Hi,
My name is Surjo and I'm a professional musician. The songs you're hearing (hopefully) are from my debut album 'The Key Has Turned' which you can buy here.
The album up for review is brand spanking new,
which I never really do,
and you might be asking who,
but these guys aren't two plus two,
they're three malayalis and a quarter malayali, or at least they were till the lineup went askew.
Ladies and gentlemen, presenting 'The Scene', by Thermal And A Quarter. You can buy it here.
For those who don't understand the album title, TAAQ have set up a whole website here just to answer your questions. My personal favourite was the FAQ from TAAQ.. Wow, if you just pronounce that without spelling it out it gets kinda dirty. I'm almost certain they'd seen that bit too.
I must say, as a struggling musician from a small city, (whose first album, despite being the top seller in the country for 2 weeks, failed to gain any major traction with the powers that be) this album just looks like something to drown all my sorrows in, just the song titles are enough to take me on a ride here. I hope Bruce Lee gets his guitar and vocal chops in along with his karate ones. If the previous sentence turns out to be unintelligible for first timers to TAAQ, their guitarist, singer, writer's name is Bruce Lee Mani. (Sorry Bruce, my first and last karate joke, you know I respect you a great deal)
'Like Me' starts off the album with the kind of busy prog-blues riff that have become TAAQ's signature over the years. The words are just hilarious, narrating the dilemma of the young artist to get more people to 'like' their creations. And no mercy either, Bruce clearly pulls out the punk card for those musicians who're more interested in getting likes on their pics than chords in their songs. Bravo Bruce, bravo. (Please imagine me going 'Whoo' from the sidelines in support, just like all girls do for just about everything now). Oh and btw, massive cool points for the bridge and the solo, and not for using the neck or bridge pickup, them boys just don't do regular do they. Also, the lyrical undercurrent of how artists perceive their fans is super interesting too.
'I'm Endorsed Are You', starts off with an almost UB40ish riff. I don't think I've ever said that sentence in my life before, so cool points to TAAQ. The lyrics are again super edgy, with the victim being those whose noses are up in the air as a result of landing an undeserved endorsement. I am completely regretting that TAAQ have never really played in and around my city, it's actually my resolution for 2015 to watch these guys live before the year is up. You know what, whichever song has a solo, just assume cool points on the solo from here on out, Bruce knows what he's doing with a guitar.
'MED' is a big knock to the EDM movement that has swept all the dirt out of musical closets and floors everywhere, has given them a laptop, and put them on stage, and called them musicians. Yo Bruce, if you read this, I don't know why, but EDM crowds suddenly reminded me of the 'Another Brick In The Wall' video, where everyone walks uniformly to their slaughter. A lot of vitriol in the words on this one. Sample the outro refrain, 'You Make Me Sick, I Make Music'. You know I had the same thoughts about a song when I was listening to electronic act after act at NH7 this year, but my approach and choice of words was quite different, but this warmed the cockles of my heart. That outro refrain, Ha ha ha, they programmed it. Ha ha ha. And extra long, extra musical outro for added effect.
'Godrocker', first of all, cool points for all song titles so far. This is a thinking man's band boss, and I'm loving doing my thinking with this in the background. The riff rakes in a whole lot of cool points, for reminding me of Elvis' Jailhouse Rock's staccato and the urban blues that I'm a big fan of. The words are another major hit to the bookers with the messiah complex who don't think twice to exploit bands for the sake of their profit. Super head-bob. The song contains one of the best bits of wordplay I've heard so far, "I'll take you to a broad", that ain't a girl reference, that's just how people say it in India sometimes, going to abroad. Trust TAAQ to broaden that reference up. Oh man, so many knocks Bruce, bugger prog-blues, this is becoming true rock really quickly. Anti-establishment at it's angry peak.
'Flok Rock', the first strains of the music hit me, and I had the words open in front of me, and I burst out laughing. Oh man, more knocks to come. These guys must have been angry writing this album, love it. The reality is enticing. The guitar riff scores real high on the cool points meter. The chorus is infinitely singable. Lyrics bashing the tendency of bands to follow fads or fuse Indian music with rock to get more people listening for their 15 minutes of fame. Btw, Floyd reference with 'Another Brick In The Wall', guys I'm running out of cool points to give you'll. Oh ho, self reference with Paper Puli. What joy.
