Hi all,
Been a while since I've written something here, been busy writing words to songs. Nevertheless, jumping right into it, I just ordered and heard the latest Indus Creed album 'Evolve' and thoroughly enjoyed it, and am still enjoying it. So here's my two cents worth about the album.
For those who claim to love rock music in India and do not know of Indus Creed, take that rock you have been living under, and then smash it on your head. They are the originals, the innovators, the grand-daddys of all that is rock and pure in India.Starting out as 'Rock Machine' morphing into 'Indus Creed', and re-inventing themselves for numerous years (Alms For Shanti during [V] Jammin' anyone?), till the inevitable re-union and here they are. Jurassic Rock indeed.
Firstly, I must say this, I ordered the CD off flipkart and it was well-delivered, so kudos to the band for arranging that. The CD cover is a lovely graphic of a human diving into blue ether and the inlay contains similar themes interspersed with snapshots of the members, besides all the normal acknowledgements and text that a CD cover has.
Do remember this, that 'Indus Creed' is a rare band that can boast the individual strength of each member, all the members are experienced musicians, veterans in their own right, and extremely skilled. You can only imagine what happens when all this meets under a karmic headline. The result is 'Evolve'.
The first song of the album is 'Fireflies', and it sets the tone beautifully for the rest of the album. IC might just have to write a book on 'How to write Choruses', what with the anthems popping out one after the other. The song not only gives us an idea as to the tone of the album in terms of musicality, mix and direction, it emphasizes the evolution of the band from previous albums, which was still flirting with pop-rock. This time around, they are comfortable in their skin, in their styles and move through genres effortlessly. The sound is ambient yet tight, straight-forward yet textured, melodic yet intricate. Like I said, these guys know what they are going. 'Fireflies' is the kind of song you are going to listen to in your car on loop. Don't trust me?? Try it, I dare you!!
Next up is 'Dissolve', and 7:38 minute epic that starts off with a majestic, soaring melody that had me thinking of old Indian kings, and just when Tipu Sultan hit my head, they launch into this groove which loops in 20... 5,3,5,3,4!! Just awesome, and something which pricked my ears immediately. Being a big 'Rush' fan, movements like that always get me going, and they launch into a massive chorus, followed by a keyboard section with a lot of tremolo goodness. The chorus comes in to save my life again and just when I couldn't be feeling any better, Mr. Tinaikar launches into what can only be called pyro on guitar and now I want to dive into blue ether. A melodic bridge follows and then the song follows it's steps to the end. Sweet, definitely one of the pillars of the album along with 'Fireflies'.
'The Money' coming after 'Dissolve' falls a bit flat with it's marching band style movement. The lack of atmospheric keyboards that were dominating the tone in the previous songs was fairly evident and definitely needed. Not sure if this is one those songs that complete the numbers, but it's almost electronic edge seems to be off-putting (to me atleast), although the keyboard solo is cool.
'Take It Harder' boasts another massive chorus and the suitable atmospheric vibe that returns it to the general theme of the album, another pillar. Relevant lyrics talking about the violence that is omni-present around us, and the angst and astonishment that most should feel if they did take 2 minutes out of their lives to think about it. Do wait for the guitar solo, is a good one.
'No Disgrace' starts almost sounding like something from Pink Floyd but the syncopated drum bursts quickly dispel that feel and off we launch into one of the coolest riffs of the album. Mr. Benegal talks about the rat race that needs no introduction, and the pressure that all of us feel, and assures us that it's cool if you didn't win the race. Lyrics with a lot of meaning, although set in a rock-environment. 'Did they take your dreams, Doused them all with kerosesne. From the ground you watched it burn, Maybe some day they all will learn.' The song has a very neat bridge which is followed by some more wizardry from Mr. Balporia and Mahesh. The keyboard solo sounds like it could have been in any Dream Theater song, from the choice of groove, to the choice of notes, to the style of rhythm on the guitar, to that change of key in the middle of the solo. I'm not knocking it, I actually really really enjoyed the solo. :)
'Come Around' starts with a guitar and vocals. Uday talks about (a person) who he seems to hero-worship. Someone who could 'Fall again, off the edge of the Earth. Were you wrestling lions, or diving for pearls.' Poignant lyrics, understated and has it's own beauty. Settles into a lovely groove. If you find me using too many superlatives, well that's because the music and words are that good. As it turns out, the person he is hero-worshipping is his Dad who walked out on him and his mom while he was a child.
