Music Review (Tamil): Marudhu
Music Composer: Imman
Sooravalida's orchestration is the mix of earthy rural thumping percussions and extensive usage of Thirumurthi's Nadaswaram and the sounds are engaging although bordering on the familiar template. Imman's tune is the mishmash of composer's earlier soundtracks and the song comes off lively mainly due to Jinesh Prabhu's verve.Othasada Rosa's suffers from the monotonous tune especially in the Pallavi portions and the tune turns better in charanam with ample support from Sai Charan's vocals. Imman up the ante in the arrangements by employing timely infusion of Kanjira, strings in the prelude and guitar riffs with the classical twist in the interludes. Overall, engaging song with minor glitches.
Karuvakaatu Karuvaaya simple lovely ear pleasing tune handled effectually by Vandana Srinivasan with her flawless vocals and bolstered by Jithin and Jayamoorthy. Imman kept the arrangements minimal with fabulous violin solos by Karthik Iyer and Ghatam being the highlight in this track. Vairamuthu's apt lyics tandem with the tone of the movie being the another asset of this track.Akka Petha Jakkavandi starts with tribal bagpiper prelude and the song transcends into foot tapping racy folk track with Imman's trademark sounds while Anirudh Ravichander and Niranjana Ramanan's buoyant vocals makes the song enjoyable one till it lasts. Yugabharathi's banter rural lyrics aids this entertaining song to the large extent.Imman ends the rural soundtrack with intense theme track where rich assortment of percussion, brief veena touch towards the end and grand orchestration makes this one works. Though occasional chants of marudhu doesn't add much value to the instrumental, overall theme looks neat and may gel well with the visuals.
Verdict: Marudhu, another rural outing for Imman and he delivers minimum guarantee soundtrack where songs appeal easily to target audiences. Imman's hackneyed Rajaésque 'melodies sounds lilting but begins to stale considering the volume of soundtracks scored by the composer.
My rating: 7.5/10
Pick of the Album: Karuvakaatu Karuvaaya, Akka Petha Jakkavandi, Othasada Rosa.
You can listen to the songs in Saavn.
Music Review(Tamil): Joker
Music Composer: Sean Roldan
Ennanga Sir Unga Sattam was already released as a single which features Yugabarathi's wonderful satirical lyrics tandem with the genre of the movie. Sean Roldan's shines in the ebullient arrangements traversing from retro folk to latino touch throughout the song. Composer employed lovely flamenco touch to the arrangements in the mid-way while Arandhai Bava and K Perumal's lends support with their rustic vocals.Ola Ola Kudisayila has an undeniable Ilayaraja'ish flavour in the tune as well as arrangements while Sean's fabulous usage of flute and tabla base elevate the mood of the song multifold. The piece de resistance of the track is brilliant reverberant string section thrown generously throughout the song. Murugavel and Karthika Vaidyanathan's stupendous rendition of the Yugabharathi's lyrics make this one highly engaging song of the album.
Jasmine-u, another fun song in the album where composer once again mixes the folk tune with enthralling arrangements. Though the tune as a standalone is not great, Sean buoys up the mood of the song with the lovely ambience sounds with accordion, morsing and foot tapping native percussions in the background. Yugabharathi's amusing lyrics is the additional asset to this song. Chellamma's highlight is the resonating arrangements and soul stirring rendition by M Lalitha Sudha. Though the prelude with Hindi lyrics set for the rural tune sounds unusual, Sean's minimal arrangements with beautiful layering of strings in the background and keys makes this song a charming listen. K Perumal lends wonderful support with his vocals. Halla bol is the only song with mod sound in the album and song turns out to be great listen mainly because of the neat balance between techno sounds and vocals is maintained throughout the song. Kalyani Nair sounds fabulous as always in this short nevertheless engaging song in the album. Sean Roldan ends the awesome soundtrack with Mannar Mannan set to the traditional tune and the composer embellishes the illustrious tune with jazz arrangements dominated by enticing jazz keys, accordion and fabulous brass sections. The end result being absolutely delectable finish to the splendid soundtrack from the composer.
Verdict: RajuMurugan's association with Sean Roldan turns out to be an equally effective and engaging soundtrack akin to the director's debut film cuckoo. Sean Roldan continues to impress as a composer with his sheer variety in the songs.
My rating: 8.5/10
Pick of the Album: Ola Ola Kudisayila, Chellamma, Ennanga Sir unga Sattam
P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.
