David Music Review

David has everything necessary for a Tamil soundtrack to be called the black sheep in Kollywood. Featuring a ensemble of composer, it has music by six different people and a remix number. The names don't sound too familiar in the become but make you become curious about who's who once you have listened in to the tracks. We have a long list of songs and colors to go through, so we better get started!

1. Vaazhkaye - Theme of David

Composer: Bramfatura

Singer: Siddharth Basrur

David opens with a powerful number packed with pathos and percussion. The repetitive beats continue to flow in the background, sometimes even more prominent than the lead vocals. However, Siddharth Basrur's vocals are clear and bring some life to the song through lyrics, even when the track is very modernistic for the general Kollywood audience. A very unique start to the album indeed, and you are sure to wake up after this one.

2. Maria Pitache

Composer: Remo Fernandes

Singer: Vikram, Remo Fernandes

In perhaps the most unique song of the album, Maria Pitache is a fun filled track that brings the best of Mexican music and some southern folk to listeners. V.Elango's Tamil lines are casually exciting and appear almost as natural as if it had been come up with on the spot. The foreign use of instruments needs to be credit to Remo Fernandes, who does well with the non-Tamil lines of the track. This gets our upvote quickly. Take a note of the Tamil lyrics to appreciate it although the English verses might not make too much sense.

3. Kanave Kanave

Composer: Anirudh

Singer: Anirudh

Finally, the third song in the album brings a familiar face to the Tamil audience and the youngster makes an impact right away. With flute pieces strikingly similar to the theme from 3, Kanave Kanave is highly melodious and impresses. Anirudh's dual vocals are present again, and the use of the violin and veena in the interludes are typical Anirudh from his previous projects. More than anything else, the song is likely to become popular with fans down in the South.

4. Manamey

Composer: Prashant Pillai

Singers: Karthik

If you had seen the trailer of David, you will probably catch hold of this song right away. Manamey is filled with dramatic lyrics and nicely bridges the gap between a Bollywood and Kollywood number. It is likely to be used up in both versions of the film and will be talked about on both occasions. The instrumentals are minimalistic, yet are appealing enough to make for several listens. The percussion, on the other hand, takes the drivers seat and decorate Karthik's vocals that flow in-between lines. The dance-y parts of the song will make this one a hit!

5. Iravinil Ullavavaa

Composer: Prashant Pillai

Singers: Naresh Iyer, Shwetha Pandit

A hidden duet among the pack of songs, Iravinil Ullava has great vocals thanks to Naresh Iyer and Shweta Pandit. The instrumentals are in contrast with Prashant's last song and this one takes a harmonious and soft take on things. The guitar is the highlight and the occasional use of other instruments is well thought of. It offers a good change of pace from the rest of music that's on showcase with the rest of the album. Yugabharathi, opted in for just this song justifies his presence by bringing back the poetry into the unconventional album.

6. Theeraathu Poga Poga

Composer: Maatibani

Singers: Nirali Karthik and Joyshanti

The album goes back into mysterious mode with Theeraathu Poga Poga. Things just become more ambiguous and you are left searching for the kind of music throughout. It has very western percussion and still clearly classical vocals. The interludes, however, look different, almost like a hip-hop number. There's just too many things going on for you to latch on to quickly and you need to give the song some to grow on you.

7. Machi

Composer: Modern Mafia

Singers: Sanjeev Thomas

We guess it's been long in the coming, but Machi finally puts a rock number on the table for David. Although there are heavy guitars and drumming every now and then, the song never becomes too electronic for our preference and retains some of its brass elements throughout. Sanjeev's vocals are almost low throughout the song and except for the vocals, it's almost as if the setting is getting ready for a bomb ready to go off. Catchy, but maybe not for everyone.

In addition to the seven tracks, the album also includes an instrumental by Remo Fernandes which again sounds foreign but is also melodious on its parts. The fact that he is from Goa is quite evident. Right at the end, there's a dubstep remix of Manamey, and it is comes close to a true dubstep than any other in India from recent times. Just make sure you don't get confused when it the song goes crazy.

Overall, David is a very different album. In fact, different is an understatement. When there are different composers bringing different styles of music to the album, and you are in for quite a ride when you listen to them one after the other. Passing judgement on this, however, is highly difficult. Let's leave it to the people to decide things themselves.

Verdict - It isn't like anything you have listened to for a while

Rating - 3/5 - sparks controversy and curiosity at the same time