Montobbo Nishproyojon: The Arbovirus way of saying SHUT UP! to the pseudo-intellectuals

Montobbo Nishproyojon: The Arbovirus way of saying SHUT UP! to the pseudo-intellectuals

Written by The Rebel Fatman Faizul Khan Tanim

In a post Shahbagh-scenario we could not expect anything other than a rebel rock album from this five-piece band and they have delivered just that. Viewed as a sensational rock compilation due to its urgent lyrics; diverse compositions; tight production; brilliant performances by all the members, ‘Montobbo Nishproyojon’ (No comments required) becomes a DhakaLeaks barometer of society, politics, love, agitation, betrayal revealed through a loud-horn of shredding guitars, break-free vocals and combat drums. It’s a spontaneous combustion of the diverse moods and views of  Bangladeshi youth at this very interesting juncture which is why maximum listeners could associate them with Arbovirus’s music as ‘their music’.

It heavily reminds me of the ‘protest and message music’ era of the Beatles songs molded in the epic sound track ‘Across the Universe’ but this time, in a shout-out-loud rock version. Being an avid fan of this band, I was expecting more exposed and assaulting adaptations of their track ‘Omanush’ and hence was disappointed in the beginning. But as the tracks unfolded, I found that what they did here is nothing short of admirable. Starting from the extremely catchy chorus of ‘Rod-er Kinarey’;  the fertile, iron clad and up-to-the-minute instrumentation in ‘Aw’ weaving a sonic story; the critical insurgencies of ‘Sharthopor’ and ‘Prolaap’ and in the end, the very beautiful ‘Bodle Gechhe’ - sketching emotion sickness.

The mixing, mastering and production of this home-recorded album is brilliant and did not suffer the conventional blunders of substandard sound of ‘home recording’ because it tastes the same delicious pizza of tunes from whichever devices, be it my ipod, my computer or from FM radio. In plain and simple words, these songs of protest about the pretense is exactly what I am and the millions of youth are feeling right now – angry! And they are about how we want to break free from the monolith of dysfunction created by our Hasina-Khaleda and all the synonyms of dictated democracy.