'Dig The Chicks' talks about the changing audience in the Indian rock 'scene' (jeez Bruce, don't hate me for saying that word). No hits here, so a nice change of pace, and the words just draw you into the story, maybe because girls at shows is just such an interesting story. A palate cleanser.
'Going To Abroad'. Oh wow, they made a whole song on that one phrase. This promises to be good. The story speaks of how more than 20 years ago when someone we knew returned from abroad and how they became objects of morbid curiosity and attention. Bruce channels his inner Bee Gee for the chorus. These guys have a real expertise in straightforward narration, they don't deal in too many metaphors, and the ones they use aren't so complicated as to pause the flow of the music.
'My Funny Turpentine' obviously borrows from jazz classic 'My Funny Valentine' for the name, and has a real uptempo bluegrass style riff. This is a song about getting high off of turpentine? Is that possible? I'm a bad judge for this boss, I'm completely clean. The story goes real well in the song till the point where he'd rather watch the paint dry on his walls rather than go for wine or a needle. Real short and involved guitar solo.
'The Scene' is next, and the moment I read 'folk fusion gimmicks' a particular band sprung to mind, wonder if they had the same thought too, and this obviously means that it's hunting season again and TAAQ have equipped their pens with bullets. Two lines in and I'm already salivating. Did they deliberately simplify the music to draw more attention to the words with this one? Highly likely. Wow, that's 2 uses of the F-word in the album, TAAQ is angry. Oh damn, the song also speaks of performing at places where people are more involved with eating than with listening and what it does to the confidence of the musician. Bravo again.
'The Sponsors Backed Out' closes the album, and cool points for the song title again. I don't really need to explain what the song is about do I? I must say this, the riff is wicked, a lot more wicked than a lot of 'rock' bands manage. A lot more menace in the voice and guitars bring in a different colour. A different kind of head-bob.
I had heard Dhruv Ghanekar say that the Indian music industry is obsessed with creating hits, and not enough focus is put on creating. With that being said, this is one of the most honest, creative albums put out by anyone, and it holds the kind of intensity, finesse and character that will find recognition sooner rather than later. Well done TAAQ, what a wonderful bit of creation this is.
My name is Surjo and I'm a professional musician. The songs you're hearing (hopefully) are from my debut album 'The Key Has Turned' which you can buy here.
The album up for review is brand spanking new,
which I never really do,
and you might be asking who,
but these guys aren't two plus two,
they're three malayalis and a quarter malayali, or at least they were till the lineup went askew.
Ladies and gentlemen, presenting 'The Scene', by Thermal And A Quarter. You can buy it here.
For those who don't understand the album title, TAAQ have set up a whole website here just to answer your questions. My personal favourite was the FAQ from TAAQ.. Wow, if you just pronounce that without spelling it out it gets kinda dirty. I'm almost certain they'd seen that bit too.
I must say, as a struggling musician from a small city, (whose first album, despite being the top seller in the country for 2 weeks, failed to gain any major traction with the powers that be) this album just looks like something to drown all my sorrows in, just the song titles are enough to take me on a ride here. I hope Bruce Lee gets his guitar and vocal chops in along with his karate ones. If the previous sentence turns out to be unintelligible for first timers to TAAQ, their guitarist, singer, writer's name is Bruce Lee Mani. (Sorry Bruce, my first and last karate joke, you know I respect you a great deal)
'Like Me' starts off the album with the kind of busy prog-blues riff that have become TAAQ's signature over the years. The words are just hilarious, narrating the dilemma of the young artist to get more people to 'like' their creations. And no mercy either, Bruce clearly pulls out the punk card for those musicians who're more interested in getting likes on their pics than chords in their songs. Bravo Bruce, bravo. (Please imagine me going 'Whoo' from the sidelines in support, just like all girls do for just about everything now). Oh and btw, massive cool points for the bridge and the solo, and not for using the neck or bridge pickup, them boys just don't do regular do they. Also, the lyrical undercurrent of how artists perceive their fans is super interesting too.
'I'm Endorsed Are You', starts off with an almost UB40ish riff. I don't think I've ever said that sentence in my life before, so cool points to TAAQ. The lyrics are again super edgy, with the victim being those whose noses are up in the air as a result of landing an undeserved endorsement. I am completely regretting that TAAQ have never really played in and around my city, it's actually my resolution for 2015 to watch these guys live before the year is up. You know what, whichever song has a solo, just assume cool points on the solo from here on out, Bruce knows what he's doing with a guitar.
