#ReviewRundown: May 2023

Indian Ocean – Tu Hai

★★★★

On their first album in nearly a decade, New Delhi’s fusion stalwarts Indian Ocean stay as sublime as ever. Joined by guitarist Nikhil Rao – who is the most recent entrant, right around when Tandanu released in 2014 – there’s an unmistakable sense of bold experimentation being injected into the already earthen world of the band. The concerns throughout the record are mostly environmental, in the hopes of spurring civilization into action. There’s the somber “Jaadu Maaya,” jazz-Carnatic fusion shine on “Jungle” with George Brooks and a pained call on “Iss Tan Dhan” with ghatam ace Vikku Vinayakram. They turn to dusty Kashmiri folk-informed songwriting on the two-part title track and Carnatic-prog leads “Rebirth.” The wait has been long for a new message from Indian Ocean and it’s been well worth it.

Tinctures – moments, remote

★★★½

The pandemic might well be in the rearview mirror for most of us, but the creativity in captivity that it birthed is far from running dry just yet. Indo-German duo Tinctures – comprising pianist Aman Mahajan and guitarist Nishad Pandey – worked over the Internet and half-jokingly credit latency as a third band member. Improvisations abound across 11 tracks. The duo push a lot further out despite these supposed limitations of not being in the same room, with short sonic conversations (“With These Materials”), fragmented selections (“Cyberspace,” “Marionettes,” “Moments”) and pensive cuts (“Forest Walk.”) There are quieter spaces as always (also heard on their previous album Heads and Tales, 2021) but songs like “Ghost” infuse a sparse but powerful sense of the ethereal, making this yet another jazz experiment worthy of journeying through.

Tanya Shanker – What Lies Beneath

★★★½

There were a few glimpses of a different sound on Bengaluru singer-songwriter Tanya Shanker’s debut, rock-oriented 2020 album Battlefield, but she finally comes into her own on her latest album What Lies Beneath. Equal parts exploratory of what she sees around her and her own life, the seven-track album allows her to flex her vocal cords yet again. She channels a bit of Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, Adele and powerhouse pop, going through her wishlist (“Soft Boi”), heartbreaks (“The Villain,” one of the more rock-leaning songs), grandiose setups (“What Lies Beneath”) and a bit of modern hip-hop/R&B (“Helium,” “Innocent Girl,” “The Audience”) to deliver yet another formidable step in her journey.

Rohit Sen – Aberratons

★★★

Based out of San Francisco, Indian-origin singer, producer and guitarist Rohit Sen’s debut album Aberrations is a result of experiments where design, music and technology interact. Even though a robotic arm and Open AI is used (for videos), it’s not as weird as you think. If anything, it’s sunny, breezy songs of escape and comfort – from “Sudden Complacence” and “San Francisco.” The latter features bluesy, funky guitar work from Bengaluru-based Ankur Das, who adds warmth to “Vertigo” and “Your Smile.” Sen cracks the code when it comes to funky good times on Aberrations and mixes up the moods (“Something Smooth”) just the right amount to keep the listener engaged.

Ambarish Nag – Awakening

★★★½

Mumbai-based rock artist Ambarish Nag digs into bluesy and psychedelic rock goodness in the most unfailing, classic ways on his debut full-length album Awakening. The opener, which is also the title track, goes all guns blazing, even incorporating konnakol for a sonic feast. With the vocals coming in, “Room Full of Comfort” is meditative, while “One Brick at a Time” and “Morning Star” kick it up a notch, even if Nag’s vocals don’t exactly match up in intensity. He does rise to the occasion on more heartwarming acoustic-driven songs like “Feel Alright” and the piano-led “Yeh Aatishein (Reprise).” The upbeat “City Lights” does well to capture Nag’s cheery outlook but the sonic journey of Awakening could stand to be more cohesive.