Babelfish/ Shubhangi Joshi Collective - alternative

By Narendra Kusnur

Album: Babelfish
Artiste: Shubhangi Joshi Collective
Genre: Alternative/ indie-pop
Label: Self-released, crowd-funded
Rating: ****

At a time when most artistes are focusing on singles, it’s heartening to listen to a full-length album. Shubhangi Joshi Collective’s Babelfish, named after a character in the Douglas Adams opus The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, contains eight songs that vary in mood, tempo and style, and yet have a certain uniformity and flow.

Besides the simple and accessible lyrics that move from hope and nostalgia to battling cynicism and finding one’s identity, what stands out is the sheer quality of arrangements. Whether it is Joshi’s guitar, Titus Pinto’s bass, Nishant Nair’s keyboards and melodica or Aamir Ismail’s drums, not one instrumental flourish is out of place. A lot of compositional thought has gone behind this.

Joshi’s vocals are expressive and flexible, right from the opening track ‘Last Ticket Journey’ where she sings “Wasted all these years, living a life not my own.” The song has a mild clubby backdrop which adds to its feel.

‘Curious Cat’ is an ode for a friend who's a “disappearing act” and returns as a “reappearing act”. The next track ‘Surfing With The Times’ has a funky bass-line, smart use of overdubs and blunt words like “But I am a straight-talking lady, with a plan in her head, and nobody can take it away, baby even if you pray.”

‘Help Me Remember’ gets into Latin bossa nova mode, and its vibrant vocal vibe and infectious hook help it stand out. Another highlight is ‘Cynic On The List’, which talks of broken dreams and the need to deal with negativity.

‘Why Stay Away’ and ‘Foolish’ have depth but may take a few listens to sink in. The concluding piece ‘Ode To The Moon’, written after a bad day at work, has the positive lines, “That night the moon shone for me, all her light for me, all her glow for me, all her magic, magic for me.”

Quite often, one senses Joshi’s songwriting style seems influenced by 1990s alternative pop-rock acts like Alanis Morissette and Melissa Etheridge. One can easily relate to the songs, and for the current English music scene in India, Babelfish is definitely a high point.