the track. Though the tune reminds of GV Prakash's earlier compositions, the soothing melody along with the teasing string solos especially in the interludes make this one an enjoyable track.
Om Shiva Om is strictly background song and the track may work well along with the visuals. GV Prakash kept the arrangements taut and raw especially with the edakka sounds and Vijay Prakash's rustic vocal which resonates similar to ritual chants. The undeniable highlight of this track is a racy sitar solo towards the end.Sindhuri Vishal handles the gorgeous semi- classical Nee indri Naana very well while GV Prakash adorns the track with the gentle Tabla rhythm in the background while mellow strings blend beautifully with the nisa nisa hook. The track turns into much engaging one with the Veena and violin interplay amps up the tune very well.
GV Prakash delivered his best song in the soundtrack to visually challenged Jyothi and the soulful tune is elevated by the singer's powerful vocals. The serene tune is complemented by the wonderful arrangements topped by guitar played with the Carnatic twist in the interludes. Siva Ganga's optimistic lyrics gets recited by the suitable singer makes this one immensely enjoyable even though song lasts for two minutes.Composer makes up for the short Nilavin Niramum Vannam with another blissful two minutes version of the same tune with different lyrics and arrangements. Santosh also croons the song effectually and the inherent beauty of the tune makes one to instantly fall in love with the song. The minimal arrangements with the alluring flute solos in the interlude make this one an instant winner.GV Prakash scores the curiously titled instrumental Celebration of love failure and the song is indeed sounds festive but the track is pretty much pedestrian track which reminds us of the composer's earlier compositions.
Verdict: GV Prakash brings back his mojo as a composer after a long time and the melody tracks in Adangathey comes together beautifully.
My Rating: 7.75/10
Pick of the Album: Nilavin Niramum Vannam/Nilathil Nadakkum, Nee Indri Naana, Yaaradi
P.S You can listen to the songs in Youtube.
Music Review (Tamil): 96
Music Composer: Govind Vasantha
Anthaathi starts as a breezy note and soon turns into the heady rock mix towards the charanam portions while building up the tranquillizing rhythms in the backdrop of Bhadra Rajin's blissful Carnatic Panjavarna Bootham portions. Loved the manner Govind brought in Kaadhale Kaadhale hook towards the end of the song before C Prem Kumar's poem recital begins. Karthik Netha's lyrics about the immortality of love adds another beautiful layer to the song especially with the exquisitely carved out words like prathyega Kaadhal and ithyadhi Kaadhal.
The Life of Ram's guitar-laden soundscape and the brilliant bass line is a delight to listen. Pradeep Kumar brilliantly evocates missed out love and once can easily picture Vijay Sethupathi's feelings after meeting his love after a long time. Karthik Netha scores easily with the brilliant lyrics depicting the delayed realisation of love. Govind brings out his best with the violin solos in the interludes. Gowri TP of super singer fame croons the minimally arranged effective haunting short piece Yean and the lead singer along with the strings sections lingers in the listener's mind even after the song ends. The minimal keys and the rousing high pitch portions make this one compelling listen. The minute-long extended prelude where Naveen's nifty bass line and guitar strums pave way for the Chinmayi's splendid rendition of Vasantha Kaalangal. The serene minimal soundscape turns out to be the astounding success for the track and the unconventional tune which Chinmayi aces like a pro.
In Thaabangale also Mithun Raj's guitar work is the show stopper especially don't miss out the guitar played with the Carnatic twist in the first interlude while Uma Devi's wonderful lyrics interplayed between Chinmayi and Pradeep Kumar in an exceptional manner. The charanam portion instantly takes me back to Kabali's Vaanam Paarthen another song depicting the searching and longing for love coincidentally crooned by unimitable Pradeep Kumar. If Mithun Raj owns the Vasantha Kaalangal and Thaabangale, then Rajesh Vaidya owns the Iravingu Theevai while Govind's Jazz tinged background which reaches crescendo towards the end along with Pradeep Kumar vocals. The pièce de résistance of the soundtrack comes in two versions of Kadhale Kadhale, the atmospheric sounds teleport the listeners in the midst of the forest with Govind's violin to show us the way among the blissful natural soundscape. Kalani Menon's punchy vocals bring out another dimension to this soulful track of the album.
Verdict: 96 is a musical masterpiece by Govind Vasantha of Thaikkudam bridge fame and the composer brings out the beautiful uncoventional tunes with the help of two exceptional singers crooning the beautiful lyrics by Uma devi and Karthik Netha.
