Sharique Roomi – Yakeen (Album Review)
Artist: Sharique Roomi
Album: Yakeen**
Sharique Roomi’s Yakeen should have ideally been titled: “Sharique Roomi and Kashan Admani”. For one thing, Kashan Admani (Mizmaar guitarist/producer) has played guitars and bass on almost every song except ‘Sab Darwaze’.
Come to the album inlay and it is as disappointing as it gets.
Every song has the same combination of guitars, bass and drums thrown in together. The mélange of instruments that made Coke Studio stand out, the range of eclectic sounds disposed by Rushk for that matter (who managed to create melancholically mournful layers of sounds and weave them into meloldies) – are all but missing here completely.
The similarity in songs is a turn-off. They wander directionless, hopelessly into musical terrain that is neither inviting nor intriguing enough to evoke a second glance. The examples are spread throughout this record.
‘Pyar Hai’ is catchy with some fantastic guitars (that do not go overboard and gel well with the rock-heavy melody) but ‘Teere Peeche’ takes the musical buzz away almost instantly. The riff sounds like a cut out of an Audioslave record. One wouldn’t call it a rip-off but a sense of déjà vu does arrive with this tune. Lyrically it’s a little funny as Sharique sings, ‘Tere Peeche Ayon Ga Ma/Seedhay Seedhay Tu Meray Saath Chal Ray/Warna Chilaoonga Mein’ – but the singing is monotone without conviction and the song is unable to redeem itself.
‘Khali Kaali Raat’ is electric rock and just might be a raging hit at concerts. But does it have the same soul as Noori’s new ‘Kedaar – Coke Studio mix’ or the fiery ‘Dil Ke Baaton Ko’ that Aaroh debuted on their debut Sawal? No. ‘Dil Ke Baaton Ko’ was in-your-face with tough plastered all over it and Farooq’s vocals had the same aggression as those volatile riffs, and the two melted in perfect symphony. These are just some examples. ‘Khali Kaali Raat’ has neither of those qualities.
‘Thoda Sa’ goes on about having fun in life amidst the doom and gloom that surrounds us. The message maybe right, especially for an entertainment-starved youth but the constant riffs, and the dull vocals are no help.
After Strings’s Koi Aanay Wala Hai and Ali Azmat’s Klashinfolk – the game for rock music just got a lot more textured. It is hard to compete as the tides fly towards stars like Atif Aslam and Ali Zafar and as Noori return with (in the coming weeks…) what sounds like their most mature effort yet – the genre of rock music just expanded into a whole new dimension and it has to be tackled with more than the ability to play or sing. Playing fabulous guitars and singing love songs is just fine but it isn’t enough to cut a memorable record.
Verdict: Yakeen might sit well with Roomi fans but a record with vision and consistency is what Sharique Roomi needs to walk the fine line between edgy rawness of rock and the haunting blues and ballads. Yakeen manages it but only in small patches.
Source: INSTEP Magzine