'Bulletproof' next, and this is my favourite song in the album. Short, snappy and with a lot of cool thrown around, because they can!!! The pre-chorus has the best riff of the album period. This song has me doing cartwheels in my head.
Last and not least, 'Goodbye'. Another good chorus, amazing guitar placement on the stereo spectrum, tells a story in itself.
Things that have not been mentioned but need to be mentioned now, the superlative bass and drum work by Rushad Mistry and Jai Row Kavi respectively. Like I said, they are all giants on their respective instruments and it shows, the playing on the album is just spotless. The vocals of Uday should be the blueprint for young singers who want to learn how to sing their own style rather than being an imitation. Another thing, the mix by Tim Palmer is just pure bliss. Drum-heavy, (which works out great when your drummer kicks ass), atmospheric, lush and warm, this is one good-sounding album. Very progressive in nature, and in my humble opinion is a return of superlative songwriting to the Indian rock scene, not seen since 'Maktub'. In short, buy it, and listen to some of the best songs that have come out in a while. All the talk about mixes and so on would fall to the wayside if the songs weren't good. They are, so order now.
A big thank you to Indus Creed for this album. 17 years in the making and boy did they make it.
Cheers!
Surjo
Been a while since I've written something here, been busy writing words to songs. Nevertheless, jumping right into it, I just ordered and heard the latest Indus Creed album 'Evolve' and thoroughly enjoyed it, and am still enjoying it. So here's my two cents worth about the album.
For those who claim to love rock music in India and do not know of Indus Creed, take that rock you have been living under, and then smash it on your head. They are the originals, the innovators, the grand-daddys of all that is rock and pure in India.Starting out as 'Rock Machine' morphing into 'Indus Creed', and re-inventing themselves for numerous years (Alms For Shanti during [V] Jammin' anyone?), till the inevitable re-union and here they are. Jurassic Rock indeed.
Firstly, I must say this, I ordered the CD off flipkart and it was well-delivered, so kudos to the band for arranging that. The CD cover is a lovely graphic of a human diving into blue ether and the inlay contains similar themes interspersed with snapshots of the members, besides all the normal acknowledgements and text that a CD cover has.
Do remember this, that 'Indus Creed' is a rare band that can boast the individual strength of each member, all the members are experienced musicians, veterans in their own right, and extremely skilled. You can only imagine what happens when all this meets under a karmic headline. The result is 'Evolve'.
The first song of the album is 'Fireflies', and it sets the tone beautifully for the rest of the album. IC might just have to write a book on 'How to write Choruses', what with the anthems popping out one after the other. The song not only gives us an idea as to the tone of the album in terms of musicality, mix and direction, it emphasizes the evolution of the band from previous albums, which was still flirting with pop-rock. This time around, they are comfortable in their skin, in their styles and move through genres effortlessly. The sound is ambient yet tight, straight-forward yet textured, melodic yet intricate. Like I said, these guys know what they are going. 'Fireflies' is the kind of song you are going to listen to in your car on loop. Don't trust me?? Try it, I dare you!!
Next up is 'Dissolve', and 7:38 minute epic that starts off with a majestic, soaring melody that had me thinking of old Indian kings, and just when Tipu Sultan hit my head, they launch into this groove which loops in 20... 5,3,5,3,4!! Just awesome, and something which pricked my ears immediately. Being a big 'Rush' fan, movements like that always get me going, and they launch into a massive chorus, followed by a keyboard section with a lot of tremolo goodness. The chorus comes in to save my life again and just when I couldn't be feeling any better, Mr. Tinaikar launches into what can only be called pyro on guitar and now I want to dive into blue ether. A melodic bridge follows and then the song follows it's steps to the end. Sweet, definitely one of the pillars of the album along with 'Fireflies'.
'The Money' coming after 'Dissolve' falls a bit flat with it's marching band style movement. The lack of atmospheric keyboards that were dominating the tone in the previous songs was fairly evident and definitely needed. Not sure if this is one those songs that complete the numbers, but it's almost electronic edge seems to be off-putting (to me atleast), although the keyboard solo is cool.