Music Review (Kannada) : Ishtakamya
Music Composer: Ajaneesh Loknath
Nee Nangoskara, dulcet melody with ear-pleasing arrangements dominated by guitar and strings especially loved the guitar riffs in the first interlude. Shreya Goshal and composer itself croons the song in a brilliant manner while Shreya Goshal's captivates with Dum Dum hook, enticing touch by the composer. In Song's female version, composer kept arrangements and the tune intact while Shreya is fabulous with her rendition as always. Naa Ninage rides mainly on the impeccable arresting rendition by Chintan while Ajaneesh's string section rules the background throughout the song. Naa Ninage's another version sung by Mukthiyar falls a tad behind when compared to Chintan's version. Thangali's pleasant melody is elevated by Shreya Goshal's sweet rendition while Ajaneesh's neat orchestration with flute, tabla and Sax works wonderfully to the song's favour. Overall another fabulous melody from the composer. Payanadalli is another wonderfully composed song in the soundtrack where composer's alluring string portions in the background throughout the song is bolstered by Vijay Prakash's flawless vocals as expected. Chintheavadu, short track with sing along'ish tune, however Nagathalli's vocals didn't work much.
Verdict: After techno-laden Akira, Ajaneesh delivers fluffy easily accessible enjoyable melodies for Ishtakamya.
My rating: 8/10
Pick of the Album: Nee Nangoskara, Thangali, Payanadalli
P.S You can listen to the soundtrack in Saavn.
Music Review (Tamil): Wagah
Music Composer: Imman
Sollathaan Nenaikiraen starts off like a retro song but turns out to be pretty much enticing faux-quawwali tune with Imman's arresting arrangements steals the show in this lovely song. Divyakumar aces the classical sargams in the song, however munching of Vairamuthu's lyrics irks sporadically. Imman's splendid usage of harmonium, Sarangi and santoor with ghatam base is the highlight of this engaging number from the composer.Yedho Maayam Seigirai's starts off with a monologue by Vikram Prabhu and the tune treads on the familiar template, progressive one which rides mainly on the singer Jithin Raj and he handles the tune quite effectually. Imman throws surprise elements in the interludes with wonderful string sections especially brief note ones and violin solo in the second interlude.
Aasai Kadhal Aaruyire where once again Imman confined to his territory and though the tune is on the weaker side, Vandana Srinivasan brings life to the song with her compelling rendition. Imman arrangements features alluring combination of flutes, strings and guitars which work to the song's favour along with Vairamuthu's lyrics.Aaniye Pudunga Vendam is the staple high octane kuthu which checked off every element one can expect from the Imman's repertoire for this genre. Shenbagaraj's energetic vocals and Arunraja Kamaraj's lyrics brings some relief to this tried and tested song. Overall, weak song in an otherwise average listenable album. Imman ends the soundtrack with four minute long Love For our nation instrumental theme track which shifts mode between being melodious and racy one dominated by percussions. Although there is nothing too offbeat to offer, the theme track sounds apt and engaging one till it lasts.
Verdict: Imman starts off the soundtrack with promising note but as the album progresses Imman confined to his forte and delivered the conventional melodies composer is known for.
My rating: 7/10
Pick of the Album: Sollathaan Nenaikiren, Yedho Maayam Seigirai, Aasai Kadhal Aaruyire.
P.S You can listen to the songs in Saavn.
Music Review (Tamil): Iraivi
Music Composer: Santosh Narayanan
Onnu Rendu has inebriated tone written all over the song from S J Suryah's informal singing to Vivek's lyrics. Santosh Narayanan's orchestration with accordion and percussions thrown generously throughout the song keeps the passable song breathing till it lasts. The pleasant ending with bird chirping sound indicating morning seems to be dissonant with the raucous sound of the song.Kadhal Kappal, Santosh Narayanan's vocals aside, the song has less captivating factor and Santosh clumsy arrangements with Guitar and percussions too didn't help much to the song. The song turns into listenable in charanam portions, however as an overall song this one ends as an average song from the composer.
Solla Thudikkuthu's Ilayaraja'ish arrangements and tune help the song to some extent, however the song turns into a monotonous and bland listen after initial few minutes. Muthamil's lyrics with string of yesteryear film titles keeps the curiosity afloat, However overall song fails to appeal as expected. R K Sundar's vocals matches the overall song's chronology.Santosh Narayanan scores easily in Dushta with the angsty loung'ish expanding soundscape filled with enticing asssorted percussion sounds throughout the song. The song is backed by two effectual singers meenakshi and Dhee and they ace the rendition part exceptionally. Vivek's lyrics gels well with the overall mood of the song. Othayila short melancholy with very minimal orchestration is totally Anthony Daasan's show throughout the song. The song may appeal much better along with the Karthik Subburaj's visuals but not as a standalone track in the album. Manidhi's highlight is undeniably poignant rousing lyrics about women empowerment by Vivek and Santosh Narayanan's Rahman'ic tune works well for this highly inspirational song in the album. Brinda, Ananthu and Santosh Narayanan deliver fabulous support for this engaging tune in the album.
