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Kadapurathoru sounds rhythmically good, but is terribly predictable - everything after the first line is so obvious - worse, the anupallavi is teeming with that damn synth. Marachonnu is embarrassing, that aanum-pennum chorus is cringe-worthy. Ponathevide, thankfully, is rendered by Raja himself and that makes all the difference. Shuba niyogamalle is the pick of the album - Bhavatharini’s singing is incredible and so is Raja’s soulful, bhajan-like tune. But Innalle mutthathu is plain hopeless - despite that oft-heard catchy background rhythm. SMS is yet another hackneyed soundtrack by the Maestro – barring his own and his daughter’s tracks. Small mercies, those!

Keywords: Bala, Navya Nair

Kastoori pottum has everything you expect out of a Raja song, Vijay Yesudas’ vocals moving through every direction the composer has conjured up in the tune…heck it even has a come-sing-along-with-me cue and a kid joins in chorus. Sreekumar’s Kando kando is yet another example - a combination of 80s Raja’s tune and the 90s Raja’s in the interludes. Manasiloru poomala, barring those awkwardly bad English intrusions, asserts the description in line one! But…there’s a small problem. Times have changed, my dear Raja! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with your music – it’s just that I’ve – unfortunately - grown out of it.

Keywords: Mohanlal, Meera Jasmine

Zara si & Haan tu hai – Jannat (Pritam, Hindi)
Jannat is one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard in recent times. And it’s pretty difficult for me to pick tracks out of it. I love all the four main tracks barring Jannat jahan, which has refused to grow on me. While Door na jaa and Kamran’s Judaai is mighty impressive, I go back to Zara si and Haan tu hai again and again - Haan tu hai in particular, its questionable origins from Amr Diab notwithstanding. This is a fantastic combination of Pritam sense of harmonious sound and a tune straight out of Nadeem Shravan’s repertoire…which perhaps explains the Amr Diab/ Middle Eastern connection

Jinke marina - Nanda Nanditha (Emil, Kannada)
The catchiest Kannada track I’ve heard this year. Composer Emil is appropriately enamored by his mentor, Jassie Gift and it shows, quite obviously, since the song is an unabashed take on Jassie’s chartbuster Malayalam track, Lajjavadhiye, which was reused in a Kannada film as well, recently. I caught this track while channel surfing on a Kannada music channel and was bowled over by its energy and cool vocal effects!

Neend na aaye – Journey (Fuzon, Indi/ Paki pop)
Rameez’s singing is no doubt fantastic, but considering the fact that there is an online video of Shafqat singing the same song, this one pales in comparison! But, to be fair, the tune is what works across both versions - it’s simply awesome.

Sorutihudu Maniya Maligi & Gudugudiya Sedi Nodo (Raghu Dixit, Indi-rock/ pop)
More Kannada numbers! These are the 2 best tracks in Raghu Dixit’s debut album. It takes guts to go with 2 vernacular tracks in a mainstream indi-pop/ rock album and hats off the Raghu and the composing duo, Vishal and Shekhar for backing him. My Kannada is terrible but I did have a session with my Kannada expert friends to understand these 2 songs’ lyrics by Shishunala Sharief - they’re amazing! The tunes too are extremely addictive and hats off the Raghu for pulling these off so well!

Chhor gaye and Humrahi – Meri Kahani (Atif Aslam, Indi/ Paki pop)
This is the most Atif-like song in his new album, Meri Kahani and I prefer this over the title song. Setting aside Sunidhi’s recent comments about Atif’s singing and the recent debates within Milliblog about his so-called nasal voice, just listen to this track for the typical Atif experience. Humrahi, on the other hand, reminds me of some vague 60s/ 70s SD Burmanish number and I love it precisely for that reason!

Boot polishaan (Gurdas Mann, Punjabi)
Yaju had recommended this one to me recently. When I noticed that Jaidev Kumar is the composer for this new album by Gurdas Mann, I was sure that I’d find something interesting here. Even though I’ve stayed in Delhi long enough to pick up a good smattering of Punjabi, it’s not as good to decipher what Gurdas sings throughout the album. But the one track that caught my attention was the title track, Boot Polishaan. Love Gurdas’ way of singing and the lively music.

Tashan mein – Tashan (Vishal Shekhar, Hindi)
My pick in the latest by Vishal Shekhar. Vishal and Saleem are in incredible form as they take turns extolling the virtues of the titular Tashan, even as Vishal’s rock pedigree lends super zing to this track.

The first thing that stands out in this Hinterland-punk is Vishal Shekhar’s sound. The powerful vocal effects in Dil haara’s prelude; pulsating - albeit routine - backgrounds in Chhaliya; vibrant arrangements of Dil dance maare and the funky fusion of Tashan mein…it’s a mesmerizing range. Sukhwinder and Sunidhi’s renditions enormously help the larger-than-life Dil haara and Chhaliya respectively, while Dil dance mare is sheer, unrestrained fun with hilarious English-Bhojpuri lyrics. Falak tak is Vishal Shekhar’s trademark melody – works every time. Tashan mein is the soundtrack’s highlight – a scintillating package with amazing vocal harmony between Vishal and Saleem. Tashan’s soundtrack rocks!

