Review - Prachir

I have been wanting to do this , ever since I wrote about Cactus' new album. Maybe this time it will be right.

I came across this band , about a day before one of my final exams last semester, trying to find new Indian bands and online radio for the same. I did manage to hear two of their songs and hated them, thinking them to be loose lyrics. The third song from that playlist however caught me and I kept listening to it. Soon the album was in my Itunes and Ipod and the band had almost all their songs from their debut album in my TOP 25 MOST PLAYED list. Later I realised they also made it to the top 6 of the Channel V Launchpad Competition (The only existing reality tv show that seems to make a little bit of sense.. not a lot but still). Its sad that their bassist dumped them in the middle of the show and I wonder if it was a gimmick because they were too good and probably one of the best acts in the country right now. I have asked some of my readers to listen to them but this is the first time I am writing about them. I am talking about Prachir and their self titled debut album.

I originally thought that I would give you guys a clip of every song in the album but then I realised that its just stereotypical and since these guys are anything but that in the current Bengali Rock scenario it was not doing them justice ..

Prachir has a sound that currently very few other Bengali Rock bands possess and the fact that they have reached this sound in their very first album is something to be proud of and also to watch out for. Fossils I remember had an amazing first album and they topped it up with their second album, but as a real Fossils fan I have been disappointed after that. Hopefully Prachir will have their act together for sometime, for they are truly something to hold on to for sometime.

Their first song called Porichoy (deftly termed as Introduction) is a song apparently about drug addiction and it really does have strong lyrics. The words are not exceptionally intricate. I think as a principle Prachir does not try to use high strung words. Their words are simple. This probably gives them that much space to experiment with their fillers. Porichoy is truly a nice introduction although the change of scale in the middle of the song has a little too much of a repetitive lead. The classic second stranza lead is really good. Just by this part of the first song, one would know why I like a band like this.. I mean they give a 40 second (about 8 cycles) guitar solo.... obviously I would like it. The song by now has reached a high pitch with Soumyo's vocals ending the song really well.

The next one is Bharotborsho (India) .The song starts with a heavy lead and would be an instant hit with the metalheads. The lyrics over a period of time will turn out to be once again good and deep lyrics written in very simple language. If these guys really want their lyrics to mean anything, they do so with no nonsense because only then will it reach everyone. I dont love the lead solo of this song too much but just the power of this song takes it through.
By now Prachir has settled into their sound, that boasts of very powerful vocals and an exceptional guitar sound (Bua).

And it is then that their third song Uttorer Bhire (Crowd of Questions). The only thing that I did not like in this songs is the backing vocals. Otherwise this is to me one of their best song. Lyrics are deep and meaningful, the lead vocals is tight and compact, the drumming is spot on and the end solo is brilliant. This is another one for classic hard rock fans and I guarantee this song will not disappoint you.

With three songs with great energy in each of them, I believe they had to have a softer one and this one was Tsunami. The song obviously refers to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It has a very soothing effect with the sound with as little distortion as possible. It has a distinguishable keyboard part and all in all it serves its purpose for a small time to gather ones breath. Because the next song - Shrinkhol (Chains) - is arguably one of the hardest songs I have heard from a Bengali Band. Right from the first crash cymbal to the intro lead that sounds very much like Metallica - I disappear to the filler provided by the keyboard with the guitar in the background to the final guitar lead that plays behind the vocals, this song smells, sounds and feels of the real energy these guys are really all about.

Hotash Prithibi (Disappointed Earth), the next song, takes it from where Shrinkhol left it and for those who love double bass drumming, this one is for you. This song drives the point further that Prachir is not here to make soft music about romance. (I might have to eat my words because they might make something like that later considering thats what sells ....unfortunately). But till then, they are here to make some loud music with absolutely precise targets of heart pounding vocals, relentless drumming and classic hard guitars. This song is when I guess the drummer (Ayan) realised that he had not done enough to stand out and he does.

