Music On loop (13/03/2021)

 Enjoy Enjaami (Tamil): Santosh Narayanan: Santosh Narayanan truly delivers to perfect Indie song where both the visuals and the exotic soundscape truly take the Indie bar a notch higher. Santosh Narayanan's highly effective rhythms get solid support from Dhee's stupendous vocals as well as Arivu's portions. Santosh Narayanan delivers Kanda Vara Sollunga earlier where the composer blends the earthy tune on the more global pedestal with respect to the soundscape and in Enjoy Enjaami also composer does the same brilliantly, the way the rustic Oppaari Anju Maram valathen blends to Dhee's vocals with Kadale, Karaye is perfect.

Khamaj Connection (Instrumental): Mahesh Raghvan ft Nandini Shankar: After Kapi dance, Mahesh Raghvan returns with another wonderful Classical fusion. The lovely interspersion of electronic sound and Violin is blissful to listen to. The duo enters the frenzied notes towards the end which is especially goosebumps-inducing and finishes the song in high. 

Koi Jaane Na (Hindi): Tanishk Bagchi: Har Funn Maula: Tanishk kept the tried and tested Middle Eastern sounds for Har Funn Maula and the song is adequately addictive enough in the vocals of Vishal Dadlani and Zara Khan. Though the tune lays flat, the rhythms and Vishal Dadlani salvages the song immensely.

Karnan (Tamil): Santosh Narayanan: Thattaan Thattaan: The wonderful earthy melody deserves a much better singer than Dhanush but he does adequately decent work. The tune reminds me of Ariyadha Vayasu from Paruthi Veeran in some places. Santosh Narayanan employed Sathish's flutes as well as Meenakshi Ilayaraja's vocals effectively.

Rung: Ali Sethi: Ali Sethi returns with the stupendous classical fusion and the song is unfortunately very short less than 3 minutes and one wishes that the composer could have made a full-fledged song nevertheless solid track from the composer.

P.S You can listen to the songs as a playlist on youtube.

Music On Loop (05/03/2021)

Mera Fauji Calling: Vijay Verma: Bheeni Bheeni Si, Aa Zindagi Tujhe Zara Sa: Vijay Verma easily delivers in this multi composer album backed by Sonu Nigam and Hariharan in Bheeni Bheeni Si and Aa Zindagi respectively. Bheeni Bheeni Si's lovely semiclassical melody most probably based on Subhapantuvarali works wonderfully where Naveen Kumar's flute complements Sonu's blissful rendition. The melody-wise Aa Zindagi fares a tad lower but it is always pleasant to listen to Hariharan's vocals and the singer enthuses this energetic song with his improvisations. 

Love, Life and Pakodi (Telugu): Pavan: La Nymphe Metropolitan Ee Payanam: Pavan's Love Life and Pakodi's music sync with the theme of the new-age film. The breezy guitar-laden soundtrack's best is definitely Ee Payanam and the track features nifty guitar riffs backed by Anurag Kulkarni's fantastic rendition. Though the tune structure has a familiar vibe, the arrangements by the composer are top notch especially with the kickass strings section in the background of Anurag's Sargam. Pavan collaborated with the Anglo-French singer Applonie and delivers a knockout exotic song with gentle guitar riffs while the singer takes care of the song with her mesmerizing rendition.

A (Telugu): Vijay Kurakula: Kalayika O Maya, Epudeppudo Badulepudo: Another new composer who impresses this week in Telugu with the listenable set of songs is Vijay Kurakula and the composer blends in wonderfully the classical elements to the songs. Kalayika O Maya's serene tune crooned by Deepu and Pavani is gentle to ears while Thiyagaraja steals the show with a few great violin solos. Deepu shines in another solo Epudeppudo Badulepudo and the dark tone of the track backed by equally gloomy stellar arrangements work magically and thanks to Srinivas's flute sections.

