Entertainment Entertainment Home ‘Striking’ out with Shurjo Dibosh! By Rohini Alamgir If we are to believe the saying ‘morning shows the day,’ then the very first track would serve as a warning to all music fans. However, Striking have managed to disprove this saying with their album ‘Shurjo Dibosh.’ Maruf, Zaman, Monir, Nipun, Zico and Shamim reveal their talents, but fail to enthrall and entice with their album. The artwork does attract, but the lyrics and the songs do not fulfill the expectations of music lovers. The first track, ‘Kactus,’ does little to resolve even the most ardent music lovers to hear the album through and through. Starting off with a somewhat noisy and distorted guitar work, the effects fail to add glamour to the track. Not a great launch to the album and the following vocal work does everything to sustain this ideology. Clearly a gifted vocalist, with a lot of range, but neither is very evident. Following that ‘Tobuo’ provides a great contrast. A soft, mesmerising acoustic work and highly melodious, this number is clearly meant to satisfy mellow moods; a perfect song to help wind down a busy day. Track three, ‘Alokito Diner Golpo,’ begins with a cool introductory lead. Though promising to be a good song, the track falls short heavily. The vocals sound weak and the off-beat drumming is rather ineffectively applied. The sudden transition of the tempo is another major drawback. Even then, this track is a relatively good attempt. ‘Sritir Janala,’ opens with an awesome introductory lead, and has a nice heavy rock effect to it. However, the attempt at harmonising the vocals doesn’t quite hit the mark, and overall, the number seems, to some extent, commercial. Number five, ‘Opar Godhuli,’ is a soft, ballad type song, and yet again, sounds highly commercial. The redeeming factors: the vocalist shows his incredible range and deserves applause. The downside: the vocal effects do not compliment the song and the shift from an upbeat to slow is very abrupt. A good song, but perhaps, it could have been performed better. Then comes ‘Mohakabbo,’ - the first heavy track of the album. The guitar and drum work are very commendable, though the bass should have been more audible, since heavier tracks depend highly upon a good bass work. Yet again, the effort at harmonising the vocals fails. Normally, the track would have been rated as ‘OK,’ but the melody is unsuccessful. ‘Bikkhoto Aaina,’ is another slow number. The song starts off nice and the keyboard work is fantastic. And, once more, the lead guitars require mention, as well as the bass work. A good song for melancholy moments! Track eight, ‘Olik Obokkhoy,’ does not manage to impress. The vocal sounds slightly off tune at times. Second last is ‘Shekarokti 2000,’ which creates a nice blend of guitars and calabash. One of the first tracks that is actually worth the effort! The final track of the album, ‘Symphony Osru,’ is probably the best track of the album. With a soft, slow beginning, the flute effects really add charm to the piece. This final track gets the gold! Overall, the album should be rated a 6/10. It is definitely a difficult task to bring out an album, and to compose so many songs, and though the works hint at the potential of the band, often the traces are lost. I guess Striking fans can only wait patiently, hoping for the next album to be much more befitting to their expectations.