Antaheen/ Long Story Short

 


BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Antaheen/ Long Story Short

Genre: Hindi-rock

Label: Self-released 

Rating: ****

On initial listening, one thing that strikes you about Pune band Antaheen's new album Long Story Short is the sheer quality of guitarwork. From melodic runs and rugged chops to tasteful fill-ins and imaginative structures, everything's packed in. Guitarist Amar Kulkarni is on a roll, with producer Vinay Kaushal, himself an accomplished guitarist, making a significant contribution to the overall result.

From the title, one may think it's an English set, but Long Story Short has six Hindi songs and one in English. One doesn't know why the Angrezi 'Floating' was placed bang in the middle of the tracklist, but it works. The sound is a mix of old-school pop-rock and grunge, with lyrics talking of existentialism, life's journeys and personal issues. While Amar is on lead vocals himself, drummer Ashish Kukreja and bassist Niraj Pandit complete the tight line-up, with Shivagi Kale on back-up vox.

The opening track 'Qaafila' has a campus-style hook as Amar sings, "Main behta jaoon, badalta jaaoon, mein yahaan, palatati kaaya, dhoop aur saaya, yahaan se wahaan", before describing how life's caravan is moving on. The song ends with an extended guitar section, which has intricate layers and smart mood changes.

'Ankahi Baatein' is one of the highlights, beginning with the lines, "Ankahi baatein, jo kahi nahin jaaye, halke halke ishaaron se chalke, chalkaaye, palke jhapke jaaye, saansein aahein bharein, ankahi baatein". Almost like a tongue-twister but sung with a melodic fluency with some subtle harmonies and producer Vinay chipping in on acoustic guitar.

The intro of 'Nashaa' has a dream-like lilt, before Amar sings, "Behkaa behkaa nasha chaa raha, dehka dehka sazaa paa raha". Check out the explosive climax. 'Muskuraah' slows down the tempo, encouraging people to smile through life's challenges. Vocal accompaniment by 'Ensemble Sahnaad' adds to the vibe.

That brings us to the English track 'Floating', with its foot-tapping intro, followed by lines about infinite existence and the words, "But I'm floating far across the sky, yes I'm floating far across the sky". Some amazing sonic textures lead to the outro.

It's back to Hindi on 'Thodaa Saa', which eggs people to keep moving on. The title track, which concludes the album, starts with a rhythm burst before moving on to grungy guitars. The song talks of a search for meaning, and the ups and downs of life though lines like, "Phirta jaaye daayra antaheen, behti ghatati ubharti zindagi".

Over 37 minutes, Antaheen keeps the listening glued with some fabulous songwriting. One wishes a couple of other English songs were added, for better balance. Amar's singing is natural and sincere, and the band backs up well. But to cut a long story short, pun intended, this album is one of the best recent examples of how one can imaginatively use the electric guitar. The admiration grows on repeat listening.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gig review/ Deep Purple in Bengaluru

Image
BY NARENDRA KUSNUR  Deep Purple at Bandland  Genre : Rock Details : Bandland rock festival, Embassy International Riding School, Bengaluru, December 17 Organisers : BookMyShow Live  Rating : **** 1/2 We all came out to Bandland, on a Bengaluru riding ground, to shoot videos on a mobile, yeah, capture the classic rock sound. Ian Gillan and the Purples, were at the best place around, space-truckin' on a black night, we danced on dusty ground.. singing, Smoke On The Water, drones in the sky, Smoke On The Water... taan taan taan, taan taan tadaan, taan taan tadaan, taan taan... Three days after British rockers Deep Purple enchanted the crowd at the Bandland rock festival in Bengaluru, the gooseflesh lingers like the whiff of cologne. For many, they have been college heroes, cocktail companions, the kings of melodic power, the epitome of hard rock. Older-generation fans or youngsters, they knew many of these songs by heart. Every word, every instrumental passage, every back-up vocal lin
Read more

Gig review/ Sting @ Lollapalooza

Image
BY NARENDRA KUSNUR   Sting @   Lollapalooza   Genre : Rock/ pop-rock Details : Mahalakshmi Race Course, Mumbai, January 28 Rating : **** You'll forget the sun in its jealous sky, as we walk on fields of gold... The sun had set a long ago, and the walk had been tiring and endless. But everything changed around 8.20 pm when Gordon Sumner aka Sting marched on to the Budweiser stage with a message in a bottle. For the next 85 minutes, every little thing the Englishman in Mumbai did was magic. The green carpet in front of the stage had been converted into fields of gold. The hardcore Sting fans should get those puns, and there were plenty of them who watched his concluding act at the two-day Lollapalooza music festival at the Mahalakshmi Race Course, Mumbai, on Sunday. Some had attended his shows abroad, some were seeing him for the first time, and others had been present at Mumbai's Rang Bhavan in 1980, when he played with his band The Police, or at the Amnesty International festiv
Read more

Gig review/ L. Shankar

Image
BY NARENDRA KUSNUR Artiste : L Shankar & Group Concert : Aditya Birla Group Masters of Music  Genre : Fusion/ Carnatic  Details : June 16, Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, Mumbai  Rating : ***** The sudden excitement was palpable when violinist L. Shankar announced that he and his group would play many Shakti tunes at Sunday's concert in Mumbai. He had already opened the evening with a dazzling rendition of Carnatic composer Muthuswamy Dikshitar's 'Vathapi Ganapathim', and if one thought he would focus on classical fare, that was not to be. Five of the remaining six pieces belonged to the repertoire of the original Shakti line-up, comprising him, guitarist John McLaughlin, tabla genius Zakir Hussain and ghatam maestro Vikku Vinayakram. Together, they had pioneered the Indo-jazz fusion sound in the 1970s, before going different paths over a decade later. Playing those old Shakti classics had a major issue though, at least for fans. They had originally been written for two mel
Read more