Niruddesher gaan Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta Sagarika; Rs 40

Swagatalakshmi combines some fast numbers with the soulful in her album, Niruddesher Gaan. The songs are written and composed by her. Swagatalakshmi’s excellent voice gives some of the mediocre songs a new lease of life. Taking a cue from Ricky Martin, she has written and composed a song on Indian cricket, but somewhere it lacks the adrenalin rush. Niruddesher gaan, Anurodh, na koro na and Mukto koro e bandhon are some of the better ones.

Madhuparna Das

ALLAH TOMAR DARBARETE Tapan Roy Raga; Rs 35

Islamic songs in Bengali are usually steeped in the Sufi spirit. The same sahajia (liberal) devotional sentiment informs the 10 numbers. The lyrics are composed by Sabir Ahmed Chowdhury who endows them with a poetic quality. Some of the lyrics as well as tunes are strongly reminiscent of the compositions of Kazi Nazrul Islam, the all-time great exponent of Islamic songs in Bengali. Tapan Roy has a free flowing voice suited to devotional singing and his renditions of songs like Allah chhara mabud nei (music by Goursundar Gayen) or Arab morur phool bagichaye (music by Madal) should stay long in memory.

ANAMIKA Indranil Sen Prime Music; Rs 42

The album contains 10 numbers some of which promise to be potential hits in this festive season. One good aspect of the album is its variety of themes and moods. Anamika (written by Debangshu Chakraborty, music by Soumik) and Pakhira sab (written by Chiranjit Basu, music by Banikantha), along with a couple of others are soaked in sentimentality. Indranil himself has composed and tuned two funky lyrics (Lebu cha and Devdas) which good-humouredly tap into urban love and life.

TOR JONYO Saikat Mitra Prime Music; Rs 42

The album features nine songs, some of which do not sail beyond low-brow entertainment. Saikat’s trademark smartness is much in evidence, though. Love and longing are the dominant themes of the songs. Ai re pakhi (written and composed by Tamoghna Ghosh) and Aaj bristi hote pare (penned by Sumit Samaddar and music by Chirodeep Dasgupta) are easily the two picks of the album.

PARAMANAND Tarun Bhattacharya Legendary Legacy; CD Rs 99

Santoor maestro Tarun Bhattacharya unleashes his finger wizardry in this album. His virtuosity enlivens Raga Charukeshi, capturing the soothing nuances of Maihar gharana. His recital of this Shatatantri Veena includes ingenious touches of Mankas and Meends. The alaap section plays a calm sombreness against mellow jingles which lilt like pattering rain, followed by expertly handled Vilambit and Drut gats. Panditji is accompanied on the tabla by Ramkumar Mishra.

Arnab Bhattacharya