INDIE REVIEWS

Mend (Tushar

Mathur): It is an established fact that indie music has really taken off (wouldn’t be writing this column otherwise), but Tushar Mathur still feels the sting of struggle. His second single Mend has him crooning a despondent self-reflexive dirge that relates to the musician’s anguish.

Lyrically, he has gained impressive sophistication in the span of one song. “I've been feelin' like I've got nothing around/To star in your movie seems like work all year round” is an all-too familiar lament in artistic circles, for the star of success stays almost as elusive as empty seats in a Virar local. The lines “I just wanna be, what I saw in me/I just wanna know, when I'm gonna be in control” are particularly interesting. On one hand, it is admirable that Mathur seeks to align with his own sense of creative excellence. However, he seeks control which has its own pitfalls.

Such fleeting contradictions make for a human song that exhibits unashamed vulnerability.

The emotional labor of being isolated by failure and striving to stay afloat is also whispered upon. More than anything else, Mend has the potential to become an existential touchpoint for his fellow musicians.

Musically, low-fi chillhop sensibilities play around with a luxurious measure of creamy saxophone to top them off. The song is refreshingly uncomplicated yet perfectly relevant. It is well-made and deserves all the attention that Mathur laments he does not get.

Merna (Nivid):

It appears we now stand at the beginning of an industrial rock legacy in India. Nivid, a three-man unit of pulsating bitterness and excellent musical instincts has released a drone-laced, darkly-drummed debut album that is delightful and depressing in perfectly equal measure.

The Nine Inch Nails influence is obvious, as would be for anyone even dipping toes into the genre. It is impressively replicated, and in Ascension|Yaga, it is mingled with more familiar sounds - sacred bells and frenetic drums often featured in yajnas. The combination is disconcerting, which is it's entire point.

The album is a searing indictment of everything we have been doing wrong on individual and social levels. True to the music that inspires the band ( NIN and Deftones, among others), the songs offer biting satire. The Hindu Awakens|Hai Yeh Hindustan and

Nationalism|Aagaya Hun Main reveal the mindset of someone deranged with political and religious radicalism. Aditya Virmani’s vocals are gritty, ominous, almost demonic. However, they do lack the derisive chuckle of Trent Reznor or Chino Moreno.

Nivid is still too serious about the evils of the world.

There’s More of Us | Nyay, Azadi, Barabari,

Biradari (Na Milegi Tujhko) is particularly good, given the ferocity of it's condemnation. Those that are different will be condemned, oppressed, tormented. Equality is an illusion. The mighty reign, and they don’t really care two hoots about what the Constitution says.

Merna features extremely incendiary lyrics, and what makes it more powerful is that the band chooses to don the perspective of the oppressor while they sing or more accurately, chant. There is a hypnotic lull beneath all the stomping, noise-driven riffage. Think NIN’s Piggy and Closer, and you’ll get a sense of what I mean. It's not a stretch to imagine that the band was trying to make a statement on mindless propaganda and it's devastating results with this particular sleight of hand.

Buzzing, half-toned guitars create a fuzzy, eerie soundscape that provides the perfect context for the extreme ideas the album presents. Thematically, they take a page straight out of NIN’s The Downward Spiral -“the journey of the album’s central character, through to the ultimate breakdown and destruction of their soul.”

Merna is a wonderful piece of art, created by three men who are eager to make listeners very, very uncomfortable. Apparently, they tested out their new music with secretly planned live shows included a festive celebration ( where they turned out to be a big hit) and a ghost-town in the middle of nowhere with what the band calls “some very violent promoters.”

Clearly, the band puts their money where their mouth is. They seem dedicated to flouting convention and have carved out 8 tracks that simultaneously food for thought and melodic appeal. Their penchant for experimentation has been firmly established with their debut.

Granted, a lot of Nivid sounds like NIN and The Smashing Pumpkins with Hindi lyrics. But it's hard not to admire the sources they are drawing their inspiration from. Industrial rock occupies a space between the cathartic aggression of heavy metal and the mellifluous distortion of punk and grunge. It represents a repressed rage and a hapless despair that never finds resolution. Nivid brings this glorious tradition to the Indian consciousness, and it's quite frightening how well it seems to fit. Two Macha (Two Macha):

The mandolin stands out.

The first thing that draws you into the work of this folk-acoustic duo is how the mandolin strings manage to tease and dominate at the same time. Played by bluegrass mandolin adept Dolinman AKA Diptanshu Roy, this European lute is the belle of the ball.

Dolinman is joined by the quirky, curious songwriting of Suren Vikash. He also lends his voice, which ranges from honeyed tones to a gravelly high pitch. Their musicality carries, at its centre, the intention of social relevance. Yossane Perussu, for example, is about the green revolution, it's consequences and the state of agriculture and farmers in India. They invoke Kabir with Man Masth Hua, and flutter about the frailties of love in Just You.

In league with a host of collaborators, Two Macha’s debut album is charming and curious in equal. Suren sings in many languages, possibly to reflect the vast repertoire of sounds that inspire them. Firmly rooted in the history on Indian sounds, the band turns really good music into a thought experiment for their listeners.

Born out of a fortuitous meeting at the Ziro Festival

of Music, Two Macha is an excellent addition to our country’s sonic tapestry. The songs enchant without end, and offer plenty to wonder upon. With every gently plucked string, beautiful and important stories are poured into the listener’s awareness.