Shruti Haasan is a supremely talented individual. Aside from being a successful actress, she is also an accomplished musician and singer. She started singing from a very young age. As a matter of fact, at the age of six for the movie Thevar Magan. She also sang the bilingual “Rama Rama” for the movie Hey Ram. Eventually, she also went on to study at the Musicians Institute in California.
Shruti Haasan has enjoyed a decorated career as a playback singer. She received the Filmfare Award in the Best Female Playback Singer – Telugu category for her performance on the song “Junction Lo”. She has also collaborated with former Velvet Revolver guitarist Dave Kushner for the song “Beyond The Snake” on the movie Hisss.
For the Tamil movie Unnaipol Oruvan, she donned the music composer’s hat as well. Until 2009, Shruti Haasan was also the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band, The Extramentals. Shruti Haasan is quite well known for her love of hard rock and heavy metal music. Some of the bands that she loves are Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Incubus, Lamb Of God, Meshuggah and System Of A Down. The talented songstress has been in Hyderabad during the lockdown and despite everything else being shut, her musical creativity has flown freely. She has released her latest single “Edge” and that’s what we will be reviewing here.
The track starts with a galloping piano rhythm which sets us up for the arrival of Shruti Haasan’s powerful vocals. If there is one word to describe the vocal melody, it would be distinctive. It doesn’t sound like anything else. Her vocal tone is very rich and she utilizes her almost limitless chops to enunciate all the words spectacularly. What Shruti feels, she sings, and what she sings, you feel. The vocal performance is powerful and consistent.
Even when she infuses some aggressive rasps to provide the proverbial punch to her phrases, she makes it sound quite effortless. Don’t be fooled though, what she is doing is extremely difficult, so don’t try it at home. The track, which mainly consists of vocal lines and the piano, really needed a lot of power in the vocal department to drive it home. Luckily for “Edge”, Shruti Haasan isn’t just a powerful vocalist, she is a powerplant, making every single note light up with her emotionally charged delivery.
The instrumental accompaniment is chiefly the brooding piano which establishes a gorgeous rhythm that carries you throughout the song as Shruti’s voice provides the fireworks along the way. Shruti Haasan infuses some wonderful dynamics into the rhythm which does a great job of keeping listeners on the edge (pun intended). The song has been mixed and produced very well. The driving melody and rhythm also happen to sound very atmospheric throughout the song. That goes a long way in building the mood of the song. There is an inherent beauty in darkness, and “Edge” does a great job of demonstrating that.
The song’s video also plays out somewhat like an avant garde noir short film with great lighting, shadows, and transitions. It transforms a great song to hear, into a great song to watch. Go, the replay button awaits.
Verdict: Bewitching.
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