'Take It Harder' boasts another massive chorus and the suitable atmospheric vibe that returns it to the general theme of the album, another pillar. Relevant lyrics talking about the violence that is omni-present around us, and the angst and astonishment that most should feel if they did take 2 minutes out of their lives to think about it. Do wait for the guitar solo, is a good one.
'No Disgrace' starts almost sounding like something from Pink Floyd but the syncopated drum bursts quickly dispel that feel and off we launch into one of the coolest riffs of the album. Mr. Benegal talks about the rat race that needs no introduction, and the pressure that all of us feel, and assures us that it's cool if you didn't win the race. Lyrics with a lot of meaning, although set in a rock-environment. 'Did they take your dreams, Doused them all with kerosesne. From the ground you watched it burn, Maybe some day they all will learn.' The song has a very neat bridge which is followed by some more wizardry from Mr. Balporia and Mahesh. The keyboard solo sounds like it could have been in any Dream Theater song, from the choice of groove, to the choice of notes, to the style of rhythm on the guitar, to that change of key in the middle of the solo. I'm not knocking it, I actually really really enjoyed the solo. :)
'Come Around' starts with a guitar and vocals. Uday talks about (a person) who he seems to hero-worship. Someone who could 'Fall again, off the edge of the Earth. Were you wrestling lions, or diving for pearls.' Poignant lyrics, understated and has it's own beauty. Settles into a lovely groove. If you find me using too many superlatives, well that's because the music and words are that good. As it turns out, the person he is hero-worshipping is his Dad who walked out on him and his mom while he was a child.
'Bulletproof' next, and this is my favourite song in the album. Short, snappy and with a lot of cool thrown around, because they can!!! The pre-chorus has the best riff of the album period. This song has me doing cartwheels in my head.
Last and not least, 'Goodbye'. Another good chorus, amazing guitar placement on the stereo spectrum, tells a story in itself.
Things that have not been mentioned but need to be mentioned now, the superlative bass and drum work by Rushad Mistry and Jai Row Kavi respectively. Like I said, they are all giants on their respective instruments and it shows, the playing on the album is just spotless. The vocals of Uday should be the blueprint for young singers who want to learn how to sing their own style rather than being an imitation. Another thing, the mix by Tim Palmer is just pure bliss. Drum-heavy, (which works out great when your drummer kicks ass), atmospheric, lush and warm, this is one good-sounding album. Very progressive in nature, and in my humble opinion is a return of superlative songwriting to the Indian rock scene, not seen since 'Maktub'. In short, buy it, and listen to some of the best songs that have come out in a while. All the talk about mixes and so on would fall to the wayside if the songs weren't good. They are, so order now.
A big thank you to Indus Creed for this album. 17 years in the making and boy did they make it.
Cheers!
Surjo
Hi Surjo,
ReplyDeleteA lovely, heart-felt review of Evolve. I am listening to it as I type this comment to you... and I am really liking it. The crop of 'rock bands' have always been heavy metal, thrash/death metal, which I have never ever tried to even listen or like.
I was introduced to Indus Creed when cable TV reached us. That's when I heard-watched Rock Machine belt out Top of the Pops. I totally agree that this band has to be admired for the way they stuck to their guns, didn't change their music to suit 'hype' or turn to money-making tricks.
The new album is fresh. Honestly, I don't listen to rock all that much so I cannot call myself as a hardcore rock fan. I think I need to update myself some times. :) But i really like the sound of this album. Their mixing engineer, Palmer, seems to have done a good job too. Look out for the Rolling Stone article on them, if you have missed it.
www.induscreed.net/img/photos/rollingstoneindia-feb2012.pdf
Hi Aristarkhos,
DeleteThanks for your kind words. I get your sentiment, sometimes it is more fun to visit places we have been to before than to go to a new place altogether. I did read the Rolling Stone article, and agreed with all that was written there. The appeal of the music is true, since you say you are not a hardcore rock fan, and I am a professional musician. It just cuts across lines, and that's music needs to be, rock more than anything else.
Cheers
Surjo