Sita On the Road (Telugu): Praneeth Yaron: Madhuram Madhuram, Urumunai Ne Mervana: Praneeth Yaron directs as well as composes music for this film and the album features a whopping 10 songs. The composer shows promise with a couple of tracks and another fantastic thing is most of the songs are crooned by female singers. Madhuram Madhuram works perfectly for its classical elements except for the mishmash of English verses intermittently. The track largely benefits from Harini Rao's stupendous rendition and Gautam Raj's violin solos. Urumunai Ne Mervana's meditative tune with intermittent flute bits by Raghava Sai turns into full rock towards the end.

Rang De (Telugu): DSP: Naa Kanulu Yepudu: The show stealer of this week also comes from Telugu from DSP who is in the stupendous form with Naa Kanulu Yepudu after Uppena. The melody is jaw-droppingly beautiful and Sid Sriram's singing makes it even better. The tune is backed by wonderful Ilayarajaesque arrangements with flutes and string sections while the tongue twister Guppedu Gundekka Pandaga evela works magically.

Aishwarya Murugan (Tamil): Ganesh Raghavendra: Ammammamma: This track largely benefits from the beauty of Hamsanandhaam while one can easily mistake this as Imman's composition accentuated by Yugabharathi's lyrics. Abhay Jodhpurkar effortlessly nails the rendition.

Theeni (Tamil): Rajesh Murugesan: Naan Kettaen: Naan Kettaen is completely Vijay Yesudas show with his baritone vocals while Rajesh kept the background arrangements lively. The tune features the lovely anu Pallavi and the wonderful classical touches in the interludes.

Vettai Naai (Tamil): Ganesh Chandrasekharan: Murukku Meesakaran: The lovely melody which gets better with the Charanam portions works largely because of Shakthishree's vocals and Manonmani's stellar Sarangi solos.

Love Story (Telugu): Pawan Ch: Saranga Dariya: The folk song's backstory is equally impressive as the tune. Sekhar Kammula's musical sense is a winsome one and going by the two songs of Love story, he will continue his magical touch irrespective of the composer involved. Pawan embellished the tune with the punchy arrangements aided by Mangli's rustic vocals.

P.S. You can listen to the tracks as a Youtube playlist here.

Weekly Earworm (10/01/2021)

 Sreekaram (Telugu): Mickey J Meyer: Sandalle Sandalle: Mickey J Meyer brings back his Happy days Mojo in Sandalle with respect to the tune and the folksy lyrics by Sanapati Bharadwaj Patrudu helps a lot. The alluring chorus along with Mohana Bhogaraju's rendition elevates the song from its familiar vibe.

Carvaan Lounge Tamil: Flute Navin: Kunguma Poove: Flute Navin's heady techno dance floor mix of iconic Kunguma Poove is undeniably catchy. Apart from the unnecessary processing in Chinmayi's vocals, the track is adequately engaging. Thanks to the Navin's flute solos and Chinmayi's playful rendition, the song does wonder. Though nothing much of similarity, the flute solos, Chinmayi, and the techno beats instantly takes me back to Ghibran's underrated Allari Pillagada song from Ungarala Rambabu.

Eeswaran (Tamil): Thaman: Velli Nillave: Velli Nillave is the only song that is refreshing in an otherwise largely tepid album that has Thaman's signature loud passable songs. ML Gayathri aces the rendition and Thaman aptly kept the arrangements minimal which accentuates the beauty of the song further.

Sashi (Telugu): Arun Chiluveru: Okey Oka Lokam: This track is a wonderful throwback to Rahman's early days, the rhythm sections, interludes screams Mozart's influence a lot. The tune is definitely engaging and Sid Sriram props up with his quintessential improvisations and the tune turns lovely especially with the ninna monna phrase in the charanam.

Yuvarathnaa (Kannada): Thaman: Neenaade Naa: Thaman's output in Telugu and Kannada seems to be marginally better because he moved away from his Signature sounds at least in Telugu considerably. This soft rock ballad benefits largely from the stupendous rendition by Shreya Goshal and Armaan Malik 

P.S The songs are available as playlists on youtube.

