Album Review – The Revenge of Kalicharan – The Lightyears Explode

Album: The Revenge of Kalicharan

Label: Independent

Mixed by: Shantanu Hudlikar

Mastered by: Chris Athens

Release Date: 18^th April, 2013

It’s a strange thing that I have been reviewing albums of three piece bands lately. Well, here is another one. Hailing from the city of Mumbai (which also happens to be my second home), we have today The Lightyears Explode. Formed in the year 2010, the band has been known for their quirky and fun songs; mixing the right dose of entertainment into music to please the audience. Just about 2 years and 4 months later, they are out with their debut album titled – The Revenge of Kalicharan. Those who are a fans of B-grade Bollywood movies would be knowing about Kalicharan, in case you don’t, just be happy with the fact that KRK had better competition in the early 90’s (No, Deshdrohi is rated as an A+ grade movie). The Lightyears Explode are:

Shalom Benjamin-Bass
Saurabh Roy-Guitars/Vocals
Aaron Carvalho-Drums

The album has the same comedic traits the band is known for. Punk has always been about having fun with your music while at times presenting serious social issues with a twist. The Lightyears Explode seem to follow the exact rules and they certainly seem to enjoy what they are doing. The band has a sound and style pretty similar to Green Day, who I’m guessing would be one of their biggest influences. The vocals and guitars are pretty similar and the fact that the band line-up and the instruments they play are curiously similar to Green Day.

Okay, no more fooling around; now coming to the album. With songs like I Am A Disco Dancer and Garam Dharam, there is a very low chance one would even notice any seriousness in the lyrics. Even if there are any serious lyrics involved. The songs act as an anti-depressant. No matter how bad a mood you have, The Lightyears Explode are there to cheer you up and get you going. The guitar effects used at times are totally awesome and so are the compositions of the tracks. Late Night Song and Bow Down can be considered as the best examples of these; both are nice fun songs to listen to. For bass lovers, I would suggest I am A Disco Dancer, The Gay Song and The P-Man Explodes (Yes, our very own P-Man is so famous that people have started making songs on him 😛 ). The bass lines in these two tracks are the most distinguishable among the rest. While The Gay Song has a nice Reggae influence, The P-Man Explodes is more of an Alternative Rock song. And I Am A Disco Dancer can’t be described in terms of the music. You have to listen to this song yourself 😛

The other factor about the album is the drums. I love the sound of powerful drum hits and that is exactly what I got to hear in all the songs; a job well done by Aaron in his department.

Production quality has been great and if you are a fan of Punk, this is a must have album for you.

My picks from the album –