What the Fish

Rating:1/2

This one is a classic case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. So much so that the broth has become unpalatable. The only common thread in the album,with the exception of one track,is how consistently and systematically shoddy everything is.

The album opens with Goti jaam,a song with mediorce lyrics and a staid melody. The attempt,it appears,is to turn the track into a rock anthem by adding heavy guitars and pounding drums. Sung and composed by Amartya Rahut,the song has no coherent melody and fails to attract any attention. It just keeps flitting from one note to another. Maasi begins with an electronic tumbi sound to make the track sound like a quintessential Punjabi number but falls flat within a few seconds.

The opening of Babbe mast seems completely “inspired” from Soni de nakhre from his film Partner. Also,Sonu Kakkar’s voice doesn’t go down very well in this one. She is an interesting singer,but is completely wasted,thanks to a bad song. It’s baffling how Sandeep Chatterjee has created this one. This by far is the album’s worst moment. Composer ctries to merge UP folk with Punjabi pop and electric guitar and turns Saddi hobby into quite a drag. A failed genre experiment. The orchestration is alright though.

Sarita Vardhan begins Samjhe na koi beautifully. The song is preceded by a sarangi interlude and the first minute of the track will also make it sound like an old-world thumri until Mrigya guitarist and composer Indraneel Hariharan attempts to layer some heavy riffs successfully. But Vardhan’s harkats and murkis are too confusing towards the end and one loses interest. This,is the only song,worth a listen. Machhli jal ki raani hai begins with a child reciting the popular nursery rhyme. The high-pitched rap is too screechy and does not qualify for music.

Overall,the album is extremely restless and made to fit the director’s blueprint. It doesn’t grab any attention except for Hariharan’s track. This is one of the more random albums in a long time and is full of rough edges. It will be extraordinary and improbable to have someone listen to this for recreational purposes. In the end,all I thought was What the fish! Only fish meant exactly what it needs to.