Hits and misses

Maalavika Manoj aka Mali

We had first come across Maalavika Manoj aka Mali when the singer had released the single Mango showers in 2019. It's a haunting track with an edgy video that highlights how the corporate music industry is as greedy as a millionaire who pilfers coins from a blind beggar's bowl. We thus had high expectations when we pressed play on Caution to the Wind, her recently released first album, because Manoj had made a name for herself in the indie circuit in the meantime. But did the debut effort meet our hopes?

The record has its moments. The fifth song, Age of limbo, especially channels the promise she'd shown with Mango showers, providing an apt soundtrack for the when-will-it-end feeling we have about the pandemic right now. But there are also some parts where it feels as if the musician could have delivered more, where it seems as if she has shackled herself with formulaic singer-songwriter tropes. The song Mundane is one such example, which is ironic because its title is exactly what the chorus sounds like. Still, it's a decent enough body of music overall, and Manoj remains a talent that we will be keeping an eye on.

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