My excitement about these guys when I first heard their album was more about their sound than the individual songs. After a long time Band Music in Calcutta was experimenting with new sounds that were harder and looked towards an underground future and were not scared to do it. The fact that these guys were now being released in the same mainstream label (Asha Audio) who release Porosh Pathor at one point of time does speak of newer Independent Music Labels required for the band scene there, but it also probably talks about the fact that the audience base for such bands is increasing. Progressive/Alternative Rock/Metal has reached the Bengali Band scene and from what it looks like it should stay for some time.

Swadhinota (Freedom) is another such quintessential progressive metal track. Lyrically strong, this song by now fits the Prachir sound perfectly. Once again these guys use keyboards really well. The guitar solo in this song is one to be proud of for any guitarist and give the song a complete feel.

I love an album where I cannot decide which one is really my favorite, because they all sound so good and this one is definitely one of them with Hotash Prithibi, Shrinkhol and Uttorer Bhire all being so close in being the best song. But in the end (and isnt it sooooooo cliched), but there is only one winner and that is the last song - Shrinkhol acoustic version. This is the song that really made me look back at Prachir with respect when I was going to dump them in the folder of Bands Ive heard and not Bands I like.

The acoustic version of Shrinkhol is probably the most listened song in my ipod and you will know if you hear it. I dont think you need to understand Bengali to like it as I found in my lab. My lab boasts of a great sound system with two huge speakers kept at the highest racks so that sound has a really full sound. It is one of the many things i love about my lab. My fellow lab members are very appreciative about good music and a lot of times if I play my music which mostly now consists of newly found Indian/Bengali/Bangladeshi Music and it is worth it I would get a comment saying "Nice song" . Trust me. I am proud of some of the bands from Calcutta and India. My lab members are not Music Critics but they hear a lot of music as well and varied origin and to like a song without understanding the lyrics means a great deal for the Band and evidently for its fan (Me!) It is a strict NO NO in professional circuits to be a fan of the Band you are reviewing , or so I heard, but I guess Im not a professional ...

This song boasts of beautiful vocals, amazing guitar work, but of all brilliant keyboards (Indranil). Its brilliant to find every individual band member making his mark in different songs.
I have always believed and probably even said it here, that a Band represents an unit and even though once in a while there are individuals of whom you will hear more, because they are good looking or more energetic or reveals too much or some other gimmick , it is ultimately the compact complete sound of everybody together that makes it a good BAND. These guys are just that.

A lot of people think that most music I hear to or ask others to , are sort of an acquired taste and may not be taken with the same enthusiasm as it does for me. I believe it. The first song that I heard of Prachir was a song called Bharotborsho. At that point of time, I felt that the lyrics were too amateur. Trust me, after hearing the album for some time not only I like them, but I think some of their other songs are truly one of the very fresh lyrics I have heard of late.

All in all I consider Prachir to be one of the MOST promising bands to watch out for in the Bengali Band Music Industry.

PS: I havent talked about their bassist not only because there are no stand out bass riffs in their music but also because I dont respect him too much after what he did to the band while Channel V Launch pad was going on. If it was a gimmick its okay i guess. But otherwise.. I support Vishal Dadlani when he raised the finger to the screen and asked the bassist to **** off for dumping his band midway like that.

Next Band to be reviewed - Insomnia.

For those interested in more non music related blogs.. please wait. It will take time for me to come back to my self.. After all I really was out of writing for quiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiite some time! :)

Take care folks. Till then, do try to listen to these guys. Myspace and esnips are good places to hear their entire album.

It has always been the case that I have written something or the other on the night of Mahashtami every year. It did not matter what because in the end it was ultimately filled with the sadness that most of us feel when the big 4 day long festival is over.

Today, it has been two years I have heard a proper dhaak, let alone play one. I think I saw kaash phool last year when I went to Niagara Falls. I have heard Mahalaya over the internet and have even given Pushpanjali last week , as is the custom here to celebrate Durga Puja on weekends, and yet I feel the same tinge. Last few days I have been tremendously busy. No time to do anything but analyse spectra. I had the offer of going and enjoying puja with my brother and sister in law and that did not happen because I had to meet my advisor today and yet the tinge lingers on... so far away......

