Weekly Earworm - Week 11 (29/02/2020)

Weekly Earworm - Week 11 (29/02/2020)

Kombu Vacha Singamda (Tamil): Dhibu Ninan Thomas: Pesadha Mozhiye: The lilting melody composed by Dhibu Ninan Thomas of Kanna fame is a lovely listen and not sure whether because of Harisankar's association, the track has the Malayalam vibes nevertheless lovely melody strengthened by Chinmayi and Harisankar's exceptional singing.

Pandrikku Nandri Solli (Tamil): Suren Vikhash: Panni Sela, Title Track: Indie composer debuts as a composer for the wacky album which screams the indie vibes throughout the album backed by hilarious lyrics especially Sofia Ashraf's rap portions. Pani Sela's bluegrassy arrangements in the backdrop of wonderful Diptanshu Roy's (who is also part of Suren Vikhas's band) Mandolin is an enjoyable listen while Benny Dayal delivers the song with his cool tone. Suren Vikhash turns into a jazzy mode for Kal Irundha and the lyrics by Arul Theeran are lit especially with the hilarious verses. Sophia Ashraf returns for another trippy song Sethanda Sekaru with the fabulous kid's chorus and Maarten Visser's solo saxophone bits in the interludes. The title track is another crazy mix and Bala Araan does his bit this time with the rollicking lyrics which goes as Nee varutha Meenu Thottuka beeru while the arrangements are in a parallel universe with the brilliant mix of Punya Srinivas's Veena which borders on the brooding tone totally in another extreme with the lyrics.

Hit (Telugu): Vivek Sagar: Ventaade Gaayam: Vivek Sagar continuous to churn out the edgy compositions and Ventaade Gaayam's jazzy sombre backdrop is elevated by Mohana Bhogaraju's evocative vocals.

Popcorn Monkey Tiger (Kannada): Charan Raj: Psychedelic Maaye, Maadeva: Charan Raj delivers the two vocal tracks for the slick movie Popcorn Monkey Tiger. The kaleidoscopic and trippy soundscape of both the track makes this one an enjoyable listen while Sanjith Hegde aces the vocals with his swag.

Kappela (Malayalam): Sushin Shyam: Kannil: Sushin Shyam comes back with another beautiful guitar-laden melody and the gentle acoustic guitar strums by Sandeep Mohan elevates the total mood of the song. Swetha Mohan is impressive as always with her rendition ably supported by another fine singer Sooraj Santosh. 

Pick of the Week: Kannil, Pandrikku Nandri Solli, Panni sela

Weekly Earworm - 09/02/2020

Weekly Earworm- Week 10 (09/02/2020)


Takkar (Tamil): Nivas K Prasanna: Maragatha Maalai: Nivas's tune takes some time to seep in but eventually turns out to be the beautiful song and credits go to the superlative rendition by Pradeep Kumar and Vijay Yesudas while Chinmayi steals the show with the dreamy vocals. Nivas kept the arrangements racy especially loved the flute bits by Navin Iyer.

World Famous Lover (Tamil/Telugu): Gopi Sundar: My Love: Though the trailer received mixed responses, the first single by Gopi Sundar takes back to the composer's Bangalore Days album. The track rides on the Sumesh Parameshvar's splendid guitar work throughout while Saindhavi/Ramya Behera aces it with their whispery rendition in the respective languages.

Titanic (Tamil): Nivas K Prasanna: Kaalamum Kettu Pochu, Sila Naal: Nivas K Prasanna delivers an enjoyable Carnatic Rock fusion based on Shanmukhapriya Raga possibly in Kaalamum Kettu Pochu while Mohan Rajan's amusing interesting lyrics make this one an enjoyable listen till it lasts. After Thegidi, Nivas K Prasanna collaborates with Abhay Jodhpurkar and the composer hands over the lovely semi-classical ballad which singer aces brilliantly. The serene arrangements with the mishmash of flute bits, soft rock drums and Abhay's sargams in the first interlude is a delightful touch form the composer.

Miss India (Telugu): Thaman S: Kotthaga Kotthaga: Thaman continues to revamp his musical style and largely deviated from his Percussion dominated music but still the autotuning of the composer's own vocals irks a lot. Shreya Goshal's breezy rendition and Kamalakar's flute solos compensate a lot for Thaman's processed vocals and the hummable tune makes this one works.

