Artist – Slow Down Clown
Album – Forget the Night
Release Date – 20th February, 2013
Label – Independent
What was originally started in 2001 as a solo project by singer/songwriter Vitek Goyel, Slow Down Clown is an out of the box Folk/Punk Rock band based in Mumbai. Having performed in cities like Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore and getting a response for their debut EP – Say Nothing, the lads from Mumbai are back with their new album – Forget The Night. With their characteristic sound having elements of folk, alternative and punk rock, the four piece band from Mumbai have released quite a surprise package for their fans.
Slow Down Clown are –
Vitek Goyel – Vocals/Acoustic Guitar/ Harmonica; Arfaaz Kagalwala – Drums/ Backing Vocals; Anurag Shanker – Lead Guitar/ Backing Vocals; Wilson Kenneth – Bass
To start off with, the album is not the kind which you would like from the very first time you give it a listen. With time it grows on you. Maybe it’s because of the unique sound they have, but with a little patience, the songs set in and you get into the groove totally. All of the tracks have this sort of simplicity and a touch of minimalistic approach in them. No fancy unnecessary experimentations done, just pure feeling put into the songs. The best examples would be the trance inducing track – Stupid Sea; Keep You, which takes you back to the 80’s with its definitive riff pattern; the ever so gloomy heartbreak track – You Lie; and the perfect ballad titled – Perfect. Even though these tracks are different from each other in terms of their sound, the factor that connects them is the simplicity. Another example would be Bandra Girls. It is sort of a journal of modern day Mumbai, the city of dreams. It starts off as a typical Qawwali set, which continues for a minute and a half almost, and then makes a smooth transition with the instruments kicking in. This effortless shifting is seen all throughout the album and that is what makes it special.
The guitar work has been nice all throughout the album, the composition has been great. I really enjoyed the guitar solos on In a Moment and Shoreline. Bass was superb, the pumpy bass brought life to most of the songs, and tracks like Perfect and The Disappearing Boy are the best example of it. For me the drums were the winner. Arfaaz has done a great job behind the drumkit and the different tempo changes and style changes wouldn’t have been possible without him. So Mr. Arfaaz, take a bow. The vocals on the other hands didn’t satisfy me much, I would have liked a little cleaner, more distinguishable vocals at times. Maybe less use of reverb would do the trick. Sometimes it was hard to determine the lyrics because of the overlay of reverb, or the echo as some may call it. All in all a great effort and definitely an album worth owning.
Music Video for Stupid Sea
