Chirag Todi Invites RANJ, Dot., MS Krsna & More On Debut Album 'Bangers Only'

While guitar-led music has been getting dismissed from the vogue since the start of the 60s', there are always more than a few takers around to appreciate it. Guitarist-composer Chirag Todi's credentials from winning NEXA Music to being part of the voting members of the Recording Academy (known for its Grammy Awards) attests to that.

The instrument continues to lead the way for the Ahmedabad artist even on 'Bangers Only', the self-declared pop debut album. For the first half, there is a detectable pattern: intro guitar hooks that foreshadow vocal melodies over syncopated basslines and maybe even a few charged guitar interludes. It's a tried and tested formula and one that doesn't break any artistic grounds in on itself.

However, experimentation and invention isn't the aim of this album which rather goes for easy accessibility (for most parts) and relatiblity. Achieving that and building upon the quality foundation built by Chirag Todi comes the songwriting done with his collaborators. While Aditi Saigal aka Dot. presents a lilting and swaying love letter to feeling enough in simple pleasures on 'Spice Lemonade' and the contrast of RANJ and Ramya Pothuri gives a post-breakup bop with 'Love Nobody', the Tamil examination of a relationship's future by MS Krsna on 'Ooty Dreams' is the new peak on the album after the aforementioned tracks which were released as singles.

The second half, separated by Chirag's first-ever vocal attempt (which pales next to the prowess of his collaborators but is a welcome feature in the artist's growth) on 'Walking On a Minefield', lets go of the previous structural pattern and beings to introduce new styles on every track including blues and metal on 'Yearning' and 'Crafted Lies'. In that comes the album's best work: the jam between Chirag's arrangement, Nihira Joshi Deshpande's classical vocal style and Rohan Prasanna's sarod that take flight in a great passion which marries perfectly with the revelry, ecstasy and freedom embodied in Sreenath Sreenivasan's lyrics.

Listen to 'Bangers Only' below and follow Chirag Todi for more.