An Exotic Mocktail of Modernist Poetry,Blues and Mellow Breeze : 'Easterly Wind' by Serenade

"Whoa!Was that a non-ethnic-English-speakers band that I heard performing?!?"

"Glad that you liked our performance!"

That was my first reaction after listening to a 'Move on Rag' by Serenade. The forever modest Soumyarya Mallick replied with an unforeseen humbleness and at once I was sure I wanted to listen to the entire album for once! Once I did,I was not sure how on earth I was going to finish off this review - all I could think of was "lyrics-oh-lyrics-my-God-what-do-I-do-with-the-finest-of-lyrics". And hasty as it might sound at the beginning of an album "ree-view",had the entire collection of song lyrics been published as a book of poems,it still would have made its mark on the show.

On the days I would listen to this,out of the blue - I would have random lines from Simon and Garfunkel,Radiohead or even Paul Robeson surface up in my mind! The mocktail tastes as good as marshmallows and mocha on a rainy evening,if not even better. There are melancholic tunes and greys that surface up in songs like 'Nocturnal Supremacy' (and buoy,ain't they superbly impressive?!) I almost lost my senses for a few seconds everytime I went through the lyrics to the track. The instrumentals were perfectly in sync in case of almost all the songs and are precisely beautiful in 'Rambler', ' Soulantino', 'Nocturnal Supremacy','Hell Chimer' (Sounds like a culmination of the flavours of metal and prog at its most intensely derivable forms),'Hey Woman' and 'Man of The Blues'.

Eeshan Jzoe has done justice to the vocals in every context possible.The vocals are unbelievable and out of the world.I honestly do not recall the last time I heard someone in the recent times do the vocals keeping aside all other things that well! The resonance,the spirit,the impact,the emphasis,the indulgence - every attribute you can imagine linked to vocalising on songs and turning people on with the same,you would find it in 'Easterly Wind'.

The part I figured was a little less than perfect would be melody.Though it might sound pretty cliche given the neatly done instrumentals,vocals and lyrics and provided that the band is inspired by blues,an emphasis on gearing up with the tune could have taken everything else to a whole new level,to be specific. 

There is an amazing co-ord among the artists and that is visible in both visuals and every strum down the tracks,in every single performance.To sum it all up,Serenade has all the qualities a band needs to set its mark in the long run.Agnivo Basu has done a great job with the bass and Richard Wright wouldn't have been more impressed in this age than Daipayan Dutta Gupta's beats on the drum.The synchronisation brought to life in all the performances is something all music enthusiasts search for and the lyrics and vocals are simply out of the world.All in all,this is a must listen for people who love experimenting with different musical genres and have an affinity towards blues and classic rock.I can swear by that you can succumb your poetic thirst
to death with all the melancholia that has been portrayed in the modernist structure and 
well-built vicinity of the songs.Keep up the great work,Serenade!

Catch up with the band's Facebook page here.


Disclaimer - A free copy of the EP has been sent to me by the band.However,opinions expressed are free of influence.