Check out our verdict on recent releases by That’s Not Self Help, Ronbale, Ishin Denshin, Sacred Seeds and more
Ishin Denshin – Right To Survive
★★★½
Arka Sengupta has floated a few projects to scratch the instrumental rock itch over the years – from Mixtaped Monk to Home Brewed Universe. His latest from 2023 is Ishin Denshin, which has spawned the debut full-length album Right To Survive. In a bid to soundtrack the fight against exploitation by the corporate world, the nine-track album is at times reflective (“Impact Of A Wondering Mind”), jumpy (“World-Systems Theory”) and ambient (“Hack You Psyche”). Drawing more for electronica on this project, Ishin Denshin keeps things enigmatic in new ways that he hasn’t done on previous projects. Traversing synthwave (“Symbiotic Interaction Perspective” and “Emperical Trends”) and even a bit of post-metal on “Bittersweet Justice” shows that Sengupta continues throwing open doors across projects.
Jammers – Diary EP
★★★½
Hyderabad band Jammers prove their multi-genre capabilities on their debut EP Diary. From the pacey, shimmering pace of “Sneham,” to the electronic beats that lift “Prema” out of humdrum songwriting into a more wandering space, there’s plenty that’s accessible as well as clever about the band’s composing playground. “Pelli” takes the acoustic indie-folk meets Carnatic/wedding music sound, which signals how the band can write to a brief, even if it’s their own. “Tudi Malupu” brings ambient and post-rock flourishes, allowing Jammers to put themselves on the map as a new Telugu rock favorite.
Ronbale – Golapi Jibon EP
★★★★
Trap, rock and rap are chief sonic terrain for Kolkata artist Ronbale aka Arghadeep Adhikary to stomp around on and stomp around, he does. On his debut EP Golapi Jibon, there’s a little bit of pop-punk in the way that Machine Gun Kelly had turned to, but the Bengali lyrics delivered in a heavily modified vocal filter make it hyperlocal in a way, like on “Title Track.” Ronbale reminds us about just how much rap artists want to be the next rockstars and they wouldn’t mind borrowing from the sound while they’re on that journey. “Durottow” and “Owtit” feel uplifting and emo, and “Sheshmesh” adds a bit of melodic guitar work to make it stick.
Varun Nimbolkar – Dreams For A Living EP
★★★½
Pune singer-songwriter, sitarist and composer Varun Nimbolkar’s debut EP Dreams For A Living comes from a straightforward muse – of chasing one’s goals freely. A classically-trained sitarist who’s quit his job as a chartered accountant to become an indie artist, Nimbolkar harnesses emotions in a soulful manner on the EP’s opening instrumental track “Rosemary, For Remembrance” and takes on a seemingly prog-informed journey on “Jogiya.” His vocals are the anchor, but then the track also swerves into a searing electric sitar solo that can captivate. The more acoustic, philosophizing “Remnants” has some poetry spoken, showcasing another side, one that proves that three tracks might be succinct but it’s certainly not the full glimpse of what Nimbolkar can do.
Sacred Seeds – Flow Motion EP
★★★½
Ambient music in India has never felt like a nascent space, but it’s only now that producers are arguably getting more visibility than ever before. Artist Wasim N. aka Sacred Seeds’ new EP Flow Motion (released via Noosphere Network), is a journey just under 20 minutes with the transportive quality that can make it feel like you’ve’ stepped out for at least an hour (in a good way). As much as it’s an overused term, immersive is perhaps what ambient records like Flow Motion aim for, and Sacred Seeds hits the mark, with the gentle “Elevation,” the beat-driven title track and light-headed, glitchy “Wings” to close.
Spreading Roots – Missed On The Way EP
★★★
Guwahati blues rock band Spreading Roots have been around since 2012 and that means they’ve honed their sound a lot along the way. On their three-track EP Missed On The Way, there’s a confident, totally self-assured band in their element. The opening title track dips in and out of a seemingly tribal-folk drum pattern which could be a nod to their Assamese heritage, but the main attraction remain vocalist-guitarist Hridoy Goswami’s bluesy aura – from the riffs to the steely harmonica. It comes through that Spreading Roots is a band that likes to throw a big blues jam at their gigs, but they also offer a ballad in “Turn On The Light.” The band’s EP closes with “Down In The Trap,” a classic blues jam that will certainly get a few feet moving.
The Karbi Death Ritual – Thireng Vangreng
★★★½
The Karbi Death Ritual is the project of Karbi Anglong-origin, Oslo-based Theang Teron. Also known for his work with bands like Trancemigrate, this recent project’s six-track LP Thireng Vangreng delves further into ideas of identity, Karbi philosophy and the need for diversity to exist in what he calls “a unified world system.” Sonically, there’s plenty of mathcore and djent to sink one’s teeth into, if you’re into that. “Creatures From Dreams That Came” is at times reminiscent of SikTh, while “Listen To Me_You’re Dead/You Stay Dead” has a post-hardcore intensity to it. There’s even extreme and tech-death metal leanings on “Those Dead Eyes That Feed The Deader Ties” and “Human Waste Human,” which eventually settles into an electronic space. Teron goes from zero to 100 in no time when it comes to mathcore-informed riffs, which is what makes Thireng Vangreng hard to predict in a delightful way.
That’s Not Self Help – Guided Unfoldings of Absence EP
★★★½
Sikkim guitarist and composer Josiah Ranpal’s jazzcore/fusion project That’s Not Self Help has been existing on the fringes of several scenes in the country – metal, instrumental and lastly comes jazz. Guided Unfoldings of Absence seems to remedy that in a way, or at least stick out as a more jazz-leaning record than his previous efforts. “Familiar Exit Door” is that kind of tune, and it comes at the end of the four-track EP. “Into the Unceasing” oscillates wildly between the heavy and the light and “Beyond Reach; an Essence of Disintegration” is more of a journey. The thing with Ranpal’s frenetic, unpredictable fretplay is that if you hear it at a bad time and it’s probably a turnoff but as you dig deeper into the layers, it really draws you in.
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