'MED' is a big knock to the EDM movement that has swept all the dirt out of musical closets and floors everywhere, has given them a laptop, and put them on stage, and called them musicians. Yo Bruce, if you read this, I don't know why, but EDM crowds suddenly reminded me of the 'Another Brick In The Wall' video, where everyone walks uniformly to their slaughter. A lot of vitriol in the words on this one. Sample the outro refrain, 'You Make Me Sick, I Make Music'. You know I had the same thoughts about a song when I was listening to electronic act after act at NH7 this year, but my approach and choice of words was quite different, but this warmed the cockles of my heart. That outro refrain, Ha ha ha, they programmed it. Ha ha ha. And extra long, extra musical outro for added effect.
'Godrocker', first of all, cool points for all song titles so far. This is a thinking man's band boss, and I'm loving doing my thinking with this in the background. The riff rakes in a whole lot of cool points, for reminding me of Elvis' Jailhouse Rock's staccato and the urban blues that I'm a big fan of. The words are another major hit to the bookers with the messiah complex who don't think twice to exploit bands for the sake of their profit. Super head-bob. The song contains one of the best bits of wordplay I've heard so far, "I'll take you to a broad", that ain't a girl reference, that's just how people say it in India sometimes, going to abroad. Trust TAAQ to broaden that reference up. Oh man, so many knocks Bruce, bugger prog-blues, this is becoming true rock really quickly. Anti-establishment at it's angry peak.
'Flok Rock', the first strains of the music hit me, and I had the words open in front of me, and I burst out laughing. Oh man, more knocks to come. These guys must have been angry writing this album, love it. The reality is enticing. The guitar riff scores real high on the cool points meter. The chorus is infinitely singable. Lyrics bashing the tendency of bands to follow fads or fuse Indian music with rock to get more people listening for their 15 minutes of fame. Btw, Floyd reference with 'Another Brick In The Wall', guys I'm running out of cool points to give you'll. Oh ho, self reference with Paper Puli. What joy.
'Dig The Chicks' talks about the changing audience in the Indian rock 'scene' (jeez Bruce, don't hate me for saying that word). No hits here, so a nice change of pace, and the words just draw you into the story, maybe because girls at shows is just such an interesting story. A palate cleanser.
'Going To Abroad'. Oh wow, they made a whole song on that one phrase. This promises to be good. The story speaks of how more than 20 years ago when someone we knew returned from abroad and how they became objects of morbid curiosity and attention. Bruce channels his inner Bee Gee for the chorus. These guys have a real expertise in straightforward narration, they don't deal in too many metaphors, and the ones they use aren't so complicated as to pause the flow of the music.
'My Funny Turpentine' obviously borrows from jazz classic 'My Funny Valentine' for the name, and has a real uptempo bluegrass style riff. This is a song about getting high off of turpentine? Is that possible? I'm a bad judge for this boss, I'm completely clean. The story goes real well in the song till the point where he'd rather watch the paint dry on his walls rather than go for wine or a needle. Real short and involved guitar solo.
'The Scene' is next, and the moment I read 'folk fusion gimmicks' a particular band sprung to mind, wonder if they had the same thought too, and this obviously means that it's hunting season again and TAAQ have equipped their pens with bullets. Two lines in and I'm already salivating. Did they deliberately simplify the music to draw more attention to the words with this one? Highly likely. Wow, that's 2 uses of the F-word in the album, TAAQ is angry. Oh damn, the song also speaks of performing at places where people are more involved with eating than with listening and what it does to the confidence of the musician. Bravo again.
'The Sponsors Backed Out' closes the album, and cool points for the song title again. I don't really need to explain what the song is about do I? I must say this, the riff is wicked, a lot more wicked than a lot of 'rock' bands manage. A lot more menace in the voice and guitars bring in a different colour. A different kind of head-bob.
I had heard Dhruv Ghanekar say that the Indian music industry is obsessed with creating hits, and not enough focus is put on creating. With that being said, this is one of the most honest, creative albums put out by anyone, and it holds the kind of intensity, finesse and character that will find recognition sooner rather than later. Well done TAAQ, what a wonderful bit of creation this is.
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