Album Review: Antariksh- Khoj

Hi,
    My name is Surjo and I'm a professional musician. The music you're hearing (hopefully) is from my debut album 'The Key Has Turned' which you can buy here.

   The album up for review is 'Khoj' by New Delhi based band Antariksh. I must admit that listening to their album for the first time got me real excited about the possibilities of Hindi rock with a keener edge, and hopefully they can reach the level of success where their music is heard and adored by massive numbers. Certainly, the musical potential is there, it's just a question of whether all the pieces to the jigsaw are there or not.

 

You can buy 'Khoj' here. 

The first song in the album is 'Parichay' and it stands to true to it's name. It's an introduction, no words, just setting the tone for a lot of innovative guitar melodies, and there is a lot of innovation in the production of this track too which scores a lot of points in the cool meter too. The aggression is pumped up in the latter half of the song, till it breaks down to an orchestral section, which is misleading since the band doesn't have a keyboard player, or a string section. A small disconnect though, they outline one of their signature tunes in the final measures. 

                                                                                                                                                                    

'Parichay' immediately morphs into the opening riff of  'Dheere Dheere' without any breaks, and what a riff it is too. Super funky, and the brown note in there too, and that's a rarity in a riff, let alone a Hindi rock riff. Cool points boys. The vocals don't score high points for 2 major reasons. The first time I heard this band, I didn't know anything about them, except that a friend of mine serves as their manager. So I heard the album with a blank slate, and when I heard the first vocals I thought, wow, they have Usha Uthup as their singer. When I found out that it was a guy singing, it was just a major WTF moment. Secondly, with all bands that know that their arrangements are stronger than their vocals, here too, the vocals are kinda behind in the mix, and don't make it easy to be understood. Like seriously, this is the 4th time I'm rewinding to listen to the words, and the music is just taking me on a trip each time, and I can't focus on the words. So while uber cool points for the music, the vocals are just going to have to sit this one out. Very neat breakdown, and the bridge later on is pretty good. The band have definitely taken their time in making sure that the soundscape is an interesting one. Cool points for a cool guitar solo with a killer two-handed tapping section. 

'Aisa Hi Hota Hai' has a riff that defines swag. It starts out one way, but ends up another way and is cool both ways. Now that's swag. I've tried to focus on the lyrics, and it speaks of instances in life when everything might seem against you and you're in the doldrums, that those moments shall pass and there'll be a new tomorrow. The verse riff is reggae, and the chorus is hard rock, while the breakdown is jazz followed by power metal. 

 

'Naa Jaane Kyun' starts off with a fun little acoustic guitar riff. The same syndrome of listening 4 times for getting the words hit this song too, but I fared better. The song speaks of the uncertainty of the ways of the heart, and how it can take one away from what the sensible roads are, and how it takes us back to what we love. The verse is far better suited for the feel than the chorus which has a more syncoptated feel to it, and the bridge back to the final chorus felt a bit choppy, but a good song nonetheless. 

'Nishabd' starts off with a really edge riff and almost a Dave Matthews style drum groove at the back. The high level of music is to be expected, given that band members of Antariksh have paid their dues being in pretty tight metal bands in the past, and have a understanding of each other's styles from that time period. Another possible reason for the high-flown music is that they're from studious backgrounds, and these riffs have that prog quality that studious folk tend to play ( Is that discrimination of sorts? Don't shoot me, I belong to that group too). Didn't quite catch the words to the chorus, so there goes that. The music is spot on though. The end of the guitar solo into the breakdown and the bridge is just prog chocolate cake, with a whole lot of yum, and a gallop at the end to boot. 

'Aashayein' is next, and it starts off with the sound of a motorcycle engine, before moving into a quite lovely acoustic guitar riff. The first lines speak of the futility of starting an adventure based on the destination alone, and ignoring the journey entirely. The lyrics are understandable, and are following a generic pattern that their music has successfull avoided thus far. This is the most laid back song in the album so far. When I'd first gotten the album, I'd played it to a lot of my friends and seen if they shared my enthusiasm about the album, and none of them did. One of the reasons I got was, if they're going to sing in Hindi, atleast let it sound like Hindi, it sounds like an English speaking guy singing in Hindi. And that was from a guy who lives on Clapton, Buddy Guy and Joe Bonamassa, so that did get me thinking. I just tripped on how cool the music was, and I'm part of a really small demographic of people who listen closely to music (and write reviews, for instance), whereas most people who listen to this want to be able to sing along, for which the vocals are the most important bit, not the music. So I feel that'll be the major disconnect between this band and the next level of success. 

'Tum' starts off with a massive orchestral string section. This song is more of a vocal showcase and it doesn't work out well, and the pronunciation and the tone just doesn't work. The music works, as it does with all songs in the album, and there are a couple of subtle mode changes that pain a prettier picture. The sudden appearance of a carnatic guitar solo drew my attention to the fact that Baiju Dharmajan does a cameo in the song. Major arrangement, mix, feel and tone mismatch on his sections. 

'Shoonya' starts off with what could be a techno version of the start of 'Another Brick In The Wall' by Pink Floyd. That morphs into a nice guitar bit that has two Steve Vai sweep licks followed a Steve Vai alternate picking lick, running into a fairly generic rock riff. The Joe Sat whammy bar lick makes it's way into the song (twice), and some DT influences shine through in the breakdown. A whole lot of Porcupine Tree follows and then the song is over. The musical innovation that scores so highly elsewhere in the album scores a shoonya here. 

'Aur' starts off with an uptempo version of the chorus refrain from 'Dheere Dheere' and then settles into a nice pocket riff. A nice shift to the 4th minor lends a cool dynamic shift to the verse. The pre-chorus riff is just pure prog gold. The chorus delves into almost metalcore territory, and the vocal melody has some nice notes in it, but all the the previous factors prevent it from scoring way higher. The vocal harmonies here are a welcome addition though. The guitar solo is followed by the intro section again, and is followed by a whole lot of alternate picking. The words speak of the human tendency to keep wanting more. 

'Khoj' is a one and a half minute vocal showcase, that I'm sure is a link between songs here, but the vocals just aren't pulling their weight. 

'Intezaar' is the last song, which starts off with a melodic acoustic guitar riff, almost DTish. Ok, that's a female vocal for sure. The lyrics speak of the wrong in waiting for a love which hurts each time. The second verse features the male vocal, and it needs harmonies, and a lot of them to try and meet the power of the female vocal. It doesn't quite. The girl has more volume singing an octave lower, and it's a real lesson to me in how bands often overlook what might be the most important bridge between their music and their audience. The vocal melodies throughout most of the song are interesting, and in the hands of a better vocalist would have made a major difference. That key change for the solo has always been one of my favourite ones, so cool points for pulling that out of the hat. 

That finishes the review. I stand by the musical quality of the album, in that it is top notch, but what lets it down are the vocals. This is Hindi prog rock, which is a rarity, and as a fan of prog rock, and as a person who desperately wants new sounds to emerge in Hindi, this is definitely a very good start. Just a few more pieces to fall into the puzzle and Antariksh might be a major force to reckon with. Good luck