The thematic Shut Up! Vaaya Moodu! Mindaadhe! is short, trippy fun; that last aspect more so because of the incorporation of multiple Malayalam movie dialogues, dominated by those from Punjabi House. Composer Sean Roldan himself gets behind the mic and does a nice job (along with a well-utilized chorus), albeit with a slight accent. Thammil Oru is a lot along the lines of what Sean has produced with his band (songs like Mayakura Poovaasam instantly come to mind), and equally effective, with some brilliant use of guitars (Josh Markraj on electric, Naveen Napier on bass). The composer is joined by Shaktisree Gopalan on vocals here, both of them delivering fabulously. I was very excited about Kaana Kanneerilay seeing Madras String Quartet in the credits (strings arranged by Kalyani Nair, credits say). But to my dismay the role of the quartet here is just to provide an atmospheric effect, the only element of interest otherwise being what I would assume to be R Sekar plucking the cello. It is a decent song otherwise, dominated by the acoustic guitar in the background even as Alaap Raju does a neat rendition. But Sean and Kalyani make up for that by making superb use of the quartet in the anthemic Swaathanthryathin Thaalangal, sung wonderfully by Kalyani herself alongside Pradeep (I suppose Sean’s bandmate who plays the slide guitar); particularly loved that interlude.
The last remaining vocal piece Ullin Ullile is also the soundtrack’s best – guitars, violins (Chennai Strings), accordion, vocal harmonies all coming together in a delightfully rich melange (always sold to that European street music-y feel!). Haricharan is flawless as usual, but this one is owned by Sean with his arrangement. And if that wasn’t enough, Sean picks up the choicest of the strings segments from the song and builds another spectacular instrumental piece with the Chennai Strings called Mr. Fix-It Theme. The “honestly” titled Pedippeduthunna Jazz Theme delivers just that – a short cloak and dagger style jazz theme that is ruled by Maarten Visser with his sax solos, and some groovy percussion from Praveen Sparsh – it would be hard not to swing to this one. Sean plays keys on this one; wonder why the double bassist has not been credited. In fact the Sound of Silence – Dubstep Symphony is a more pedippeduthunna theme with its sinister violin refrain (played again by the Chennai Strings) accompanied by some intriguing techno sounds.
Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram. Sean Roldan makes his film debut in style, with a bunch of songs that are very much in line with the musical identity that the man has built in the indie world.
Music Aloud Rating: 8.5/10
Top Recos: Ullin Ullile, Thammil Oru, Swaathanthryathin Thaalangal, Pedippeduthunna Jazz Theme