Music Review (Tamil): Maara

Music Review (Tamil): Maara
Music Composer: Ghibran

Maara, a remake of the Malayalam hit film Charlie and it is heartening to see Ghibran composing for the musical. Ghibran who gave soulful albums during the start of the career shifted to background score dominated movies and with Maara composer returned back to his stellar form. Though I miss the lovely sax prelude of Gopi Sundar's Pularikalo, Ghibran compensates with the 10 tracks for this album. 

Composer collaborated with Padmalatha in his earlier movies and gave few brilliant songs to her. In this soundtrack also, Ghibran gave one of the best songs (Theeranadhi) in the album to her, and Padmalatha aces the rendition as usual. One wishes that she gets to sing more often. The slight tinge of Muslim flavored tune and the layered arrangements especially lovely classical second interlude. Padmalatha aces the Charanam while Ghibran does his magic with the rhythm. Kaathirundhen sounds more like a conventional melancholy drowned with violin pieces in the arrangements. Srisha Vijayasekar who featured in Ghibran's spiritual series fares much better than Ananthu. But the tune doesn't quite hit off and stays low-key. Ghibran's first rap song Pagada crooned by Shabir and the track is adequately engaging. Thanks to the short two-minute length and also sprightly techno beat to gel well with Shabir's vocals. Deepthi Suresh's whispery vocals for Unnaithane works marvelously and one wishes that Ghibran could have made this a full-length song. Ghibran segues in Oh Azhage's chorus towards the end while Deepthi Suresh hits the crescendo with the title hook.

Ghibran's love for the Orchestral score is apparent in Maara & Paaru as well as in Search of Soul. In the former, the composer starts with the Yaar Azhaippadhu melody's key version associated with the strings and harmonies. Loved the way the melody is build up and reached the high with the strings sections. The keys provide the haunting tone to the track while strings go berserk behind the lovely harmonies. The search of soul is also bombarded with string sections but falls a tad lower than Maara and Paaru. Nevertheless worthy addition to the soundtrack.

The remaining three rich melodies released as a single earlier. The quintessential Sid Sriram in Tamil album, Yaar Azhaippadhu has an enticing tune and Thamarai's profound lyrics on the vagabond protagonist fits perfectly. Though Sid Sriram's diction irks at places, Ghibran's tune and arrangements make up for it. The tune hits its magic especially with the phrase 'Alaivaar avarellam Tholaivar phrase'. Oh Azhage also follows the lilting buoyant texture of the soundtrack especially with its punchy rhythm and ambient sounds. Benny Dayal is effortless with his high notes and the arrangements too easily lift up one's mood. Ghibran's spellbinding layered arrangements coupled with ambient sounds warrant a multiple listen definitely. The song's Hindi version O Ajooba sung by Yazin Nizar is equally good but anytime prefers Thamarai's lyrics than this one. Oru Arai Unadhu is a definite winner and the best song on the soundtrack. The enticing Celtic arrangements notwithstanding, Ghibran's prolific tune coupled with Thamarai's interesting wordplay makes this one a lovely listen. Loved the way the composer employed Yazin Nizar and Sanah Moidutty's vocals especially the interplay. Sanah Moidutty aces the second half with her improvisations.

Verdict: Maara is Ghibran's best in recent times and the composer impresses with the lush lilting soundscape throughout the soundtrack.

My Rating: 9/10

Pick of the Album: Oru Arai Unadhu, Theeranadhi, Oh Azhage, Yaar Azhaippadhu, Maara & Paaru

P.S You can listen to the full album on Spotify

Weekly Earworm (25/12/2020)

Carvaan Lounge: Dharan Kumar: Paadadha Paattellam: Dharan Kumar recreated the MSV's iconic Paadadha Paattellam wonderfully. In the original Janaki's vocals are restricted to humming whereas here the lyrics are slightly tweaked and Nithyashree is given equal verses. Dharan effectually used the chorus and the main highlight is the way Mandolin is employed. Sathya Prakash and Nithyashree ended the song with enjoyable sargams. 