Verdict: In Iraivi, Santosh Narayanan goes into unconventional quirky work similar to composer's earlier collaborations with Karthik Subburaj. However the quirkiness didn't work well and the songs impresses only in parts when compared to Pizza and Jigarthanda.
My rating: 7/10
Pick of the Album: Dushta, Manidhi, Kadhal Kappal
P.S. You can listen to the songs in Saavn.
Music Review (Tamil): 24
Music Composer: A R Rahman
Naan Un is the dulcet melody has the charming sing-along tune which both proficient lead singers Arijith Singh and Chinmayi aces with their beautiful rendition especially loved the hummable charanam portions. The Sunshine Chamber group's orchestration reaches the crescendo in the latter half of the song which features goosebump-inducing gospel music although it totally overshadows Madhan Karky's lyrics. Rahman laces the interludes with brilliant solo cello and apt percussions. Rahman comes up with another unstructured song Mei Nigara, loaded with quite a lot of intriguing techno sounds and especially loved the way Sid Sriram's high pitched vocals interlaced with debutant Sanah Moidutty's and Jonitha Gandhi's improvisations. Madhan Karky makes the song lot more impressive with his lyrics and overall splendid mixing of the sounds with vocals makes this song works. The song has an insanely catchy hook with odathe Thithikari.
Punnagaye starts with a lovely prelude, wonderful mix of string sections cum Kareem Kamalakkar's flute especially in the tribal tone in the second interlude. The tune has the vintage shades of Rahman's earlier compositions and Shashaa Tripati owns the tune with her mellifluous vocals while Haricharan lends her support with the rousing portions. Though the tune is not an instantly catchy one, the song is enjoyable till it lasts. Shakthi Shree Gopalan croons serene lullaby Aararoo and Rahman's minimal orchestration with mainly Keba Jeremiah's guitar gives much impact to the song. Madhan Karky's poignant effective lyrics for this simple yet lovely listen. The overall feel and the involvement of Shakthishree and Keba reminds Ved Shankar's Azhagu Kutty Chellam's title song.
My twin brother, pacy instrumental theme filled with occasional choral chants by Srinivasa Krishnan and the composer succeeds in bringing the feel required for the intense thriller with fantastic mix of percussions and frenzied string sections. The theme may work well along with the visuals. Kaalam En Kadhali which is already released as a single and created quite a lot of waves in online media. The song has quite an extensive usage of electronic techno and hip-hop sounds which works partially while Benny Dayal rendition helps the song to an extent. Rahman's touches with synthesised Nadhaswarm sound and the percussions are the highlights in this partially engaging song.
Verdict: Rahman's latest album 24 sounds enjoyable and good with the composer's stamp but the album lags tad behind in creating the usual excitement while listening to the songs in Rahman album. However, the couple of songs Naan un and Mei Nigara are here to stay.
My rating: 8/10
Pick of the Album: Naan un, Mei Nigara, Punnagaye
P.S You can listen to the songs in Eros now.
Music Review(Tamil): Manithan
Music Composer: Santosh Narayanan
Aval has the gorgeous Rahman'ish tune where Santosh incorporated fabulously his trademark string sections, wonderful chant throughout the song and classy trance progression and tabla base in the second half. The piece de resistance of the track is undeniably contrasting folksy vocals of Pradeep and ably supported by Priya Hemesh hummings.Mun Sellada's progressive arrangements also has the shades of hip-hop songs and especially the classy piano and the chorus portions give the familiarity tone to the overall structure of the song. Karky's optimistic lyrics gels well with the song while ADK's rap portions dominate the Anirudh Ravichander's vocals.