My Rating: 9/10
Pick of the Album: Whole Soundtrack!!
P.S You can listen to the soundtrack in Saavn.
Music Review (Tamil): Kanaa
Music Composer: Dhibu Ninan Thomas
Sivakarthikeyan's daughter Aaradhana debut as a singer along with him in Vaayadi Petha Pulla and he sounds surprisingly brilliant. The highlight of the song is undeniably Vaikom Vijayalakshmi's singing and the singer aces especially the improvisations in the charanam portions while Vishnu Vijay's flute plays along as another singer throughout the song.Dhibu Ninan Thomas churned out a winner in Oonjala Oonjala with the anthemic hard rock soundscape mixed with the semi classical twist to the tune. Sid Sriram displayed his prowess especially with the improvisations and the singer aces the high pitch portions effortlessly as usual while Niranjana Ramanan lends a fabulous support with her brilliant sargams interplayed smoothly along with Sid's vocals.
Kanna En Kannazhage's serene tune and the atmospheric sound created by the composer makes it a worthy listen. The tune prods along the Santosh Narayanan territory and though the tune is less effective, the arrangements by the composer are top notch. Saroja's Dilruba and the underplayed Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra's string section is a delight to listen.Othayadi Paathayila's tune doesn't come across as an instant catchy one despite backed by Anirudh Ravichander. However, the anu Pallavi portions and Vishnu Vijay's flute especially towards the end along with Pandit S Ballesh's Shenai's portions make this song to sail through.Savaal is another alluringly done package especially the composer provides the gloomy soundscape to the song with the haunting rhythm and Ganapathi excellent Kanjira and Edakka mix. Though Arunraja Kamaraj's rap portions are middling one, composer scores in the vocal parts especially the improvisations and the catchy Savaal hook.
Verdict: Dhibu Ninan Thomas ups his ante in his sophomore album with the excellent mix of songs where the composer's arrangements are top notch throughout the album.
My Rating: 7.5/10
Pick of the Album: Oonjala Oonjala, Kanne En Kannazhage, Savaal
P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.
Music Review (Tamil): 60 Vayadhu Maaniram
Music Composer: Ilayaraja
Iraivanai Thedi is essentially Raja song where the haunting strings in the arrangements and Ilayaraja's vocals works effortlessly mainly because of the beautiful tune accompanied by wonderful interludes. In Thedi Thedi, Raja once again weilds his magic with the synth dominated arrangements while Vibhavari debuts in Tamil after brilliant two songs for Ilayaraja in the Telugu album Abbayitho Ammayi and she aces the tune effectually. The interludes are vintage Raja sounds which soothes the listeners. Naalum Naalum is the album's weakest one where Monali Thakur's questionable diction distracts the listener despite the buoyant soundscape given by Raja with the chorus and guitar strums.
Verdict: Ilayaraja's music for 60 Vayadhu Maaniram works sufficiently but Charan Raj's Kannada version of the album sounds much better.
My Rating:7.5/10
Pick of the Album: IraivanaiThedi, Thedi Thedi.
P.S You can listen to the songs in Youtube.
Music Review (Telugu): Shailaja Reddy Alludu
Music Composer: Gopi Sundar
Anu baby is a passable song where Krishna Kanth's lyrics sound to be misfit one for the tune especially 'Anu bomb', Magishasura marthini hook. However, Gopi Sundar keeps the song afloat with huge support from Suresh Parameshwar's guitar work. Gopi Sundar reuses his Koyikode tribute to the title song with more punchy Sathyavathi (Mangli) vocals and the buoyant tune is an easy winner. Gopi Sundar adorned the song with an engaging foot-tapping arrangements. In Egiregire, Sid Sriram's vocals continuous to be out of place especially his diction and the tune is not Inkem Inkem Kaavale to overcome these minor grouses in the lead singer's vocals. However, Gopi turns the arrangements into an awesome one with the atmospheric breezy flavour accentuated by Josy Alapy's flute solos which instantly makes the listener also to fly along with lyrics. Pelli Pandhiri is another easy winner from Gopi and the composer beautifully segues the title song musical cues in the prelude and interludes and also in Charanam portions. The traditional Chenda rhythm and Vijay Yesudas's brilliant vocals work to its song's favour. Thanu Vethukini is a listenable melody in Satya Yamini's vocals and despite the pleasant tune, composer's arrangements with flute and Francis Xavier's violin solo in the second interludes steals the show. Gold Rangu Pilla (surprisingly released only in Saavn) is a typical Telugu commercial movie friendly mass track which doesn't work as a standalone track.
