Music Review (Indipop) : Andholan

Music Review (Indipop) : Andholan
Music Composer: Mekaal Hasan Band

Bheem, with its melodious starting flute by Papu digressed into heavy guitar in the mid way. The lovely combination of guitar and flute towards the ending of first interlude deserves a special mention and Sharmistha chaterjee delivers the classical raga brilliantly. Next comes Champakali eponym of the wonderful classical raga and the lady aces it.The 40 second flute portions (2:50 to 3:30) in the middle and towards the end garnished with sudden outburst of guitar riffs makes this an enticing listen in an album.In an adaptation of Baba Bulle shah's sufi poetry Gunghat again Papu's flute and Mekaal's guitar is the show stealer. This 5 minute long song has guitar riffs continuosly flows in tandem with Sharmistha's vocals.In Kinarey Sharmistha takes full control over the enchanting tune and arrangements are minimal with paced down flute to fabricate the wonderful ambience. Nearly 7 minute long Maalkauns based on the Raga Malkauns dominated with thumping guitar and some captivating flute portions is a captivating listen. The coordination between flute and guitar portions are top-notch results in the well conceived blissful song. Megh too one of the best sung songs in the album by Sharmistha with neatly done concoction of flue, guitar and drums in arrangement. Sayon, with enthusiastic start is a slow and poignant melody handled deftly by Sharmistha and supported by splendid Papu's flute solos. Catchy guitar portions throughout the song in the background is an addictive touch to the song. Sindhi, shortest song in the whole album where Sharmistha, Mekaal and Papu is in impressive form especially Mekaal churning out inventive guitar solos.

Verdict: Mekaal Hasaan band delivers extremely pleasant third album with new vocalist Sharmistha. Surely must listen Indipop Album.

Pick of the Album: Whole Album

P.S: I don't want to rate this album and disparage the wonderful work by comparing with other album reviews in my blog.Just soak yourself into the musical world created with minimal instruments (guitar, flute and drums) by Mekaal Hasaan. Surely this album will make you listen to other works done by this band.


You can listen to the songs here.