|
|
MUSICBOX: All the young dudes
Suno kay mein hoon jawan, Noori’s debut album, finally saw the light of day on February 7. The album has the unique honour of being born in the virtual world before hitting the stands in the real world. One of the many firsts this ensemble achieves is the idea of a concept album — obscure in this part of the world — which they adhere to reverently and almost every song reverberates this very idea.
The title track Suno kay mein hoon jawan is a compulsively catchy song with bouncy dance beats and frothy lyrics, much in the same vein as Tum hans diye, their second hit single. Manwa re, considered to be their claim to fame so far, lies at the other end of the spectrum. Its mood is light years away from Noori’s signature style, but the tune provides the requisite diversity to the album. Sohni chad day mahiwal is a rock-ish Punjabi track, while Neend aaye na and Bol give you a trenchant keynote of the command and control Ali Noor has over his rich and expressive voice.
Gana #1 happens to be, well, close to being no.1. Hum bhoolay has to be the one song that would probably connect people of all ages with its simple overtones and heart-probing lyrics. The rest of the numbers are more or less subtle variations of the aforementioned, yet each carries the same enticing melody and lyrics. The CD version consists of a Flash intro which features the band’s wallpapers, bonus audio and video tracks as well as a statement from the group proclaiming their efforts and other paraphernalia. This ‘goodies’ bit happens to be in line with the IT savvy tag the group carries.
The album is dedicated to the youth, and it seems it is poised to capture and contain their imagination for a while. For others, it may fail to impress in spite of all the hype generated by diehard fans, for the simple reason that their armoury is genre specific as opposed to their contemporaries, say Fuzon, whose music caters to a wider audience. Still, if you have managed to overlook Noori up till now and if you are into rock or looking for a breath of fresh air in the local scene, well, look no further.—Saqib Khan
Teenage riot
.jpg)
Going strong, the Seattle grunge band returns with its seventh studio album. Emerging from a three year hibernation, Pearl Jam is back with Riot act, a hard-hitting collection of 15 cuts. The record is an amalgamation of pummelling guitar work and frenetic rhythms.Lead single I am mine is a delicious, ominous piece of pop with a chorus so catchy it might actually score some significant radio play. The rollicking Save you is sonically reminiscent of such older Pearl Jam fare as Corduroy. Immediately following that dose of rage is the calming Love boat captain — a mid-tempo rocker about the tragedy at the 2000 Roskilde Festival in Denmark where nine people died during the band’s set — which oscillates between gloom and sanguine ethos.
There are African chants on Arc. Perhaps Eddie Vedder’s collaboration with the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan led him to believe he is on a similar vocal level to pull off a track like this. A spoken-word, anti-Bush polemic on Bushleaguer and intriguing sonic experimentation on You are make this album a worthy effort. Ghost and Get right also get the blood flowing with the propulsive guitar work of Mike McReedy and Stone Gossard. The band delivers their best with Thumbing my way. Through its subdued organ, acoustic guitars, brushed drums and Vedder’s semi-coherent vocals, the band matches intent with mood perfectly.
Pearl Jam is a band that has carved a comfortable position in the rock world. The frequent use of acoustic guitars and the frontman’s mumbled ramblings on death, politics and love makes this a fairly quiet, and deep, riot. Riot act is a solid album that should satisfy the group’s legions of fans. More power to ‘em.—Insiya Syed
|
|
|
