Krittodasher Nirban
- My first intro to this album was a quick cursory scan. The first
thoughts from this non-musician easy-music listener Tahsan fan was "Has
Tahsan gone crazy - couldn't he just keep a good thing going?" The
pop-tunes in Kothopokothon had just grabbed you from the get-go. The
catchy beats was a breath of fresh air in Bangla music. Although the
catchy synthesizer-generated tones in that album apparently turned off
the music-buffs.
But now the
musician lets his creativity run amok - he luxuriates in his
music-making ability catering to the music buffs,
but what about us mass listeners? On a first quick-listen the songs
sounded too difficult, too somber and dark.
But then...
I listen to
the full songs one more time, and then again once more, yet once
more... and now I can't stop. What deep
lyrics, what varied compositions, world-class accoustic guitar, bass
and piano rendition, and of course the powerful
vocal range.
The difference
in this album is that one has to attentively listen through at least
once to peel through the
layers. Take Shosta Khob, you listen to the first part, you just hear
the quiet vocals, but then you miss the awesome chorus lines in the
middle, and the moody harmony at the end. A lot of the songs build up
from the beginning and there is so much variety in the album, there is
usually at least a couple of songs that would cater to almost anyone's
tastes.
On a different
level, this is a very moody and philosophical album - we now know how
the near-fatal accident early in 2005 has evolved
Tahsan as he grows so much more introspective in this album. That's a
big part of the album -
you almost feel the raw personal emotions and as listeners we feel
privileged to be able to share his private
world, as he evolves from 'Prarthonad' to 'Kritodasher Nirban' and
'Niranobboi'.
Musical
style-wise Tahsan adopts Accoustic Rock in this album. I'm no music
buff, but his accoustic guitar, piano and bass sounds just as
good as any western album that I have heard. With the high standards of
digital output, he throws down the gauntlet to other guitarists,
bassists and drummers to achieve the
same level of seamless integration of these musical components into
beautiful
output.
Ok as for the
songs, my favorites -
Krittodasher Nirban for raw spirituality,
Prematal as beautiful love-poetry, Shosta Khub
for its moody piano notes and chorus,
Kichukkhon for the gorgeous mix of delicate piano and Tahsan's vocals,
Niranobboi for its sheer
innovativeness,
Kada for showing what an accoustic song should be like and
Sroter sheshe for the rousing emotions.
The other 5
songs on the album are also quite listenable -
in Ekattor the instrumental this time Tahsan adds wailing of guitars to the piano notes,
Oodrissho robi - Tahsan's approach to hard rock/metal is actually
enjoyable,
Chayar Shorir rollicking rock rhythms, Chader Hat
interesting mix of different vocal styles, and
Ayna - country twang in Bangla.
Overall,
thanks Tahsan for providing another high quality album for Bangla music
listeners. You made listeners like me go through the
extra step of finding the gems in the music, transitioning from 80s
synth-pop-rock and learning to appreciate classic accoustic rock.
It must have been when I listened to the album with the lights off and the soft
melodies flowing through the air...