Manoj Yadav’s yin-yang verses and the Bappi-Kalpana Patowary combo lift Pyaar ka test beyond its generic’ness. The charming Mannerless Majnu‘s—Shruti singing about Bitto!—highlight is Sukanya Purkayastha’s delightful rendition. Abhishek-Akshay’s last,...
Continue reading...Karthik
Chakravarthy (Music review), Kannada – Arjun Janya
The title song panders to hero-worship, but it actually does it in style! Vyasraj handles the vocals brilliantly, particularly the title hook (a chorus) and the ‘Bhuvana gagana’ phrase! Arjun...
Continue reading...Basheerinte Premalekhanam (Music review), Malayalam – Vishnu Mohan Sithara
Penne penne has a nice enough tune, but it’s Vishnu’s spartan orchestration that really engages. The guitar+ghatam mix is particularly alluring, as is the high-pitched outtakes and the mid-way tune...
Continue reading...Ajaneesh Loknath’s hatrick is disturbing
This is both disappointing and depressing. Listen to: ‘Kaagadada Doniyalli’ from Kirik Party (music: Ajaneesh Loknath) and, The River, by The Bombay Royale Now, it is easy to jump to...
Continue reading...Raees (Music review), Kalyanji-Anandji, Ram Sampath and JAM8
The original Laila from Qurbani, by Kalyanji-Anandji is so compelling a dance track that it’s no surprise the recreation works seamlessly too. Ram’s imagination, particularly Ed Gibson’s amped up trumpets,...
Continue reading...Hitman – January 22, 2017
Originally published in The Hindu. Kanna Katti – Kaalakkoothu (Tamil – Justin Prabhakaran) Among present-day composers who offer melodies strongly reminiscent of Ilayaraja, Vidyasagar tops the list. While others like...
Continue reading...Rangoon (Music review), Hindi – Vishal Bhardwaj
The women in Rangoon seem to be having raucous fun, while the men either brood or sing jubilant praises of the woman! Sunidhi enthusiastically swears (in) Bloody hell, lamenting the...
Continue reading...Adhe Kangal (Music review), Tamil – Ghibran
Idho thaanaagave sees Ghibran go hard-rock with a vengeance, almost like a sitar-infused Blaze of Glory (Bon Jovi) even as Yazin Nizar rocks the high-powered rendition! Its variant, I Have...
Continue reading...Nenu Local (Music review), Telugu – Devi Sri Prasad
Next enti is DSP trademark – punchy rhythm and repetitively corny fillers. Arere yekkade is a lovely surprise from DSP! Delightful melody set to an engaging rhythm with beautiful snatches...
Continue reading...Hebbuli (Music review), Kannada – Arjun Janya
Hulli hulli, presumably the hero-intro song is, unlike current trend, not a kuthu number, but is hard rock! Siddharth Basrur’s grungy vocals and the pulsating sound make it work. Hebbuli...
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