Poi Vaazhva, laid back number where Santosh Narayanan and Vijay Narain's vocals are indiscernible and Santosh's lovely guitar laden orchestration along with whistles easily scores over the melancholy tune. Vivek scores with his thoughtful lyrics in this minimally orchestrated melody.Kondattam is a rollicking upbeat tune in the song where Santosh's Europeanesque orchestration with spanish flamenco flavour dominated by guitars, harmonica and accordion. Radar with a K and Divya Ramani's pitch perfect vocals gives the native touch to this highly enjoyable song.Santosh Narayanan rounds off the soundtrack with the classy elegant theme with minimal gorgeous piano base and the theme comes off lively mainly due to the Kalpana Raghavendars resonating humming portions. Overall fitting end to the pleasing soundtrack.
Verdict: Santosh Narayanan tries to maintain balance between the commercial requirement of the album and also his trademark sounds. Composer succeeds in delivering couple of highly tuneful songs in the album.
My rating: 7.25/10
Pick of the Album: Aval, Kondattam, Poi Vaazhva
Music Review (Tamil): Raja Mandhiri
Music Composer: Justin Prabhakaran
Bam Bam Bam Bambaram is an enjoyable listen with Chinna Ponnu's rustic earthy vocals amidst the kid's chorus while Justin throws captivating cues throughout the song especially loved the ektara sound and brass sections thrown in the background. In edhitha Veetu Kauliflowere also Justin employed many surprises in the orchestration front to give the retro feel of the song and particularly loved the tabla base throughout the song and lovely string sections especially in the second interlude. The lyrics are quite enticng when compared to the tune. Kootatha Kooti is another delightful retro folk song and the arrangements by Justin are quite impressive.Anthony Dassan and Reetha Anthony Dassan sounds apt and deightful with their raw vocals. Justin employed strings brilliantly and impressively throughout the song in Leguvaa Leguvaa while V V Prasanna and Sharanya Srinivas handles the duet in quite an effectual manner. Snehithiye is the soundtrack's best where Justin nails in weaving the beautiful tune around the lovely soothing ambient orchestration. Loved the way Justin incorporated every sound from Kazoos to trance like progression to enchanting veena cum sax combo in the second interlude. Naresh Iyer sounds pleasant as usual. Overall ear-pleasing listen from the composer.
Verdict: Justin Prabhakaran strikes the chord in this enjoyable rural based soundtrack especially with two awesome delightful melodies.
My rating: 7.5/10
Pick of the Album: Snehithiye, Leguvaa Leguvaa, Editha Veetu Kauliflowere
You can listen to the soundtrack in Saavn.
Music Review(Telugu): Sarrainodu
Music Composer: S S Thaman
Athiloko Sundari, energetic percussion laden track starts off with the conventional chorus and rides mainly on the Vishal Dadlani and Karthik's fantastic vocals. Ramajogayya Sastry lyrics describing the beauty of the female lead and an easily likeable orchestration flow makes this one fun listen in the album till it lasts although the tune bears the shades of Thaman's earlier compositions. Thaman's obsession with autotuning and digitisation of the vocals continue in you are my MLA and Dhanunjay's processed vocals for the laid back tune irks a lot. However, the song's sing-along tune and breezy Kiran kumar's flute portion in the second interlude makes this one enjoyable if one don't get cheesed off with the processed vocals of the lead singer.
Private Party ticks off every requirement needed for the EDM track and the track ends up being an insipid one filled with wonted sound cues throughout the track. M C Vickey and Manasi MM tries to infuse curiosity with their energetic vocals but still the song ends up being the routine party track which requires visuals to make this one enticing.Blockbuster has an infectious foot tapping punchy beats in the background while Shreya Goshal's sensual vocals along with Nakash Aziz's raw vocals behind the mic works to the song's favour. Overall the song ends up being the highly enjoyable treat for the mass fans.Thaman makes sure that each album has one highly ear pleasing melody and in Sarrainodu it's Telusa Telusa where Gayathri's veena standout amidst the synth elements in the arrangements front. Thaman roped in another proficient bollywood singer Zubin Nautiyal accompanied by Sammeera Bharadwaj to croon the song and both did fantastic job in rendering this beautiful tune.The title track is an another high octane song where Punjabi Dols and Dhandia mixed with Andhra's local kuthu with bunch of singers from Bollywood leaded by Hard kaur, Banno fame Brijesh Shadilya and Sonu Kakkar. The singers tried to bring out the best from the weary tune, however the song suffers from the routine orchestration. Hope visuals will make the song look enticing.
Verdict: Thaman's highly anticipated album features an easily likeable set of songs and also it's high time that Thaman should explore genres apart from the soundscape one can associate with the composer.
My rating:7.5/10
Pick of the Album: Telusa Telusa, Athiloko Sundari, Blockbuster
You can listen to the songs in Saavn.
