ALBUM REVIEW: NITISH PIRES - AM I EVIL
Indian singer/songwriter 'Nitish Pires' has been generating quite a lot of attention in his home country over recent years. Referred to as "The Rocking Roadie" due to his relentless touring, Pires took a break from recording in 2014 and spent the next four years on a staggering 3500 kilometre biking tour with a mobile recorder. During his travels he wrote and recorded a collection of 200 songs. Upon returning to his hometown of Goa he then began the long task of sifting through his vast material and the end result is his 11 track album 'Am I Evil'. Combining elements from traditional Indian music, Western Rock & roll and Electronics; the result is an interesting blend of two cultures joined together by a love of music.
Recorded entirely in his bed room, the production quality of 'Am I Evil' is outstanding. Pires, uses a myriad of different instruments to create a broad and varied soundscape ranging from slow rock ballads to country and all the way to techno. Clearly a skilled multi-instrumentalist, Pires' talents as a guitarist dominate throughout the album, but it is when he is at his most experimental that the record truly excels. 'You Fake' captures the balance between East and Western music styles in a fantastic way as the song begins with blues style guitar work with a very Indian vocal melody over the top especially on the pre-chorus before exploding into a really heavy grunge chorus. This style is repeated again in 'Happy Nuclear' where Pires' vocals sound like a mix between Anthony Kiedis and Serj Tankien. Likewise, his use of electronics on lead single 'Its My Way' sound like a combination of 'Electric Six' and 'Moby'.
It is unfortunate then that the other half of the album pales in comparison. Pires struggles at hitting the lower register on opening track 'Fade Away' and 'Big Black Wings' which really takes away from the quality of the songs. Likewise, 'Not Going Mad' and 'Hello Goodmorning' fall a bit flat after the experimental songs that precede them. Fortunately, the album closes on bonus track 'Undoe Se Maara'. Sung entirely in his native language, this is by far the rockiest song on the record. Starting out with a riff that almost sounds like 'Motorhead', this is one of Pires' best vocal performances. It is easy to picture this being the soundtrack whilst he travels across the Indian countryside on his bike.
'Am I Evil' is an ambitious and experimental record that doesn't quite hit on target. After a shaky start, the album improves as it progresses, but due to such a wide variety of musical styles, it never quite settles on a theme instrumentally. Pires sounds best when he at his most experimental and rocky, however he should avoid the lower pitched vocals.
6/10
Personal Highlight: Track 4, 'You Fake' continues with the western influence of 'Johny 006' but takes a lot more risks with experimentation resulting in the most interesting track of the album. The aggressive repetition of the chorus at the end shows Pires at the top of his game.
