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

Weekly Earworm (06/09/2020)

Dil Bechera (Hindi): AR Rahman: Never Say Goodbye: The guitar-laden track and the final single release of the wonderful album reaches a crescendo when Rahman brilliantly brings Taare Ginn to this sweeping song sung by AR Ameen. Though the track has nothing extraordinary to offer, the track is an engaging listen from the composer.

Amazon Prime Music Hyderabad Gig (Telugu): Vivek Sagar: Sanchari: Amazon Prime music Hyderabad Gig's sounds mostly align with the respective composer's film sounds starting from Gopi Sundar to Ghibran. Vivek Sagar brings out his signature kickass bluegrassy sound to this indie future also. The result is an absolutely enjoyable one an easily best of the lot from this lineup. The mandolin and banjo's gleeful soundscape and Thanathitha loop sound more like a Malayalam song.

Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee (Tamil): Darbuka Siva: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee: Darbuka Siva - Sid Sriram - Thamarai combo comes together once again and the result is another stunner which sounds like an extension of Maruvarthai and Hey Nijame. It's a pleasure to see that Composer's note has been added to the song's description and definitely Debasmita Bhattacharya's sarod gives a beautiful classical texture to the song. Thamarai's poetic lyrics are icing on the cake and one wishes that she gets to write more.

Paris Paris: Amit Trivedi: Inda Somabanam, Enge En Santhosham, Padaigal Illai Endru: Inda Somabanam sounds like an equivalent of Hungama Ho gaya from the Original. The song is an intoxicating fun song with the crazy mix while Vijay Prakash and Vidya Vox sound to be having fun with the singing. Surprisingly Telugu jukebox doesn't have this song. Padaigal Illai Endru equivalent of Kinare and Enge En Santhosam rides mainly on the Superlative vocals by Shashaa Tripathi and Haricharan respectively. Especially Enge En Santhosham's pulsating pop makes it work.

Indumathi (Malayalam): Gopi Sundar: Gopi Sundar brilliantly conceives the semi-classical tune with the synth backdrop and Sithara Krishnakumar's vocal is simply outstanding. Though the rap sounds to be discordant with the overall tone of the song, the tune, and the vocals make this one a compelling Onam song.

Pick of the album: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee, Sanchari, Inda Somabanam