Verdict: Maruthi Dasari's reunion with Gopi Sundar in Shailaja Reddy Alludu is rewarding enough, although the tracks didn't reach the Bhale Bhale Magadivoy's high.
My Rating: 8/10
Pick of the Album: Shailaja Reddy Alludu, Pelli Pandhiri, Egiregire
P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn
Music Review (Tamil): Aan Devathai
Music Composer: Ghibran
NigaraThan Nigara is easily identifiable as Ghibran's musical with the wonderful layering in the arrangements and the haunting ode to fatherhood makes this one an instantly lovable song. The sprawling interludes with wonderful Subramanium's veenai solos along with Vineeth Srinivasan's brilliant rendition easily come as the best song in the soundtrack. In Malarin Narumananm, Ghibran plays along with his well known Muslim song rhythm and though the tune has the very familiar vibe, the track is a soothing listen from the composer. Riyaz, Yazin Nizar and Aravind Srinivas excel in crooning the Kaviko Abdul Rahman's verses about communal harmony. Ghibran easily churned out another winner in Pesugindren Pesugindren and once again the composer steals the show with his stunning arrangements. The mild techno rhythms tags along with Balaji's soulful violin bits in the interludes. On top of all the awesomeness in the track, Chaitra Ambadipudi debuts in her first Tamil track and she aces the rendition as always. The only track which sounds like a misplaced one in the album is Rottu Kadai Party where Ghibran tries his luck with kuthu but the track is hardly an engaging one despite the adequate vocals by Gold Devaraj and Jacqueline Mary. Ghibran ends the soundtrack with the soulful theme track where Balaji's violin evocates the emotions perfectly and the niche touch in the ending makes one hit the repeat button.
Verdict: Aan Devathai is another short soundtrack from Ghibran but the composer continues to showcase his brilliance and churns out another winner irrespective of the scope for the music in the movie.
My Rating: 8/10
Pick of the Album: Nigara Than Nigara, Pesugindren Pesugindren, Theme track
P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn
Music Review (Tamil): Seemaraja
Music Composer: Imman
Vaaren Vaaren Seemaraja is Imman's trademark regular high octane folk song with loud percussions as the rhythm drives the song and mass-friendly lyrics thrown to give Sivakarthikeyan huge opening number. The tune wise, the track is the strictly perfunctory number which Imman repeating tirelessly while Diwakar's lively singing matches the song's tone.OnnaVitta Yaarum Yenakilla duet comes in two versions crooned by Sathyaprakash and Sean Roldan while Imman retains Shreya in both. The tune and rhythm flash Imman name from start till end, however, the the breezy melody works well despite the familiarity. The undeniable highlight apart from the singers in perfect form is Punya Srinivas's violin solos competing with konnokol chants in the second interlude.
A Late night Walk with Veena takes me instantly to Kumki's Lady and the violin. OnnaVitta Yaarum Yenakilla's instrumental veena version works much better than the vocals version and it is a great delight to listen to Punya Srinivas dazzling show.Varum Aana Varaathu joins into the list of Imman's another slightly tweaked version of his own songs with average lyrics. The charanam portions work well more than the bland Pallavi portions and also Imman spruces up the proceedings with the interesting arrangements dominated by brass sections and oboe in the interludes and the only grouse is being just Vandana Srinivasan relegated to a minor bit.Paraak Paraak sarts with the grand magnificent orchestration and soon treads into Imman's percussion show. Imman introduced the Vijay TV Super Singer title winner Senthil Ganesh to the mainstream music. The tune is typical Imman's and the track has very little to offer with respect to novelty or catchiness factor.Machakanni's elegant melody works great and Imman's arrangements are top notch especially with the classical touch in the interludes. Though the tabla rhythm is the tried and tested one, Imman's beautiful tune and the arrangements come together as a neat listenable song.Imman ends the soundtrack with the Seemaraja swag which is mass friendly and may work well with the visuals rather than as a song in the soundtrack.
Verdict: Imman stays safe by playing to the gallery, the tried and tested tunes by Imman works sufficiently and serves the purpose.
My Rating:7/10
Pick of the Album: A late night walk with Veena, Machakanni, Onnavitta Yaarum Enakilla
P>S you can liten to the songs in Saavn
