Pradeep Kumar gets out of his comfort zone of soaring, beautiful melodies and delivers (along with Santhosh himself) a searing anti-establishment anthem in Very Very Bad. It’s just that Santhosh’s tune is perfunctory at the service of Yugabarathi’s angry lines. Musically though, the mixing of Karthick Devaraj’s jazz piano and Ganapathi’s dholak makes for a […]

Merkilae Merkilae is such a welcome relief. That Joshua Sridhar is still around and is able to get an opportunity! It’s such a breezy melody, accentuated by Sathyaprakash’s superb singing. The pallavi is incredibly addictive, but when Johsua layers the strings in the anupallavi when Sathyaprakash goes, ‘Idhu pudhiya arimugam’, you know you listening to […]

Aavoji works like a good intro the eponymous Mehandi Circus, though the tune seems labored around the title. Sean Roldan’s music, however, riffing on vibrant synth, sounds vastly more interesting than the tune, even though composer Santhosh Narayanan invests a lot in the vocals, and almost sounds like Amit Trivedi, in terms of the range! […]

Marana Mass has a smattering of SPB, a sign that the older order is out, even for the same actor. Petta Paraak is fantastic background music. In Ilamai Thirumbudhe, Poet-u Dhanush impresses, but the melody is serviceable. Anthony Daasan attempt Chandrababu-style retro in Aaha Kalyanam, but the music eventually drowns it. Ullaalla and Thappad Maara […]

Vivek goes WTH-level ballistic with internet acronyms in OMG Ponnu, with the music more sounding like Harris Jayaraj’s repertoire for Murugadoss. Top Tucker‘s pulsating rhythm is easy-on-the-ear, while Mohit Chauhan goes berserk with ‘Yendae’. CEO In The House is catchy, with the musical blitzkrieg working well with Nakul Abhyankar’s singing. Oru Viral Puratchi is the […]

Yeththara Yeththara, with its adequately pumping music, works perfectly as a song featuring multiple shots! Yazin Nizar’s lead vocals and Swagatha S. Krishnan who joins later, keep the song consistently interesting. Nithyasree Mahadevan’s phenomenal singing lifts the Middle Eastern sound of Raja Raja Kula even as Abhay Jodhpurkar’s hook gets an anthemic treatment. Of the […]

Bhoomi is Shakthisree’s stellar show, with a matching chorus and a somber ending. Mazhai Kuruvi‘s sparkling strings promise a lot, but the pedestrian rhythm and meandering tune pull it down. Kalla Kalavaani and Sevandhu Pochu suffer from similar problems – brilliant sounds that don’t add up. Hayati works though, as a world-music’ish Dhol Dhol-equivalent (Yuva); […]

Of the five gaana-style songs, Sandhanatha and Goindhammavaala get significantly spruced up sounds. The former is incredibly rhythmic, sung with giddy enthusiasm by Ka Ka Balachander, while the latter is aided beautifully by the chorus, even as the music is simple and foot-tapping, to match Dhanush’s appropriately raw vocals. Between the other three, Arivu’s Mathiya […]

Karuppi is a searing hip-hop melody that Santhosh sings with intensity. The tune and the rap, along with the ending, offer a haunting, modern oppaari (elegy) of sorts! Vanakkam Vanakkamunga is authentic, austere Tamil folk with no shade of anything cinematic. In comparison, Engum Pugazh Thuvanga fares better with its authentic folk sound and lyrics, […]

Vaayadi Petha Pulla shines with a genuine bonhomie, thanks to the lively lilt, Aaradhana’s cheerful innocence, and excellent singing by Vaikom Vijayalakshmi and Sivakarthikeyan! In Oonjala Oonjala, Sid Sriram does his soul magic. The catchy pop tune gets steadily interesting, including Niranjana Ramanan’s semi-classical interlude! The tuneful title song sounds like a less aggressive variant […]