Hitman – October 10, 2015

Originally featured in The Hindu.

Kohila – Ko 2 (Tamil – Leon James)
Leon James, long-time A R Rahman associate, Noel James’ son (Noel… Leon!) seems to be a on a sequel mission, composing for sequels. His debut was Kanchana 2, and now, Ko 2. Young Leon proves that his debut was not a flash in the pan, producing superb music all through his second outing. Kohila‘s tune is instantly likeable and pleasant; Leon’s music sounds like an significantly spruced-up version of early-Rahman, particularly the veena usage and the Kohila call-out reminding one of Jeans’ Columbus! Leon, despite the quivering voice, sings it largely well too, along with a superbly in-form Neeti Mohan.

Haal-e-dil – Ananthaal (Indipop)
Ananthaal is Clinton Cerejo, Vijay Prakash and Bianca Gomes. Their debut pop album demonstrates what Indipop can really be, without aping film music and producing fusion that is genuinely interesting and different. The inventive fusion comes alive best in Haal-e-dil that’s headlined by with Clinton and Pozy’s guitar work and Gino’s drums, as much as it does with Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics. The trio use the title hook in a thoroughly endearing way, while Vijay’s classical interludes, possibly touching Reetigowlai raaga, are fantastic.
Listen to Haal-e-dil on Saavn.

Ee gulaalu – Boxer (Kannada – V.Harikrishna)
It is totally pardonable if, while listening to this song, you assume that this is composed by Ilayaraja. Harikrishna, along with D.Imman and Vidyasagar, seem to have imbibed that Ilayaraja-gene so well and are producing faux-Raja melodies that work both as tributes and as Raja 2.0 versions! Just listen to the guitar work in the song, the flute-led first interlude and the unhurried, indulgent and lush melody beautifully sung by Santosh Venky and Priya Himesh to bring back pleasant memories of Raja’s 80s form! (The song is marked wrongly in the YouTube jukebox. Start at 11:05 for this song)

Unbreakable – Janet Jackson (Album: Unbreakable)
Unbreakable is Janet Jackson’s first album since her iconic brother’s death and there are so many cues to Michael Jackson all through the album which sees Janet reunite with her 80s and 90s R7B producers, Jimmy Jam and Timmy Lewis. She even eerily sounds like MJ in The Great Forever. The title song is the pick of the album though, sounding almost like it’s 1989 again, with Janet even announcing ‘Side 1’ to start the song, in the era of singles, iTunes and Spotify! It’s cool, laid-back R&B at its best, all over again.

Hey Akhil – Akhil (Telugu – Anup Rubens)
In Hey Akhil, Anup Rubens (and guest composer Thaman, in one song) try the kind of sound that Hip Hop Tamizha (the duo, Aadhi and Jeeva) produced very well in Aambala – big, busy and anthemic sound with a lot of happening. Every song sounds like a lot of people are singing it together in a stadium. Hey Akhil is one good example of this grand sound, with very catchy hooks and rhythm.

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