Coke Studio 2020: Sanam Marvi: Anbhol: The serene Yaman never fails and Rohail Hyatt embellishes the soulful tune with the serene arrangements flavored with the rhythmic drums and wonderful guitar solos by Nenad Gajin. Sanam Marvi's vocals are definitely the pièce de résistance of the soundtrack.

Black Coffee (Malayalam): Bijibal: Poi Maranja: The tacky VFX work aside in Poi Maranja's video, Bijibal concocts sweet jazzy track on the delicious varieties of food. Jassie gift ably delivers the rendition backed by a simple earthy tune by Bijibal.

Krack (Telugu): Thaman S: Korameesam Polisoda: Korameesam Polisoda is a refreshing composition from Thaman especially when the arrangements are dominated by string sections instead of punchy rhythms. Thaman continues to show promise with the tunes these days and loved the tinge of folk in the melody especially with Ramjogayya Sastry's lyrics. Ramya Behara's stupendous rendition works effortlessly.

Merise Merise (Telugu): Karthik Kodakandla: Kanulatho Rachinchu, Ninne Nenila: Though both the songs have nothing extraordinary to offer, the tracks are hugely listenable especially because of the lead singers Vijay Prakash-Chinmayi and Anurag Kulkarni-Lipsika respectively. The former track features lovely violin solos by Sandilya while later gains immensely from the fun tune.

P.S The songs are available as a playlist on youtube

Weekly Earworm (13/12/2020)

Banarasiya (Hindi/Indipop): Sooraj Santosh: Sooraj Santosh is brilliant in blending the Hindustani melody with the techno sound rhythm and Bhanavani Prasad's Mohana Veena gives the gloomy touch to the track. Insanoid's rap portions are the only sore point in this track but Sooraj's stupendous rendition makes this one worthy listen.

Durgamati (Hindi): Malini Awasthi, Naman Adhikari, Abhinav Sharma: Heer: The track benefits largely from Malini Awasthi's punch vocals and the concoction of sounds in the background topped by Zeeshan Abbas's Sarangi. Though the techno sounds dominate in some portions, the track is nicely done overall by the composers. The track ends with a pulsating Sitar solo by Naveen Mishra.

Ghibran Spiritual Series : Ghibran: Kancha Dalaayatakshi: Muthuswami Dikshithar's Kamala Manohari based Kancha Dalaayatakshi is an inherently beautiful tune and Spoorthi Rao excels in renditioning it impeccably with her punchy vocals. One wishes that Ghibran utilizes her vocals in any of his albums. Ghibran kept the arrangements simple dominated by percussion rhythms and string sections towards the end.

Kabadadaari (Tamil): Simon K King: Hayakki Baby: Kabadadaari's Kannada version is composed by Charan Raj and Hayakki baby should be equivalent of Jazzy Khaali Khaali Aniso. Simon King switched to Middle Eastern sound and the tracks work wonderfully especially with Sanah Moidutty's vocals despite the patchy rap portions by Krishan Maheson. Watch out for the pleasant oud solo by Xenai.

Coke Studio 2020: Yaqeen by Wajiha Naqvi: Yaqeen is a beautifully done meditative piece especially the taranas for the initial one minute. The lovely interplay between Wajiha and the chorus along with the rock rhythm comes together magically results in the addictive track from Coe studio.

Seethayana (Kannada): Padmanabh Bharadwaj: Sanje Gagana: Sanje Gagana works mainly because of the phenomenal singing by Swetha Mohan while Bharadwaj's semi-classical tune props up the song effectually. The tune turns much better with the tongue-twisting charanam portions and fabulous violin solos in the interludes.

