Album Review: Various Artists ”“ Disenfranchised in India

The Riot Peddlers frontman Arun S Ravi. Photo: Dhruv Sethi

[easyreview cat1title = “Disenfranchised In India” cat1rating = 3]

Disenfranchised in India

Compilations are a great way to sample music and the best so far on the Indian scene is the Stupiditties series, now in its sixth edition and with a reputation for successfully spotting bands such as The Lightyears Explode, The Superfuzz and BLEK. In fact, most artists featured on Disenfranchised In India, a 14-track punk compilation released in March, have all featured on Stupiditties.

But this is a supposedly punk compilation, not an “un-metal” compilation, which is why it’s odd to find Kolkata alt rockers Jeepers Creepers and Bengaluru rock ’n roll band The Scratch Cards featuring on Disenfranchised In India. Add Delhi-based vocalist Tritha of Tritha Electric Project and trip hop act Space to the list and we got the impression that just about anything could pass off for punk. 

But then, the compilation redeems itself with bands such as Messiah from Delhi, one of the oldest punk bands in the country [formed in 1998] on “Hey Johnny.” Darjeeling skate punks Da Primitive Future [also equally veteran, formed in 2004] deliver a memorable four-minute raw punk number on “Me and My Wise.”   There’s also the hardcore punk band Riot Peddlers from Mumbai cussing their way through “Platform No 3” to party punk rock band The Lightyears Explode serenading us with “Late Night Song” to the bewildering attempt at crust punk/power violence by Blakhole on “Human Cattle.” Mumbai’s Punk On Toast’s “Democracy Is A Lie” is fantastic on stage [since their gig at Bomb Thursdays in April negated their bad performance at Blue Frog last year], but the recorded version seems to be lacking in energy, so choosing another track would have better represented the band perhaps.

Considering it was the compilation’s first edition, it would have been a smart move to stay away from derivative bands. On “Stay Away,” Delhi band Bull Engine sounds like they’re trying to channel Nirvana, a comparison they’re apparently so used to that they mentioned it on their Facebook page. That’s not where the comparisons can stop, sadly, considering Chandigarh happy punk band I Quit idolize New Found Glory [a band you don’t see being aped, but that’s not reason enough to rip them off] on “Far Away” and New York-based Delhi band 7 Degrees’s vocalist Jean-Pierre Dangmann wants to be Dead Kennedys’s Jello Biafra on “Be The Change,” which isn’t a new offering from the band, considering it came out in 2010.

CT Records, run by Mumbai’s own punk band Tripwire, curated and released the album, so it’s no surprise to find the band’s own jaded, just-about-bearable punk number “Psycho Psychiatrist” on the compilation. It’s even available on limited vinyl edition, via international label Tian an Men 89 records, a move that screams hipster rather than punk.

Disenfranchised in India is still missing a few good punk bands such as BLEK, Pip of the Fourth Mother and Tint, who were part of the album launch in Gangtok in March. Hopefully, they’ll make it to the next edition.

Key tracks ”“ “Hey Johnny [Messiah],” “Far Away [I Quit],” “Pep Me [Outliners],” “Late Night Song [The Lightyears Explode].”

Buy Disenfranchised in India from iTunes here.