Spuds step out of the box to create magic in the Mumbai rock scene
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The new Mumbai rock act Spud In The Box
or some reason, every time I spoke to someone about new Mumbai rock
act Spud In The Box in the last few months, Mumford & Sons kept
coming up as a reference point. Perhaps it's because the band's bio
inaccurately describes them as 'folk-rock', or because some of their
songs make heavy use of Mumford & Sons-esque vocal harmonies, but
apart from those two things, I couldn't make out, having seen them live
for the first time last week ("This is the biggest crowd we've played
to," they announced at the Blue Frog), a distinct connection between the
two. Regardless of their supposed influences though, this sextet needs
to be on your iPod and your must-see-live list.
Spud In The Box was formed in 2011 when Jai Hind college mates Ankit Dayal and Rohan Rajadhyaksha decided to get together and start playing acoustic sets, with Dayal on guitar and Rajadhyaksha on keys. They then added a bunch of musicians to bring some muscle to their near-twee pop-rock sound. That muscle took the shape of Vivaan Kapoor on drums, Zubin Bathena on bass and the dual guitar attack of Hartej Sawhney and Siddharth Talwar. In the last year, they've produced a solid, near hour-long set of original material that betrays a confidence and maturity well beyond their years, and well ahead of a lot of their peers. Spud's MO is pretty straight-forward – strong melodies power a euphoric pop-rock pastiche that's perfect for summer music festivals. Their arena-ready catalogue is chock full with sing-alongs and tongue-in-cheek references to stuff they're not supposed to be doing given they're all well below legal drinking age. At the Blue Frog gig, their energy on stage was infectious, and didn't once seem like they were trying too hard to connect with the audience, something that a lot of their peers regularly struggle with. The gig was reminiscent of mid-to-late noughties sets by now Bombay rock veterans Something Relevant whose jam band, pop-rock sound regularly attracted south Mumbai undergrads in droves whenever they played in the city.
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young to be affected by Vasant Dhoble's recent crackdown on 'rave
parties', Spud In The Box took full advantage of the change in
programming at the Frog (many venues in Mumbai have reshuffled their
programming to incorporate more live bands and less DJ sets since the SS
man's recent series of raids) to play one of the tightest and most
enjoyable sets I've seen a band as young play in a long time.
Dayal and Rajadhyaksha nail unfaltering falsettos song after song, complementing each other's vocal styles particularly well (a recent video on YouTube of the two of them performing an acoustic version of their song Good Way To Die highlights this partnership particularly well). Kapoor is one of the most assured (and I overheard some people at the gig describe him as "excitable") young drummers in the Bombay scene, providing much of the punch and all of the backbone of the band's stage act. Sure the band still needs some polish and their musical excesses comprise prolonged solo interludes, and perhaps even one more guitarist than necessary for their sound. But their boldness is hard to ignore and easily overcomes their imperfections, which I'm sure will be ironed out as they play more gigs and hone their sound. Now, the only thing they need to ensure is not breaking up once they graduate and that old Bombay rock band-wrecker – "guitarist went to LA to study music" – rears its ugly head. Till then, I encourage you to find them on whatever social media you prefer and catch them live in your city whenever they show up. Courtesy: The Sunday Guardian - http://www.sunday-guardian.com/artbeat/spuds-step-out-of-the-box-to-create-magic-in-the-mumbai-rock-scene |
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