Maara (Tamil): Ghibran: Oh Azhage: Ghibran's Maara sounds more like a composer returning to his form after a long slumber and the three tracks have a lilting feel with the soundscape. Oh Azhage with its punchy rhythm and the ambient sounds while Benny Dayal easily hits his high musical notes which works to the song's favor. Thamarai is in her stellar form throughout the soundtrack as usual.

Mudhal Nee Mudivum nee (Tamil): Darbuka Siva: Kaatrilae: Darbuka Siva released the second song from his directorial debut and as he mentioned in the composer note, the song sounds more like a 90's pop tribute and also evokes his latest composition Visiri especially the guitar riffs. The brass sounds are employed more beautifully especially when it is played along with the charanam. 

P.S You can listen to the song in Youtube

Music Review (Updated) - 2021

To make music reviews more noticeable and easy to navigate each review, thought will classify each review as follows based on the rating in my blog

BA - less than 7 (Below Average Album)

A - less than 8 (Average Album)

AA - less than 9 (Above Average Album)

E - 9 and above (Excellent Album)

• Maara (E), Eeswaran(BA)
  
  

Music Review (Tamil): Andhaghaaram

Music Review (Tamil): Andhaghaaram
Music Composer: Pradeep Kumar

Suzhalum Iravil is a quintessential Pradeep Kumar number with the sprawling soundscape propped up by haunting melody. The unconventional tune is backed up mainly by Pradeep's acoustic guitar but the effect it produces on the listener is unrivaled. The sparsely mixed Geoffrey Nielson's trombone and backing vocals add a dark tone to the song. In Izhupari Aattam, Pradeep Kumar extends Geoffrey Nielson's trombone solo from Suzhalum Iravil and concocts another sinister song. Sean Roldan's sonorous voice perfectly fits the bill while the screeching violin in the interlude works effectively. Yaar dhaan Kandaaro is perfect for hardcore rock fans especially with the grungy vocals of Sivam while Bharath Sankar of Aadai fame handles the drums quite effectually. Suzhalum Iravil comes in Orchestral version performed by Kalyani Nair and sung by Shakthishree Gopalan. Though the dark tone of the song comes off better in the original version, Shakthishree's vocal is enough to create the magic even though string sections overshadows the vocals in certain places.

Verdict: Pradeep Kumar delivers the morose haunting soundtrack for Andhaghaaram and perfectly in sync with the movie's tone. One wishes that Pradeep Kumar gets to compose more.

My Rating: 8/10

Pick of the Album: Suzhalum Iravil, Izhupari Aattam

P.S You can listen to the soundtrack here

Weekly Earworm (07/11/2020)

Mookuthi Amman (Tamil): Girishh Gopalakrishnan: Aadi Kuththu, Bhagavathi Baba, Paarthane, Saami Kulasami: After Marina, Girishh Gopalakrishnan's track record is middling and at best erratic. Mookuthi Amman is the major project and the composer gets a pretty solid soundtrack which easily surpasses the expectations. 

Aadi Kuththu rides mainly on LR Eshwari's singing which evocates nostalgic soundscape associated with Amman movies and Tamil industry kind of missing this genre for a long time. Composer stuns with Paarthene and title mentions specifically as Amman song. The lovely Carnatic compositions sound to be based on Purya Dhanasri is sung wonderfully by Jairam Balasubramanian and the rhythmic Kanjira base in the arrangements makes this one best song in the soundtrack. Saami Kulasami also features pretty enticing arrangements and the folk base in the arrangements is a laudable effort from the composer. The composer throws in brilliant plucked strings sounds and Kalyan's solo violin comes together wonderfully while the only grouse being Deva as a singer. Aruna Sairam is outstanding in the energetic dark retake on Aigiri Nandhini and the composer throws in some electronic techno sounds in the middle but the classical vocalist steals the show with her spectacular performance. Girishh ends the soundtrack with the enjoyable fun track Bhagavathi Baba which benefits immensely from Pa Vijay's comical lyrics and definitely Anthony Daasan's quirky singing.

