The Score Magazine October 2019 | Page 24

SHREYA BOSE Tears of the Wizard (Parikrama): The striking difference between a veteran and a has-been is made stupidly apparent with Parikrama's sonorous comeback. Nothing is more clear than the fact that they haven't lost a smidgeon of music relevance. One would be foolish to imagine that the band that supported Iron Maiden's Indian chapter could ever fade, but Tears of the Wizard is a good reminder that the grand-daddies of Indian rock will still happily wallop your pretensions to classic rock back into shape. Drawn from the rich, resonant high fantasy of The Lord of the Rings, Tears of the Wizard pays tribute to Gandalf the Grey, the wizard who mentored Frodo Baggins and guided the Fellowship to victory over the dark machinations of Sauron. This vaulting rock ballad breeds powerful harmonies that rise to paint images of valour and nature-borne nobility (this was mostly conveyed by the video). The video is shot in the magnificent Mechuka valley in Arunachal Pradesh, which gave the camera endless measures of magnificence. Snow-capped peaks stand tall in the backdrop, as 22 The Score Magazine highonscore.com leather-clad rockers straddle bridges over roaring rivers and send their grit- and-glory chorus to the crystal-blue sky. Considering the LOTR obsession, the scene could not have been more appropriate. The troops of Gondor would not have been out of place in the grassy slopes of Mechuka. They don't show up, but you will receive an equal measure of delight when you witness Sharat Chandra Srivastava's winnowing violin solo in the winter-kissed hills as the eternal mountains glower in approval. Parikrama has made a glorious comeback, and nothing less was expected of them. For those who grew up with But It Rained and Gonna Get It, this is a call to return to their early musical community. For those who remember the roots of rock in this country, it is a validation of the fact that our heroes have not yet died. Not even close. Nukhta (Midival Punditz): Have you ever imagined that Sufi verse sang in adoration and exaltation of God could take an ominous turn? Neither did most, until Gaurav Raina and Tapan Raj decided to take a crack at the Baba Bulleh Shah's esoteric exuberance. Rajasthani firebrand Kutle Khan fits right into the aesthetic with his sky- summoning refrain of "Alfat in bin un bin an bin nukta yaar banaya" - the joy of the hermit when they finally float out of the shackles of ignorance. Human attachment becomes illusion, and joy becomes the new normal. The electro-fusion duo use sounds from this decade to give renewed urgency to words that have rejuvenated spiritual seekers across time. Far from being facile, the musical framing can, in fact, serve as an entrance to the trance of heightened connection. Staying true to their superior collaborative strategies, Midival Punditz have managed, once again, to find an exact footing between the ever-valuable old and the ever-transforming new. The track is expansive, feeding into a larger world- building instinct. Yet, a bass-tickled pit-of-the-stomach rumbling underpins the whole thing. It is almost a low growl that reminds the listener to ground themselves in the midst of ecstasy, a murky reminder to return to the sound and peel another layer of discovery. Over Seas (AAKASH): When Aakash Ravikrishnan watched Gully Boy, he was instantly taken by the grit and