Arbovirus is one of the bands that made waves in the underground rock music scene of the mid-2000s with their powerful lyrics and rawness of their music. Despite being active as a band in live concerts, they have had an album waiting for years now; they delivered just that to a eager crowd of fans longing for a genuine rock album. The band held what they called a 'freelease' of their new album, “Montobyo Nishproyojon” at the Russian Cultural Centre on Friday, playing live to the audience while launching the album for free download from their page.
The album opens with “Jwalo Agun Jwalo”, a song fuelled with anger, frustration and the urge to stand up and defy all the mores that are crippling society. The chorus, which is basically the song title, is built up nicely through a pre-chorus, backed by catchy riffing.
“Roder Kinaray”, the next track, is reminiscent of the early days of the band; the riffs are crunchy, the chorus is catchy, and the solo very textbook rock.
After injecting the energy, the album shifts gear into an absolutely heart-melting ballad, “Hariye Jao”. Sufi's voice oozes feel, the drumming is compact, and the guitarists are careful not to overpower the song. One of those songs that can be put on repeat for hours, “Hariye Jao” is sure to be one of the biggest hits of the album.
“Aw”, the next track in queue, is groovy and funky, with the lyrical style very similar to many of their tracks from their debut album “64m53s”. The short verses are thrown out expressively; while the bass-work and the guitar pattern keeps playing in the head even after the song is over.
“Durotto”, the next track is melodious and mostly acoustic; Sufi once again brings out the soft, sweet vocal works that are a rarity in rock vocals here. It doesn't stand out on any particular front, but overall is a lovely, easy-listening song.
“Sharthopor”, the next song, has a grungy intro, and moves into an industrial flavour soon, following up with a bluesy guitar-bass interlude. The solo is also more expressive than many other songs, with guitar effects also ranging wider than what is usually heard from the band; overall, a song where a lot is going on, although none of it seems rushed.
“Prolaap” begins with a commentary in a chaotic guitar piece, with the vocal entering in a somewhat Limp Bizkit flavour. The lyrics are strong, addressing national and historical issues, including war crimes. The guitar work is strong on this one, both on the riffs and the solos. A short, but expressive piece.
The album closes with “Bodle Geche”, an uncharacteristic monologue-like piece played on a single acoustic plucking pattern. The lyrics are very urban and literal, lamenting the changes around us.
There are a few reasons this album deserves applause; firstly, eight tracks collectively timing a little over 38 minutes is rather small for a rock album, and listeners would generally feel cheated; it is not the case here. The album has bags of flavours and variety spaced well throughout the album duration. Secondly, Arbovirus' lyrics have always been a class apart from most of their contemporaries; the imagery, the poetic nature and depth of their lyrics remained intact in this album, greatly adding to its value.
Overall, Arbovirus has achieved what they set out for. It is not a heavyweight album by any means, but it packs a fair punch.