Music Review (Tamil): Vikram Vedha

Music Review (Tamil): Vikram Vedha
Music Composer: Sam CS

Karuppu Vellai's grungy dark rock shades accompanied by Kebo Jeremiah's guitar riffs make this one stunning listen and the exciting prelude portion followed by Tana na hook is the highlight of the track. Sivam and Sam CS's throaty vocals gel well with the tone of the song. Overall Sam CS set's the right tone for the overall soundtrack with Karuppu Vellai. Sam CS ups the ante with the next track Yaanji Yaanji, lovely melody ballad where Anirudh and Sakthishree Gopalan aces the melody and makes this one enjoyable listen. However, the autotuning of Anirudh vocals could have been avoided. The show stealer is undeniably the buoyant usage of banjo and string instruments in the interludes apart from the mesmerising tune in the Charanam portions. Mohanraj deserves special mention in penning the captivating lyrics.

Tasakku Tasakku's free flowing percussions and an unusual tune make it an engaging listen till it lasts while Mugesh, MLR Karthik, Guna ably delivered the frolicking tune with ease while once again Sam CS scores in the interludes especially the first interlude and the style of the song reminds Santosh Narayanan quirky compositions. Yedhu Dharmam rides mainly on the exhilarating Chennai Orchestra's strings and cello symphony accompanied by grungy guitar riffs makes this short track adequately engrossing one and the instrumental may reach well with the visuals. Pradeep Kumar and Neha Venugopal bags the another folk-tinged melody Pogadha Enna Vittu and the singers enhanced the mesmerising melody with their singing prowess while Pradeep Kumar sails through the high-pitched portions with ease. Sam CS shines with his brilliant usage of mandolin and arousing string section in the second interlude. The underlying string section in the first interlude is a bliss to listen along with Kiran's solo flute.

Ghetto Chase and akin to its name the instrumental is fast paced with assorted sounds dominated by Chennai Orchestra's rousing string sections mixed with ample dosage of thoroughly engaging Seenu's Sarod solos. Idhu Emotion is another instrumental dominated by the plucked instruments and wonderful wailing violin solo section and the track is engaging till it lasts. Yedhu Nyayam rides mainly on the Chennai Orchestra's thrilling arrangements and the track is absolutely engrossing one and one hopes that visuals do justice to this track. Sangu Satham is an another interesting attempt by Sam CS and the composer packs the variety of sounds from Mandolin to ukulele in less than one minute backed by powerful Sethu Thankachan's vocals.Sam comes up with a much engaging extended version of Sangu Satham as Oru Kadha Sollatta and the instrumental is backed by yet another splendid usage of Chennai Orchestra's string sections and plucked instruments.

Verdict: Sam CS deliver the stunning soundtrack for Pushkar-Gayathri with ample support from Chennai Orchestra and the deserving composer gets his due with this engaging soundtrack.

My Rating: 8.5/10

Pick of the Album: Yaanji, Pogadha Ennavittu, Ghetto Chase, Oru Kadha Sollatta 

Music Review (Tamil): Mellisai

Music Review (Tamil): Mellisai
Music Composer: Sam C S

          Vellai Kanavu, breezy duet and it's always a delight to listen to the songs rendered by Hariharan and Harini combo while particularly loved the improvisations by Hariharan. The debut composer evokes the beauty of the tune with simple arrangements laden with mainly flute, acoustic guitar supported by string instruments in the background. Lola, dark esoteric song peppered with mysterious intriguing sounds which remind spiderman song from the movie new. However, this one is also the lovely listen especially for the lead singer Maria Kavitha Thomas's earnest rendition with the right attitude. Sam's guitar interludes gels well with the synth sounds throughout the song. Lola comes with another version where mild guitar work in the original version is accentuated and drums are added to give grungy rock feel to the song. However, it's Andrea Jeremiah steals the show with her sensual singing in this lovely version. Karky's lyrics too have the elements of hatred and revenge feel of the woman towards men.

         Parakiren Naan starts with guitar strums which remind of  V Harikrishna's Paravashanadenu composition, but similarity ends over there and what follows is the brilliant concoction of waltzy melancholic string sounds accompanied by Hindustani classical elements touches with tabla. Once again singing is top notch with Maria Kavitha Thomas and Srinivas. In Mazhaikulle, once again Sam's orchestration with sweeping string instruments comes to the fore which is adorned with occasional classical violin notes cum guitar strums. Shreya Ghoshal's melodic verses blend well with Haricharan's upbeat rendition of this wonderful melody. In Take me higher, Parakiren Naan's English version where orchestration is kept intact and singing by Maria Kavitha Thomas works much better than Suchith Suresan vocals mostly because tune of Suchith Suresan portion works well with the Tamil verses. So this one falls a tad behind the song's original version. Mellisai theme is also loaded with a lot of intriguing sounds and the ambiance created by Chennai Orchestra is brilliant, arousing particularly when switching the mood of the theme towards the end. Fitting theme track filled with thriller sounds for an action flick.

Verdict: Sam C S makes a compelling debut with Mellisai and the soundtrack is filled with rich and diverse orchestration. Another promising composer to look out for in Tamil film Industry.

My rating: 8/10

Pick of the Album: Vellai Kanavu, Mazhaikulle, Loha1

You can listen to the songs here.

P.S. Edited version of the review is available here.