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
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
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
