Milliblog Weeklies – India’s only multilingual, weekly, new music playlist.
Week 254: YouTube | Spotify
Aqda – The Yellow Diary (Punjabi/Hindi/Indipop): Lead singer Rajan Batra takes almost one-and-a-half minute to set the song in motion, but when it does, it lands beautifully! Interestingly, it ends after just a minute, with rajan going back to the dreamy exposition of the melody, which seems to be the actual base of the song.
As always, lovely listen!
Jai Siya Ram – Meetoride, Ink Heart (Hindi/Indipop): This is a really interesting approach to what is primarily a devotional song! Meetoride and Ink Heart treat the devotional lyrics on top of a tune that is catchy Western pop! The contrast works pretty well – the music is alluring at a non-religious level, while the lyrics and Meetoride’s high-pitched, soulful singing take care of the religiosity.
Golden Sparrow – Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam (G V Prakash Kumar) – Tamil/Indipop: A catchy song that sees G V Prakash Kumar going completely outside his usual zone, probably owing to Arivu’s presence. The corny Tanglish lyrics by Arivu and Sublahshini’s singing (besides Arivu’s rap and Dhanush’s singing too) make this one a fun listen.
Kannasara Aaraaro – Malai (D.Imman) – Tamil: You hear the song once and you can easily guess the composer 🙂 This is Imman’s trademark by now, and the fact that he gets Shreya Ghoshal—yet again—adds another layer to the trademark. The backgrounds are getting a bit too familiar though, and at times, I felt that the convoluted melody was made so in a labored manner without it flowing organically. But Shreya makes this song work, for now, particularly in the anupallavi.
En Aalukku Birthday – Yuvaraj Chandran, ft. Karthik Rajan (Tamil/Indipop): Karthik Rajan’s gaana-level lyrics get a pulsating techno-sound in Yuvaraj Chandran’s music. It’s not earthshakingly new, but is adequately interesting, with a smattering of kuthu and its consistent focus on keeping things dance-worthy.
Sikkimukki – R. Sanjay, ft. Malvi Sundaresan (Tamil/Indipop): This is a surprise! R Sanjay confidently produces a charming jazz number with excellent singing by Malvi Sundaresan. But where the song transcends the jazz idioms is the way Sanjay infuses a faux-carnatic element at places, particularly with Manoj Kumar’s violin in the first interlude.
Malle Poola Taxi – Dhoom Dhaam (Gopi Sundar) – Telugu: Having already added the four other songs from this soundtrack, here’s the last one, the fifth too! This is a punchy dance number headlined by Mangli’s singing with Gopi handing her a solid hook.
Sa Ri Ma Pa – Saripodhaa Sanivaaram (Jakes Bejoy) – Telugu: I was a bit surprised by director Vivek Athreya’s choice of composer for his fourth film (after Prashanth R Vihari in his debut, and Vivek Sagar’s excellent music in the next two films). And so far, none of Jakes’ songs in Saripodhaa Sanivaaram worked for me. Thankfully, Sa Ri Ma Pa does! It’s an easy-on-the-ear, likeable song, sung well by Karthik. The ‘Sa Ri Ma Pa’ hook is neat and keeps the song light and frothy.
Aar Kobe? – Arijit Singh (Bangla/Indipop): A timely, topical protest song from Arijit! The melody seems less angry or rousing and more chiding, using persistence to make a point to the powers-that-be! It’s a fantastic, addictive tune with a sing-alongish feel, and Arijit nails both the composition and the singing.
