Artist: Neel and the Lightbulbs
EP: House in a Car
Released on: 1st December, 2012
Label: Independent
Mixed & Mastered By: Neel Adhikari and Avinash Chordia
There are times when you need to shut off everything and take your mind away from the busy day-to-day schedule. I was feeling the same when I got this EP for review. I had heard about Neel and the Lightbulbs during my stay in Kolkata, a few weeks back. They even had a show during that time, which I couldn’t attend as I was busy meeting my relatives.
So as I said, I was having a bad day and I needed something which could take my mind away from everything. I never review anything when I’m in such a bad mood, so I decided to just give the EP a listen. And that was the best decision I made that day. Though I didn’t review the EP then itself, I took another day to listen to it, when I was in a better mood.
Neel and the Lightbulbs are –
Subhodip Banerjee – Guitars, Vocals; Roheet Mukherjee – Bass; Avinash Chordia – Drums; Neel Adhikari –Vocals, Guitar.
The EP has a runtime of around 19 minutes, but trust me, it will be the best 19 minutes you will spend for sure. Starting off with the title track – House in a Car, which had the very essence of how I was feeling. The background track had the busy streets, cars honking, total rush hour, the thing I wanted to escape from. The song on the other hand has just the opposite feel. It celebrates life, the little things you need to live it to the max. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a place to stay, even your car seems like a 5-star hotel then. The whole EP has this simplicity with which you can connect very easily and the best part is that it does soothe your nerves. Soft Rock served with the right amount of soul and passion is how I would like to describe the tracks.
The band surely did experiment at times, but they knew what they were doing. The jolly and feel-good mood of songs like Lights and Tunnels and Friends in the Right Places shows exactly how powerful music can be when amalgamated with meaningful lyrics. On the other hand 915 (this actually stands for quarter past nine or 9:15; you’ll know about it when you listen to the song) has this feeling of serenity all through the song.
All in all this is a package one should not miss at any cost. There are reasons why Indie music is respected by all; this EP earned my respect from the first time I heard it. After listening to the EP I do regret not attending their gig when I was in Kolkata; that is surely in my to-do list for my next visit to the City of Joy.
Must listen tracks from the EP –
- House in a Car
- 915
Throw It All Away
