sorrow without a care for those living
it. At the end, life goes on, and there
is not much more to be said of it.
Both the song and the video are
colorful (in different ways) and
comforting. The theme is familiar
to anyone who listens, but coaxes
the listener’s attention nonetheless.
The listener feels like it is their
story being told, and can simply
relax as the chords and saxophone
trickle by like a lazy river.
Order Vs Chaos (Ronin): Kolkata can
welcome a legitimate new addition
to its heavy metal landscape. Ronin’s
debut four-track EP is vibrant,
vicious and most importantly,
skillful. The band largely takes its
cues from metalcore aesthetics but
manages to exhibit a few riffs that
wouldn’t be out of place among
lovers of Animals as Leaders.
Bushido is undoubtedly the album’s
crowning glory. Lyrics that mock and
lament a broken world are married
to an earth-shattering drum and
guitar alliance that is incredibly
cathartic. The track brings out rage
and ominosity without compromising
an ounce on breathlessly paced
melodic play. The addictive hooks,
matched with Randev Dey’s
thunderous growls ferments a perfect
allyship of beauty and brutality.
The Ascension is intense,
almost trying to reach technical
transcendence. In fact, the entire EP
is about crafting tight, not-a-hair-out-
of-place shredding without losing
missing out on variation. The music
is polished, streamlining aimless
aggression into righteous anger. Each
track is worth a replay, maybe more.
Simply at their debut, Ronin has put
forth metal that means business.
Skies of Grey (Hollow Creed): Mangaluru
based Hollow Creed has been
touched by Tesseract in their second
single. Starting with the essentials
of atmospheric djent, they exhibit
astonishing musicality in the first
half of the six minute track. A
hypnotic lull pervades, thanks in
large part to the shimmering guest
vocals by Nichelle Monteiro. The
second half unfolds in screamo-
metalcore-djent glory, with a set of
chaotic breakdowns in tow. Ideally
made for headphones, the song
deserves many more listens than it
has received till date. While there
is not yet much to say about their
instrumental technicality, Hollow
Creed has still managed to offer a
delicious experiment in dissonance.
Apparently, much of the song
came from the duo’s long-time
listening to American electronica
duo Sylvan Esso. There’s isn’t
much similarity in the soundcraft,
but one can probably hear the
semi-chillhop aesthetic that
relaxes the listener without
missing out on musical intricacy
- something Sylvan Esso seems to
offer every time, effortlessly (or
probably with enormous effort).
Green Tea is delightful. It is
harmonic seduction, casual yet
profound, calling listeners to
partake in the simple romance
of grooving to a great song.
Green Tea (Komorebi & Curtain Blue):
When listening to Curtain Blue
(Abhishek Bhatia) and Komorebi
(Tarana Marwah) individually,
you can see how their musical
aesthetics would fit. They don’t
sound similar, but their sounds
definitely have the potential to
gravitate towards each other.
Don’t take my word for it, of
course. Simply listen to their new
collaborative exercise “Green Tea”.
Their sonic signatures to meet, swirl
and settle in surprising ways. Each
artist mellows their music, but not
to compromise. Rather, they build
a whole new specimen - one that
combined Komorebi’s addictive-
uplifting warmth with Curtain
Blue’s honeyed half-baritone.
Synth-pop meets a muted sexiness,
peppered with Curtain Blue’s
vulnerable lyricism. He’s singing
about familiar things that are often
forgotten - sitting with friends by
a bonfire with stories about good
times and shared experiences.
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
19