By Faisal Ahsan
As my first post for Pakium, I decided to review the audio creations of Shaany. Always an eternal pessimist, I was dreading having to hear and review something released by a ‘new’ act, because more often than not, new musicians have caused me physical pain and mental stress; instead I was exposed to a great artist in the form of Shaany.
This review will cover both of his recent releases, “Sanwal” and “Pukaarey Tujhe“, both strong contenders for the most addictive tracks I’ve heard in the past few weeks. In fact, let me listen to them again while you check them out yourselves and then we’ll meet back here and compare notes.
“Sanwal” – Video:
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“Pukaarey Tujhe” – Audio
Okay, now that you’re back and in the right mood, let’s begin the review! Onwards!
Production Value
One of the biggest ‘YES!’ factors of both songs is the amazing production quality. Shaany has had experience as a producer and sound engineer and it clearly shows in his work. The songs were co-produced by Vicky Haider and they have done well to create audio that represents the artist. Both are extremely well balanced tracks and that make for some really good listening.
Parts I Loved
What especially struck me were the jazz influences in both tracks. This is especially evident in Sanwal and one of the highlights was the solo section. The solo contains elements of blues, jazz and classic rock over an excellent piano progression. Pukaarey Tujhe is a soft ballad that shows off some of Shaany‘s piano work which is very good. The song contains some great vocal parts and I feel it generally has been sung better than Sanwal. I think you can hear more emotion in Shaany‘s voice in this song and that allows listeners to really connect with the lyrics.
Parts I Wasn’t Impressed With
One of the downsides of Sanwal is the way the vocals started. I can see why it was done but I felt that a guitar melody would have better served the song. In Pukaarey Tujhe, I felt a little let down with the chorus as the rest of the song came in very strong. I get the feeling that perhaps Shaany didn’t take too many risks with the vocal melodies in these tracks. I mean, there are some really great moments but overall you can almost hear him hold back and I would really love to see him explore his vocal range more in his future releases.
Final Thoughts
Sanwal has all the ingredients to become an instant classic. Pukaarey Tujhe is a great song that was recorded brilliantly and is almost as addictive as Sanwal. What really struck me about both tracks is that Shaany seems to know exactly what he’s doing in all elements of a song and have twists and surprises for the listener and keeps them interested. As a critic, sure I can find a few mistakes here or there, but none of them take away from two really great songs that I have had on repeat for the past few days. I am personally looking forward to what Shaany will come out with next.
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