#ReviewRundown: Aman Fankaar, Sruthi Vj, Switterbeat, Progress Report and More

Sruthi Vj – Better Love EP

★★★½

Bengaluru-origin, California-based singer-songwriter Sruthi Vj has a distinct vocal tone that lends itself to R&B experiments. On her debut EP Better Love, we find exactly that. Made with Bengaluru-based composer-producer Richard Andrew Dudley, there’s an unassuming quality to Sruthi’s love songs that thankfully avoid cliches. At the same time, it doesn’t exactly escape familiar tropes. Still, songs like “Uninvited Guests” reach grandiose pop levels without trying too hard and Dudley serves up a seemingly funk/house beat for “Free of You.” The more somber cuts like “Sunsets” showcase Sruthi’s range well, while “Slow Cooker” and “Somehow You Are Mine” are more labored listens, but rewarding in the stories they weave together.

Aman Fankaar – Tarkash

★★★

Indore hip-hop artist Aman Fankaar has been prepping his debut album Tarkash for a year or so and now that it’s dropped and permeated, there’s something to be said about the hunger that artists from cities which aren’t the major metropolitan hubs project in their songs. Across 10 songs, Fankaar is hurried, passionate and introspective in turns. The title track and intro is pretty much a full song, while “Main” talks about going through changes and challenges. He takes a drill turn on the aptly emphatic “Chhati Thok Ke” and references poets and lyricists on “Aap Beeti.” Slower songs like “Zarurat” add diversity, but may not stick in your head the way resolute bangers like “Jaan De” does. Fankaar tries it all – including a love song “Anjaani” with fellow rapper Himiee – and perhaps at the end of it, he knows what works.

Juxtaposed – Bounce EP

★★★½

Put together by seasoned bassist and guitarist Osi Gomango, Bengaluru act Juxtaposed’s debut EP Bounce is all kinds of classic and future-facing all at once, simply because it’s rooted in indefatigable funk and groove music. It starts oddly with a heartbreak song called “Moving On” that takes a while to get to the punchy parts, but once it does, it sets a good pace for the title track to really knock it out of the park. The jam room energy is so evident, you can practically hear everyone smiling their way through this one. The four-track EP picks up soon after with the funky, seductive “September” that’s all kinds of dexterous and journeying at once, making it a possible crowd favorite led by vocalists Kezia Ahaana, Jemimah Job and Joel Jacob. Gomango exudes more joy in grooves with “Evolution” that’ll certainly keep feet moving.

Tanshuman Das – Progress Report

★★★★

Guitarist-composer and producer Tanshuman Das’s debut album Progress Report – which is now also the name of his band that performs the album alongside tribute sets to prog greats like Dream Theater – is powerful and boundary-pushing. Often a bassist, Das has obvious Dream Theater-worship going on across 10 tracks in terms of tones, songwriting and more, but there’s innovation as well. Songs like “Machine” are so immersive that they sound like an entire collection of songs in seven minutes. “Scarlet” is much more slow-burn and “Fearless Leader” takes the crown when it comes to a compacted, heavy-hitter prog song that ticks all the boxes. Epic tracks like “Final Price for Life” and “Dependium” are indulgent, sure, but it’s assuredly prog. “Reflections” is another rollercoaster odyssey, this time with Das enlisting seasoned keyboardist Derek Sherinian for a scorcher that marks the beginning of the end of a packed album.

Switterbeat – Vicious Etudes

★★★

Is there a way to describe an album like Vicious Etudes, which twists and turns every few minutes across 13 songs clocking in at over an hour? Bengaluru singer-songwriter Aditya A.K. aka Switterbeat starts his album almost intentionally deceptively with the peaceful, Indian classical-informed song “Brahma Kamal” and his percussive, acoustic rock style almost sounds like it’s aiming for arenas with songs like “Luna.” The combination of fingerstyle guitars, production elements like strings give way to Switterbeat growling over heavier, plugged-in and distortion-laced riffs (“Driven By Demons”), which is a pleasant surprise. Accompanied by a fantasy fiction novel, perhaps there’s more sense in correlating the mood shifts with the storyline of a journeying extra-terrestrial entity. Otherwise, you’re kind of going in dark and finding an album whose personality shines because of its unmistakable raw bedroom recording quality at times. You’re right to feel a bit puzzled, but there are some good riffs to keep you going.

Eashwar Subramanian – The Reclusive Mural EP

★★★½

Bengaluru-based ambient producer Eashwar Subramanian’s The Reclusive Mural is his first collection of songs since mid-2023 and it focuses on solitary life. Minimalist layers build on top of piano melodies in a familiar way, but Subramanian knows just the right way to tie it all together, from the tabla over violin on “Joy of Being” to the ominous thumps on “Free Worlds.” Electronic elements add depth to “Indian Winter,” in which Subramanian’s emotive weapon of choice is a violin. The EP closes with a cinematic piano and violin-driven piece “Young Sun,” a tribute to Indian music masters who have passed away recently. The Reclusive Mural is not just soothing like a lot of ambient music, but also thought-provoking at times, which is a rare balance to strike in the space.