Gaandu Kannamma (Tamil): Vivek-Mervin: After Orasaadha, Vivek-Mervin returns with another single Gaandu Kannamma and as expected the tune is incredibly accessible one which is more than enough to stay on the charts for sure. Though Ku Karthik's lyrics took some time to seep in, it fits well with the overall relaxed mood of the tune.

Jaanu (Telugu): Govind Vasantha:

Govind Vasantha retains the original tunes for  Anantham (Anthaadhi), Komma Veedi (Iravingu Theevai), Classic show-stopper Oohale (Kaadhale Kaadhale) and the tunes are equally mesmerising in the Telugu also. Oohale's prelude starts with the Hindustani Piya Balmora and followed by the original stunner tune and the track still continues to be a stunner.

The Life of Ram is the only song in the soundtrack where Pradeep Kumar is involved whereas he sang almost all the songs in Tamil. Govind Vasantha brilliantly adapted the Life of Ram and Violin usage around the 2-minute mark deserves special mention which serves as the hook of the tune. The composer retains the Thaaney Thaaney hook which blends in well with the tune. Naa Kale Kalai, the equivalent of Yaen which speaks about the heartbreak and the vibe is lovely in Brinda's vocals. Inthena is another beautifully tweaked version of Vasantha Kaalangal which is the favourite from the Tamil soundtrack. Inthena also dominated by the guitar strums which tugs your heart and the melancholic mood along with the beautiful soundscape will make anyone fall in love with this composition. Pranam, the equivalent of Thabangale and the guitar strums by Keba Jeremiah lingers in the listener's mind after it ends also. Once again Chinmayi and Govind Vasantha are top-notch with their rendition.

Dharala Prabhu (Tamil): Oorka: Aaha Ooho: After Onnumilla from Aadai, Oorka composes another soft rock-based song on similar lines for Dharala Prabhu. The track starts in a punchy engaging manner but soon fizzles out towards the Charanam while Pradeep Kumar shines with his bass guitar and Bharath Shankar aces the rendition comfortably.

Choosi Choodagaane (Telugu): Gopi Sundar: Venakane Unna: Gopi Sundar cleverly tweaks his signature elements and conceived the gorgeous melody in Venakane Unna. Chinmayi's presence in the mic gives the familiar vibe especially with the hear before feel of the tune but the singer aces the rendition impeccably.

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

Music Review (Tamil): Seeru

Music Review (Tamil): Seeru
Music Composer: Imman

Shivam Mahadevan debuts as a singer in Tamil with Vaa Vasuki and the vocals have undeniable traces of Shankar Mahadevan especially when he goes as Vaa Vasuki. Though the tune sounds commonplace, the track engages until it lasts mainly due to vocals despite autotuning at certain places. Kannaala Poduraaley has tiring lyrics from both Viveka and RJ Vijay tries hard to make the jokes amusing. However, Nakash Aziz easily sells this song with his sprightly rendition despite the tune and arrangements from Imman are strictly functional one dominated by Imman's signature racy percussions.

The soundtrack's undeniable highlight is Sevvanthiye and Imman does his best when he channels his Inner Ilayaraja and the composer brings back the memories of Aanandha Ragam from Panneer Pushpangal. The track begins with the lovely solo violin prelude by Karthik Iyer and Thirumoorthy aces the song with his pitch-perfect rendition. The female version's arrangements sound jarring especially with the incoherent mixing of Veena and jazzy soundscape intermittently. However, Vaikom Vijayalakshmi fits the bill perfectly and complements Male version impeccably. Among the two short tracks, Vasana Poochenda sounds better with all the composer elements intact along with the breezy rendition by Rajaganapathy while Ignite the fire theme sounds predictable and passes muster. One wishes that Imman could have turned Vasana Poochenda into the full-fledged track rather than under two-minute short song.

Verdict: Barring the single gem of the album in the form of Sevvanthiye, Imman's score for Seeru rides on the predictable set of tunes.

My Rating: 6.5/10

Pick of the Album: Sevvanthiye (male version), Vaa Vasuki

P.S You can listen to the songs in JioSaavn. The edited version of the review is published in Moviecrow.