Keywords: Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Anil Kapoor

The sufi mix in Kolle is not bad at all - Guru carries the song well on his vocals, while Nanagu is a standard melody, heavily dependent on Kunal’s voice. Nagu nagu has a nursery rhyme-like structure and is easy on the ears – Rajesh Krishnan working his vocal magic on the track with Ganesh in different avatars! Nanna yedeyalli is run-of-the-mill pathos and Uphee too is plain mundane. Patra bareyala is the album’s highlight - soft sing-along ballad and excellent singing by Karthik. Aramane’s music is a far cry from the kind of music one expects from a Ganesh starrer.

Keywords: Ganesh, Roma

Adada is pedestrian. Ditto for America endralum - painfully banal, while Kaadhalukku, while being somewhat rhythmic, is again rather mundane. Senthamizh pesum is appallingly silly - in the name of coolness all we get is utter nonsense. Thankfully, Devi’s melodic streak gets the better of him in Uyire uyire - Sagar carrying this simple, mellow melody beautifully. And while Yeppadi irundha is catchy in the usual Devi sense, it’s strange that he left the lovely Bommani geetse from the Telugu original, Bommarillu, while reusing nearly all other tracks. Santosh Subramaniyam’s soundtrack lacks Tamil nativity and is a dumb copy-paste job.

Keywords: Jeyam Ravi, Genelia, Siddharth, Bommarillu, Santosh Subramaniam

Meri kahani is lively, lilting with clichéd lyrics, while Kinara works with better, existential lyrics. The album’s picks include Humrahi, for its Bengali-inspired 70s Hindi song sound; Rabba sacheya, for Atif’s fantastic singing and an alluring blend of folk and rock; Joug, for its inebriated, moody disposition; Kaun tha, the soft duet with SKJ, Mai nee for its imaginative backgrounds and the mellow, ballad-like Chor gayai. The full-on rockish Yaaro and Hungami halat, however, do not fit within the album’s mood. Atif’s incredible vocals play a huge part in elevating otherwise-average compositions and this formula succeeds even in Meri Kahani.

Keywords: Atif Aslam, Pakistani rock, Pakipop

Rimi Tomy’s sparkling vocals add immense value to the traditional Murugan song, Aarumugan munnil, while Ee raavil is a delightful potpourri of a weird prelude, techno backgrounds and a hint of Nordic/ Scandinavian folk! Kanalugal is comparatively routine, though very pleasant, but Kannin vaadhil is a scintillating 80s Ilayaraja-styled lullaby with nuanced mod additions – something even the Maestro does only in Malayalam, these days! Kattuda kattuda is boisterous, catchy and almost fully in Tamil! The Mulla theme with its exotic sound is interesting too, barring that MuLLa pronunciation! Vidyasagar’s work in Mulla is an interesting package – varied, massy and enjoyable.

Keywords: Dileep, Meera Nandan, Sruthi Menon, Biju Menon, Innocent

It’s a curious blend of Colonial Cousins, Euphoria and Rabbi - predominantly folk and very rock’ish. The best tracks are in Kannada - Shishunala’s Gudugudiya and the bluesy Sorutihudu, the tuneful former is my personal fave! The folk-reggae combo works great in Hey bhagwan while the very-Euphoria’ish Mysore se has an earnest, earthy charm. No man and I’m in Mumbai are – but for the imaginative violin phrases - only mildly interesting. Khidki and Ambar offer decent tunes with fantastic backgrounds. Raghu Dixit’s thick, accented voice does take some time getting used to, but the effervescent compositions appealed to me instantly.

Keywords: Bruce Lee Mani, Manoj George, Thermal and a Quarter, Keith Peters, Anirban Chakravarty, Prakash Sontakke, Josy John, H.N.Bhaskar, Gaurav Vaz, Vishal and Shekhar, Raghu Dixit Project

Fuzon’s sound has become more like an Indipop group than a Pakistani group, in Journey. The mellow Abhi hum and Tu kahan, the ballad’ish Jo dil ne, the semi-classical styled Suna suna and the stunningly beautiful Neend na aaye impress the most. These tracks are easy on the ears with simple, recall-worthy tunes. Dholna too is catchy, though with messy vocals, while the pop-tinged Teri yaadaan works for the interesting, Leslie Lewis’ish tune. But, besides the fact that we listeners really miss Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan’s vocals, the band has a pretty impressive set of tunes in their latest album.

Keywords: Rameez Mukhtaar, Imran Momina, Shallum Xavier