A Cat's tale (Tamil): Vikram Raghavan: Vikram Raghavan'e classical take on the famous Vellai Nirathoru Poonai by Subramanya Bharathi and sets the tune with the Ragamalika is a pleasing experience especially the lovely video associated with the song.

Naa Haaduve Nimagagiye (Kannada): Giridhar Divan:  Naa Haaduve's simple charming melody works effortlessly especially with Anuradha Bhat's vocals. Giridhar Divan kept the arrangements serene with Josy Alappuzha's flute leading the show. The song evokes the memories of numerous Malayalam melodies.

Andhaghaaram: Pradeep Kumar: Suzhalum Iravil: Suzhalum Iravil is a quintessential Pradeep Kumar number with the sprawling soundscape propped up by haunting melody. The unconventional tune is backed up mainly by Pradeep's acoustic guitar but the effect it produces on the listener is unrivaled. 

Bheemasena Nalamaharaja: Charan Raj: Ninale, Adhara Udhara:  Charan Raj promising composer in Kannada is once again splendid with Ninale sung by Sarath Santosh and Srilakshmi Belmannu. The arrangements feature a lovely guitar base and the anupallavi where Srilakshmi enters with a beautifully tuned phrase Ondhadhe Naanagi props up the beauty of the song. Adhara Udhara's backdrop is equally enjoyable with a wide variety of sounds dominated by Nathan's Sax, Flute, and Vagu Mazan's string instruments. Karthik Saragur who writes this song also delivers the tune perfectly.

Ludo (Hindi): Pritam: Hardam Humdum: Hardam Humdum is a curious concoction and the techno laden mix features some beautiful sarod solos played by Roopak Naigaonkar. Arijit is splendid as always especially with the Pallavi tune is a stealer from Pritam and one wonders when Bollywood going to return back from mindless remixes especially when still there are many composers who produce wonderful music. Taish , Amit Trivedi's independent songs, and this one by Pritam proves once again that Bollywood can do better. 

SR Kalyanamandapam: Chaitan Bharadwaj: ChukkalaChunni: Chaitan Bharadwaj is one of the composer in Telugu who produces consistently good listenable soundtrack and Chukkala Chunni falls into that category. Though nothing extraordinary to offer, the track is immensely likable for its foot-tapping tune and Anurag Kulkarni's vocals.

You can listen to all the songs as a playlist on Youtube

Weekly Earworm (01/11/2020)

 

Meendum Pirandheno (Tamil Indipop): Sean Roldan: Sean Roldan's indie songs are dominated by techno sounds and the third composition mixes the Kalyani Raga based composition in the backdrop of electronic sounds. The track is backed up by Lalitha Sudha's earnest vocals and the singer aces the sargams deftly.

Maara (Tamil): Ghibran: Yaar Azhaippadhu: Ghibran hits the spot perfectly in Maara's first single remake of Charlie. Thamarai's profound lyrics about the carefree vagabond's life blend well with the tune and though Sid Sriram's diction irks in a lot of places, Ghibran's tune and the layered arrangements props up especially when the tune goes like 'Alaivaar Avarellam Tholaivaar' phrase.

Bheemasena NalaMaharaja (Kannada): Charan Raj: Kanna Muche: Kanna Muche sounds like a typical progressive rock song but Charan Raj throws in lovely surprises with the Balesh's Shehnai backed up by an underplayed bass line. The tune makes a lovely shift towards the end with the ball banana phrase and the composer's lovely classical tinge in the tune makes it more enticing.

Maane (Malayalam/Indipop): Gowry Lekshmi: Maane lyric video got released earlier in 2017 itself and the official video came this week. Gowry Lekshmi came up with the brilliant groovy Maane and the title hook in the singer's vocal is an absolutely captivating one. Gowry Lekshmi throws in pleasant surprises in the arrangements with stunning mandolin and nadhaswaram cues throughout the track.

