Back in the nineties, CACTUS, one of the first movers of Bengali Rock, gave many of us "Bongs" their induction into music in their own language apart from the "Traditional Music" that every quintessential Bengali grows up listening to. They gave us timeless ballads like MON, HOLUD PAKHI, SHUDHU TUMI ELE NA, made us sway to their music, stand in crowds and cheer for them, blare their songs through microphones at every occasion, and continue to do so. In 2008, after almost a two decade long musical journey marked with certain hard-hitting line up changes and three immensely successful albums, CACTUS answered back to the world that they are just not a band which can be stereotyped. The result- TUCHHO, with a totally new sound and new line-up, but the same old philosophy of producing timeless songs, that strikes a chord with everybody.
Keeping in pace with the changing scenario of Rock Music worldwide, the new line-up, Siddhartha (Vocals), Sayak (Vocals), Allan (Guitars), Buti (Keyboards), Sandip (Bass), Baji (Drums), have experimented a lot with the sound on this album and there is something for everybody. So there are songs like TUCHHO, KOBITA DAO, RATER PORI, and MASIHA that have alternative and modern elements to them. And then there are PHIRE CHAWA, SHABDHANE RAASTA PERIYO, POKHIRAJ and BHALO THEKO that are the very Cactus-ish rock ballads, which drips the essence of CACTUS into the album.
The lyrics, like always, are beautiful. Whether it is the rebellious TUCHHO, or the romantic BHALO THEKO, the lyrics are equally articulately written. And lastly, the album cover, which does not inspire me much, however, it is relevant to the title- TUCHHO i.e. insignificant.
All said, TUCHHO is anything but TUCHHO. Though I miss Pota (former vocalist) on certain numbers, the music does make up to it. So be sure of giving it a listen. It is worth it because music really does speak its own language and has universal appeal. Go buy the CD, NOW!
29
Apr
Cactus-Tuchho
- Written by Soma Dutta
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TUCHHO is recommended - for those who have grown up listening to the Bengali Rock music, to experience the evolution; and for those have not heard it at all, to experience the phenomenon, called CACTUS.
Soma Dutta
Soma Dutta is a 22 year old student and music lover from Kolkata. A story teller at heart. She tells her stories through music, photographs, designs, and words. Loves to travel off to the hills once in a while. Musical influences- Eric Clapton, Santana, Steve Vai, John Mayer, Amyt Datta, The Corrs, Radiohead, Mutemath, Dido, KT Tunstall, Norah Jones , Diana Krall among others.