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The title song is breezy and likeable with hummable lyrics. College’s nostalgic lyrics is sappy and predictable, along with a contrived tune while composer Shan Rahman’s Let me tell U is boring. Masha Allah is however neat, with folk’ish, catchy and interesting hooks while the hip-hop’ish Palavattam simply rocks with its hep and funny attitude! O saathiya is slow and grating but Peythu’s poignant tune gels well with Vineeth’s vocals. Poonkuyile is rather filmy but the haunting tune makes up for it, along with Shan’s imaginative backgrounds. Coffee @ MG Road is really a mixed bag that is selectively endearing.

Keywords: Vineeth Srinivasan, Salim Kumar, Shan Rahman, Malayalee

Why don’t singers realize they are only as good as the tunes composed for them? The so-called Indi-pop singers, in particular! Getting a perennially sidelined composing duo is the first blunder. Granted, Sajid Wajid scored big time in Partner, but given their track record of non-descript and uninteresting music, Telugu pop singer Smita should’ve guessed the fate of her debut Hindi album. Not that she’s any better. With a couple of crappy albums in Telugu and one terrible remix album in Tamil, wonder what gave her the confidence to go national! Stay far away from this joke of an album.

Keywords: Whatever!

Sedate tunes in Challa and Ballo, with sweet accordion phrases in the latter, offer an interesting start to the album. Karachi valie and Maen bolia are conventionally rock’ish, however. Ode to Bandra, Tu avin Bandra is one for the Mumbaiyas, while the usually energetic Pagdi sambhal gets a somber twist with a roll call of many pagdi-bound men. Bilqis, with its powerful lyrics and the right mood is the pick of the album. The very personal Avengi ja nahin is lilting with absorbing arrangements but Return to unity is middling. Rabbi’s second outing is largely pensive, defying his spirited debut.

Keywords: Rabbi Shergill, Bulla ki jaana

I was expecting a Dhaani or even a Duur, but what I got was a bland, uninspiring album in Koi Aanay Wala Hai! The title track, Sonay do and Humsafar are the two tracks that really caught my attention. Titliyaan too is fairly interesting and Sajid’s flute really stands out in this track. But the rest of the album is surprisingly dull and predictable. There’s - for some reason - heavy Coldplay influence right across the album. The vocals are intact and so are the regular Strings’ish arrangements and guitar – but, disappointingly, the soul is missing in Bilal Maqsood’s compositions!

Keywords: Bilal Maqsood, Faisal Kapadia, Koi aane wala hai, Koi aanay waala hai

Sunoh’s ballad’ish tune is charming - Kkunal Sam’s arrangements are easy on the ears. Tu aa bhi ja - credited to Take That’s Beautiful World track, Patience – is uneven in Hindi. Subrato Ghosh and Joyit Lahiri’s Gungunade is lilting with fantastic arrangements by Joel. But, Joel’s composition in Yaadein, along with Nachiketa Chakraborty’s Halka halka are just passable. Shurjo Bhattacharya’s two tracks, the soulful Sanwariya and the lively, very-much-in-love Khushnuma, are the album’s highlights, the former, in particular with awesome vocals by Vasundara Das! Suzanne D’mello’s forcefully dancy Tere liye is bland, however. Three respectable tracks prop Babul’s self-titled album.

Keywords: Babul Supriyo, Sidelined forever singer

Chahar Balish’s sound is refreshingly different and progressive. The very well-sung, techno-laden folk in Pekar (language?), the delightfully rhythmed and sung Rang laga, the soulful Gaddiye and Dil pareeshan, the filmi Katna nai and the western structure in Chal ren de are fascinating. What doesn’t work however is the resurgence of Sajjad’s own hit, ABBA knock-off (Lay all your love on me) Bolo bolo, and Nai thakda, evoking embarrassing memories of the singer’s Cinderella days! This is Sajjad Ali’s most accomplished work yet – his impressive and flexible vocals, and the lively experimentations in tune and backgrounds are in top form!

Keywords: Sajjad Ali, Waqar Ali, Chief Saab, Sohni Lag di

Jal’s latest album is only mildly different from its original Pakistani avatar - the obvious absence of Yeh mera Pakistan and the inclusion of a Hindustan Unilever promoted track. Farhan does seem to struggle a bit with the vocals in Sajni, but the lovely tune and gorgeous guitar backgrounds make up for that. Kwality Walls must be quite happy - they’ve got the best track of the album, Love Sparks Chalte Chalte - lilting and immediately catchy! Raatein and Moray piya, with their now-adored Paki-rock infused formats; Goher’s delightful vocals in the soaked-in-love Humain itna pyaar and Chup chup; Farhan’s considerably-better singing in the slow, ballad’ish Payal are some of the album’s highlights. The Punjabi Main mastt hoon stands out with its varied percussion while the only Farhaan composed track, Kia se kia is a bit too offbeat in its rock approach. Mahia is the only other average track. But, this long overdue album from Jal is a solid piece of work - the tunes are firmly in place and so is the singing, along with their signature guitar. This is the third awesome piece of musical work from our neighbors, in recent times, after Fuzon and Khuda ke liye.

Keywords: Jal, Boondh, Boond

Thanks to his pedigree, Rahat’s first Indian album is a landmark. The combination of electronic sound, his vibrant vocals and some fantastic tunes is immediately arresting. The overall mood is sedate and ambient - best expounded in songs like More ang ang, Dunga pani, Aj hun and Saiyaan. Na janay kahan is the most commercial and familiar sounding tune, thanks to its Pakistani pop like structure. My personal favorite is the strongly sufi-flavored Kanday utay and the delightfully varied Tere bina that takes a strikingly different hue half way through! Charkha is a classy, mature and evolved piece of work!

Keywords: Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rohail Hyatt

Note: I completely missed mentioning the composer’s name here. Thanks to Disco Deewana’s comment for pointing this out.

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

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