P.S You can listen to the songs as a playlist on youtube

Weekly Earworm (24/10/2020)

Ghibran's spiritual series (Tamil): Ghibran: Saraswathi Dayai Nidhi: Ghibran's spiritual series moved away from heavily orchestration based arrangements and throws in lovely veenai solos by Haritha Raj in this composition. The innate beauty of the Saraswathi Raga based composition by Papanasam Shivan is complemented by serene arrangements and delightful singing by Pragathi Guruprasad.

Soorarai Pottru (Tamil): GV Prakash Kumar and Thaikkudam bridge: Aagasam: GV Prakash reused Thaikkudam bridge's composition Urumbu from Navarasam. The singer Christin Jose is retained while Govind Vasantha enters towards the end and finishes the punchy composition in crescendo. The motivational lyrics written by Arunraja Kamaraj blends well with the lively tone of the song.

Arijit Singh: Ore Nutan Juger Bhore: The serene composition by Rabindranath Tagore is propped up by stunning Sarod played by Soumik Dutta which complements more like another singer throughout the song and watch out for the lovely solo in the interlude. Arijit Singh aces the soulful rendition effectually and it's good to see Arijith's independent composition come up with the English subtitles for the lyrics. Wish others also follow suit.

Bhoomi (Tamil): Imman: Kadai Kannaaley: Imman strikes a chord once again with Shreya Goshal and Thanks to the beautiful tune and singers impeccable rendition. The melody turns more interesting in the charanam portions with the phrase 'vizhiyai imaiyai virithae unai'. Overall the vocals and Thamarai's alluring choice of words make this one an engaging listen.

Taish (Hindi): Govind Vasantha, Prashanth Pillai: Re Bawree, Roshni Si: Bejoy Nambiar's another multi composer soundtrack where Govind Vasantha easily scores the best with the effective Re Bawree. The song comes in two versions as a duet sung by the composer himself along with Prarthna Indrajith and another one with Sona Mohapatra in the lead vocals. The progressive rock and semi-classical tune blend well together and the duet version too works beautifully while the more serene Sona's version is propped up by the lead vocals. Prashant Pillai's hypnotic trance Roshni si with Josi Alapuzha and Sriram Sampath's intermittent flute solos is another enjoyable track in this multi composer album. Though Bejoy Nambiar's Taish is not as intriguing as the director's solo or David, these couple of tracks stand out.

Halal Love story (Malayalam): Bijibal: Muttath: Bijibal's Muttath, a simple heartwarming melody backed by Sandeep Mohan's guitar is soothing to listen in the vocals of Soumya Ramakrishnan. 

You can listen to the songs as a Youtube playlist

Weekly Earworm (09/10/2020)

 

Pratyasha (Malayalam): Idapally Ajith Kumar & Sreevalsan J Menon: Idapally Ajith Kumar concocts the gloomy classical tune backed by Sreevalsan J Menon's minimal serene arrangements for Pratyasha works marvelously. Looks like Idapally Ajith Kumar collaborates with Sreevalsan J Menon earlier in almost 7 albums and has to give it a listen. Bini Panicker aces the rendition with her punchy vocals.

Saajan Bakery Since 1962 (Malayalam): Prashant Pillai: Eeran Kannil: Prashant Pillai easily delivers in this lovely soundtrack filled with pleasant melodies. Eeran Kannil rides mainly on Harisankar's brilliant rendition while Prashant Pillai's unconventional tune which drifts unexpectedly but makes it a wonderful listen.

Dhruva Natchathiram (Tamil): Harris Jayaraj: Oru Manam: It's a Harris Jayaraj song, so apart from the usual complaints aside, the tune is immensely enjoyable and it turns much better with Shashaa Tirupati's vocals. Harris's guitar-laden arrangements are his usual signature style but propped up by Kishore's Sitar and  Kamalakhar's flute sections. 

