Though they've been around since 2004, I and a lot of people around me first heard of Advaita only after the release of their first album 'Grounded in Space' in 2009 and were instantly hooked. It was fresh, seamlessly integrating the schools of Indian Classical and Western music. There must be few bands consisting of so many members (8 is a large number in a band man! One has trouble even remembering all of the guys names!), where there is so much cohesion, without any of the members dominating or getting sidelined at all. After the stellar debut, Advaita released their second album 'The Silent Sea' in Feb this year.
An Evolving Band
Advaita hit an impressive and very successful formula with their previous album, but they haven't stuck to it for this one. The good thing is, everyone in the band so ridiculously talented that this makes for an equal, if not better listening. This time around, the bands sound seems more progressive, the Porcupine Tree influence especially discernible in the songs 'Dust' and 'Words'. The band though, also figured out the winning points of their hits last time. The electronic ambiance is lush, with the keyboards(Anindo Bose) doing a consistent job throughout. The punch in many songs though, is Suhail Yusuf Khan's sarangi. The way the instrument croons, it can build and modify the entire mood of a song.
On the downside, a couple of songs on the album such as 'Tremor' had nothing new to offer and seemed to be included only as filler songs.
An Evolving Band
Advaita hit an impressive and very successful formula with their previous album, but they haven't stuck to it for this one. The good thing is, everyone in the band so ridiculously talented that this makes for an equal, if not better listening. This time around, the bands sound seems more progressive, the Porcupine Tree influence especially discernible in the songs 'Dust' and 'Words'. The band though, also figured out the winning points of their hits last time. The electronic ambiance is lush, with the keyboards(Anindo Bose) doing a consistent job throughout. The punch in many songs though, is Suhail Yusuf Khan's sarangi. The way the instrument croons, it can build and modify the entire mood of a song. On the downside, a couple of songs on the album such as 'Tremor' had nothing new to offer and seemed to be included only as filler songs.
The Top Songs
My personal favourites in the album are-
- Mo Funk- Perhaps the most easily likeable song in the album, the energetic track starts with a great Bol-Taal by Ujwal Nagar and Mohit Lal. This time around the Hindustani classical is traded for a beautiful rendition of the carnatic 'Swaminatha Paripalaya'. This was the song where the percussion department did the best job. Chayan Adhikari's vocals kick in unexpectedly at the end of the song, but are in no way unpleasant.
- Words- The dark and tense song starts with a slow arpeggio, before Adhikari's vocals begin. Along with the vocals, the unusual sounding chord progression was the most appealing. An excellent sarangi solo in the middle of the song slowly builds up the tension and the song climaxes into one of the best "releases " I've heard with Nagar doing what he does best.
Rating- 8.5/10
