#ReviewRundown: March 2022

Bevar Sea – The Timeless Zone

★★★½

The pandemic slowed down a lot of things for some, but for others it allowed them to pick up the pace. Case in point: Bengaluru stoner/doom metallers Bevar Sea. Purveyors of all things slow and low, it was understandable that it’s taken over five years for them to release their third album The Timeless Zone. Fantastical and puerile (both thanks to vocalist Ganesh Krishnaswamy) in equal measure, there’s more of that familiar Eighties metal worship given an incendiary air (“Alpha None,” “Sterilise the Divide”) with a few twists and turns. Guitarists Srikanth Panaman and Michael Talreja dig into wiry solos (“The Circle,” “Kiss the Sigh”) and bassist Avinash Ramchander plows on integrally. There’s a bit of modern stoner metal heard on “Cadaver Awake,” which is not new for Bevar Sea either. The Timeless Zone is for stoner/doom diehards, finetuned and psychedelic just in the right measures.

Dhruv Visvanath – Demons EP

★★★★

Although he’s sticking in his lane and releasing singles, New Delhi singer-songwriter Dhruv Visvanath still has the glue and a coherent masterplan to put together an EP like Demons. Last year’s The Book Of I didn’t come as a surprise because he eased fans into his new sonic directions. It’s a similar intention with Demons, in terms of sound and words. Darker and troubled, Visvanath’s urgency is audible on the dramatic “Fly,” while an unshakeable pop groove dominates “Suffocation,” a reality check supplied over resolute, fist-tight rhythms. Still grounded in some of those percussive acoustic elements, he gels it with guitar scratches and a Justin Timberlake-esque grandiosity on “Monster.” The EP is rounded off by a new rendition of “Impact,” the closer on his 2015 album Orion. Knowing the power of a hook like “Am I too weak to start again?” Visvanath reanimates the song into a luxuriant, cinematic and powerful version that honestly deserves arenas.

Acharya – Acharya & Friends

★★★½

Hailing from Tanzania and India, Harsh Acharya (who goes by his last name as a producer) has visibly made his tagline as “Acharya makes bangers.” That’s pretty much the reputation he lives up to on his debut album Acharya & Friends, which calls on a lethal pack of rappers – Gravity, Dhanji, Siyaahi, Farhan Khan, Vichaar, Rhymix, DC Krma and Neil CK. It’s an all-out bars fest from start to finish, which is just the kind of rager Indian hip-hop needs. As a beatsmith, Acharya introduces Afrobeats (“Chaar Diwaar”), trap (“Clueless B”), shimmering melodies (“Main Hoon,” “Watch Dawgs”) and flips the unlikeliest of tempos (“Kagazi Kahawat”). He reserves the darkest trap beats for “Dhandha” and “Fuck the Ops” which pack in a high number of rappers without making it seem crowded, just more like a firing squad of one MC after another.

Ashni – Who I Dreamed Of EP

★★★½

On a short but powerful three-track EP, Indo-American artist Ashni – who is based out of Brooklyn – offers a wondrous sense of escape but also pairs it with darker, harsher realities of living in the 21st century. Recalling a sense of Bjork with her vocal cadence and string-plucked arrangements, “Light Bends” journeys into Ashni’s address to a person about kinship, borders and everything in between. As much as the artist delves on reveries, there’s melancholy as well. “How Much Is Your Silence Worth” goes over complacency in its lyrics and progresses like a slick trip-hop song. The closing track “Honey” is breathily operatic as it sings about women’s autonomy over their own bodies. The lilting rhythms bunch into a resounding dhol that would get anyone moving… and hopefully, thinking as well.

Tarun – Beere

★★★½

You can take the rapper out of New Delhi but you can’t take New Delhi out of the rapper. Hip-hop artist Tarun Kukreja, who goes by his first name, has been on a prolific streak since 2019 and Beere is his third album. Although now based out of Toronto, Beere takes its name from Tarun’s new alter ego, a darker introspective persona who transfixes New Delhi as a city (and a character unto itself across 12 tracks, especially “Delhi Nightz” and “Jaadu”) in our minds. With fellow hip-hop artist Udbhav on “Eazy,” there’s a familiar pop bounce (also heard on “Nothing@all” with singer-rapper Deep Harks), while “Kaali Maserati” with producer 3bhk aka Abhishek Nair and Sammad is all bars run at a dizzying level. After Udbhav, Karun from Teesri Duniya also hops on for the harmonium-fed bop “Naqaab,” while “Kismat” emphatically quakes – making Beere an album for many moods.

R.A.I.D. – Defiance

★★★½

Within just 20 minutes, Hyderabad crossover hardcore band R.A.I.D. make themselves heard loud and clear on their third album Defiance. Heavy music that leans on Christian teachings (“White metal,” as it’s divisively termed) definitely puts R.A.I.D. in the niche within a niche in India, but they also do the sensible thing of letting the riffs do the talking. And even if you do dig into the lyrics, it’s not a bad thing to want a pick-me-up record like Defiance. Bounce-off-the-walls, tough-guy hardcore (“Defiance,” “Shattered Beliefs”) pretty much sums up the band’s aesthetic. Ominous voices abound (“Alpha,” “True Wisdom”) but the band still keep things succinct and slamming. In fact, it’s only their lengthiest song, “Fearless” – at four minutes – which gives room for diversity on the album. All in all, Defiance sees R.A.I.D. move in a power-packed direction for an Indian act in heavy music.