Doodi (Tamil): KC Balasarangan: Ragasiya Kaadhalane: Though the meaning for the movie title is not clear, Balasarangan delivers enjoyable melody and all thanks to Ashita Ajit's vocals. The composer kept the arrangements minimal riding mainly on the lovely tune and the singer which works effortlessly.

Nishabdham (Telugu): Gopi Sundar: Madhuramithe: Gopi Sundar's Nishabdham soundtrack is largely underwhelming similar to the movie, but the composer scores exceptionally in this stunning melody with Harini backing him with her effortless rendition. The violin solos in the arrangements are commendable and it's a delight to listen to Harini vocals as always.

Putham Pudhu Kaalai (Tamil): GV Prakash Kumar and Govind Vasantha: Kanna Thoodhu Po da, Oho Endhan Baby: The soundtrack highlight is definitely Govind Vasantha's classical song Kanna Thoodhu Poda and one wishes that Gautham Menon works for his next feature film with Govind Vasantha. Bombay Jayashree's splendid vocals and Karky's line make this tune much better. Among the other fun tracks composed by GV Prakash, Oho Endhan Baby easily scores over others for the funky tone and Bhavani Sri's vocals along with SPB Charan.

The songs are available as a playlist in Youtube.

Weekly Earworm (12/09/2020)

Venmaniye Venmaniye (Tamil): 4 Musics: 4 Musics, Malayalam group of 4 composers who composed few Malayalam albums, come up with the lovely semi-classical single Venmaniye sung stupendously by Aadil Anzar. The beautiful tune in the young singer's voice aside, the serene gentle arrangements makes it a soothing listen.

Saajan Bakery Since 1962 (Malayalam): Prashanth Pillai: Thora Mazhayilum: Prashanth Pillai wins over with the simple warming melody Thora Mazhayilum and the lovely Sax by Josy serves as a beautiful companion to Vineeth Srinivsan's vocals. Preethi Pillai comes for a brief time and mostly overlayed vocals while one wishes that her portions could have been more, nevertheless lovely listen from Prashanth Pillai.

Aananda Sagaram (Malayalam): Ranjith Meleppatt: Ranjith Meleppatt favorite album is definitely his Tamil debut Thirundhuda Kadhal Thiruda (My Review) which featured the brilliant Salaigal and Ranjith pulls off an equally enjoyable semi-classical song in Aananda Sagaram. Harisankar behind the mic, the rendition hardly can go wrong and the singer aces this one effortlessly.

Mayuram (Malayalam): Ajith Nair:  KS Harisankar featured in another semi-classical single composed by Ajith Nair. The track is an excellent listen and the lovely sargams by the singer make this one enchanting listen more than its melody.

Vaazhl (Tamil): Pradeep Kumar: Aaha:  Aaha is a quintessential Pradeep Kumar song with the lingering strings and the calming atmospheric soundscape makes it for a compelling listen in lines of Agam Thaanai. Pradeep Kumar utilizes Thereminist Carolina Eyck (TIL Theremin- an instrument played without any physical contact) and supported by lovely orchestration especially scattered oboe cues are lovely to listen.

Kaasuran (Tamil): Pranav Giridharan : Ennodu Kadhal: Another scintillating semi-classical melody based on Dharmavati raga, Ennodu Kadhal/Jotheyalli (Kannada version) sung by Shibi Srinivasan and Maneswini. The beautiful tune easily accentuates the song backed by thumping rhythm and string sections.

Ka Pae Ranasingam (Tamil); Ghibran: Alagiya Sirukki: Ghibran strips away his nuanced layered music away in recent times and started churning out simple more easily accessible melodies. Here in Alagiya Sirukki sounds more like Imman's composition with the thumping percussions, however Balaji's violin solos stand out, and definitely tune is likable stuff as always from Ghibran. 

Pick of the week: Aananda Sagaram, Venmaniye Venmaniye Thora Mazhayilum

P.S You can listen to the songs as a playlist in Youtube