To those who have enjoyed this year's Puja in Calcutta or atleast in India ... I envy you.

To those like me...... Dont worry friends.Its part of the trade off! :(

I miss CALCUTTA..

Waiting .....

Hey...

Although it seems that I had posted a few lines not a long time ago (only ten days) it just seems so far away. I mean really. 1st of July was so far away. In between that was the 4th of July weekend when I had my trip to Boston, the Boston fire works and I actually visited the campuses of MIT and Harvard and yet another 7 days has passed since and yet it feels so long a time ago !

4th of July, interestingly is also the day when I become an year old in US. I landed on US soil for the first time that very day. It is therefore quite befitting that on the same 4th of July I would walking on those same grounds where the sparks of US independence were first ignited. I still remember that line in our Class 9 History books, describing the Boston Tea Party, where they say "as the rest of the states heard about what happened in Boston, they knew the first shot of the American War of Independence had been fired"

I did write a few lines as a part of my Movement Series and I will put that up soon.

I wanted to write today because I wanted to remind myself that me and my blog and my readers exist and there is a world other than running HPLC samples, taking NMRs, growing bacteria and worms, synthesising compounds and analysing more NMRs of my undergraduate apprentice or feeling sad that something did not work out in the lab, staying hungry for most part of the day (like today and mind you the day here continues till 9 o clock in the evening!!!) etc etc and the other woe's of a graduate student's life..

And now that my blog and my readers know about this other world that also exist outside the smiles and the joys of life they would probably increase their patience limit a little more and wait for all those lovely stories that are on their way and has only been hit by a roadblock and are waiting for the curfew to be lifted so that they can arrive here on this blog.

Take care folks

Watch this space...

Its raining outside. In another 2 minutes I have to go check on my TLC* that I just put in my chamber. In another 14 minutes the pellets that I am centrifuging will be done with their 3rd run. And after that there will more tlc-s, and more centrifugation. And then there will be a column to run similar to the one I ran today morning, only of a lesser scale, and then if time permits I will setup the reaction for the next step, which has to be monitored for 7 hrs. Its a Hydrogenation. If I dont monitor it well, it might explode**.

And this is just today, probably a little less busy than yesterday or last thursday or friday. And yet I know there are so many things that I want to write....

Dont worry.. I will.

Just have faith in me, my readers, and Watch This Space....Thank you.!!

Hello and Welcome Back..

This post is really going to be short.
Its mainly to feel good at the fact that there are people who do notice that I have not been blogging for sometime. It is also to say that I will be coming back soon, probably this weekend itself with a number of blogs that I have actually partially written in my mind since the last three weeks.

One of them would be about my recent spree of listening to bengali bands from both sides of the Padma river, meaning from Bangladesh and West Bengal. It has been a really exciting few weeks since I found this new band Prachir, which basically started me on the quest of more quality Bengali Rock Music, and to tell you the truth, not only have I been satisfied, but I also have been intrigued. Frustrated at times, hearing a lot of bands one by one, album by album not only taught me to appreciate the revolution that is taking place in Bengali Rock Music right now, it also taught me how to differentiate a good band from one that may be another in the bandwagon! But I have found some really good music that I would like to share with my readers. Watch this space..

There should be one about other random English Music that I have recently heard and really liked. Such posts should have a specific name now, considering that they are going to repeat everytime.

Another of them should be about the two weekends excursions that I had been to in the last few weeks of hiatus, one of them to Cornell Plantations and the other for a camping trip to 1000 Islands.

These will be coming soon. Thanks once again for the few who did rekindle my belief that some one was reading this blog.. even if it was some stupid comments..

Ps: For those readers of mine who love listening to and experimenting new music, do listen to the following bands -

Sigur Ros', Cake, Kasabian, Motion and Zoo York by Paul Oakenfold, Talvin Singh, Fakir by Class Apart
Insomnia (Bengali), Prachir (Bengali), Bangla (Bengali)