A Bouquet Of Excellence

To call this EP “lovely” would be to merely mouth a platitude. It is not “lovely”. It is indescribably beautiful in the perverse way that deep melancholy can be.

Satire For Our Times

…a grossly under-rated album when it should be hailed as an astonishing act of independence breaking away from the par for course. The tragedy of our world is such that years after its release its themes continue to be relevant and will do so, I’m afraid, for a long time to come.

The Forest of Alluring Homes

Apart from its expressive power, in ways strange and familiar, the most interesting thing I find about art is its openness to interpretation; perhaps the degrees to which these are manifest are defining features – but not necessarily always – of great art. If indeed that premise is true, then Fireghost’s music surely qualifies for…

This Is A Tour Story!

I’m NOT the man with a plan. When I started writing this blog four years back, it was just a vehicle for my love of music and word. Nothing more to it. And it continues to be just that. But what it has done for me is that it has taken me on interesting paths. I…

Riffocalypse Now!

A few days back, one of my habitual whiner acquaintances bemoaned the death – as he put it – of the deep brooding malevolence that characterised metal music. I was too happy with my beer to resort to violence, nor even to argue. I played him Shepherd’s “Stereolithic Riffocalypse”. His stupefied silence was one of…

A Band In Transition

The most successful lives are ones that deal with change. Trite but true. How they deal with that change is what makes it interesting. Last evening my wife and I (and many others) were part of an event that recorded, quite literally, the path that one of my favourite bands, Parvaaz has traversed over the last…

Finding Answers?

What next? is a question that constantly raises – as a need rather than as bored luxury – its head to push development; be it technology, art, adventure, evolution (where do you think the X-men came from?). I’ve never understood the genre of music called post-rock, not so much the music but the name itself….

Two Gigs

Bangalore’s weather blessing is a thing of the past although it’s still a lot better than most of our other big cities. No, what really gets me kicked about this place is the number of Indie music gigs that happen every week. Even so, last Saturday was a particularly long concert day. I’m sure there…

Defiant Undefined

The only thing definite about Hoirong is the band’s refusal to have its music defined. Ambient, noise-rock, punk, art-rock, post-rock, lo-fi…whatever it is, it’s been high-fives all round for its 2014 release “Dandaniya Apradh”. In its demand to stretch your known understanding of musicality, it holds something in common with “To Be Kind” by Swans…

Royally Skr*#

Skrat caught a lot of notice with their highly acclaimed sophomore effort “Bring Out The Big Guns”. A little under 2 years later, the band’s back with its third album, “The Queen”. Right from the swirling start of the opening track “Machete” you know that this powerhouse punk trio is dishing out something special. Just…