Music Review // Malini Sridharan "Tombeaux" (Birdwatcher Records)

 https://malinisridharan.bandcamp.com/album/tombeaux

This album begins with a very powerful singing accompanied by sitar notes.   This becomes an orchestra of woodwinds and horns.    This makes me think about Edie Brickell taking the lead for Architecture in Helsinki.   The vocals begin to get lighter and float around now, which also reminds me of Tori Amos.   The second song begins with deeper bass winds, like a tuba playing those notes, and then the vocals return.   This all feels very serious and there are elements of something like Lord of the Rings to it as well.

"If I cannot move Heaven I'll raise Hell" is such a great line.  This takes us into the third song, "Charon", which has this slow crawl feel to it.   There is some kind of sound behind all of this, as well, going "huh huh huh huh" but it is simply a sound I cannot recreate with mere words.   "Plains" comes in with the piano and xylophone feel, which makes it feel both so light and powerful at the same time.   If this was Lord of the Rings, this would be the sad and powerful solo song that you hear in the film. "There is nowhere for us to be going except through time".

"Rivers" brings out that classical Tori Amos type of feel again as the piano feels like it is accompanied by strings.   There is a ballet element to this as well, as I could imagine it as being a stage show in a similar manner.   The whole song opens up into this flute part now and just begins to dance around in such a fun way.   "Down To Me" dances around like Polly Scattergood or Fiona Apple and is just equally as fun and powerful.

Slow bass strings come into "Beam".   These songs can feel both sad and dramatic, bold and powerful, but overall they tell stories.   The words are there and if you're reading them or have them spoken to you then you should be able to understand the emotions that go with them as well.   But the music is within the songs to enhance those feelings and further convey the message which just makes this album oh so perfect.