Sometimes it becomes a bit hard to juggle between being a music fan and a music critic. As a fan, there are bands that I love wholeheartedly, and will defend to the death. As a critic, I sometimes have to take a look at my favourite artists and point out deficiencies that the fanboy in me has no qualms about brushing under the carpet. This little conflict between the critic and the fanboy has been playing out in my head since I first heard The Feni Farm Riot, the debut album by Mumbai orchestral-folk act Dischordian.
Dischordian is the brainchild of Split frontman Garreth D’Mello. It started off as a solo project, but D’Mello soon realized that a full band would much better suit his ambitions and eventually settled on a line-up that includes multi-instrumentalists Agnelo Picardo, Howard Pereira, and Nigel Rajaratnam on guitar, saxophone, trumpet, lap steel, melodica, mandolin, and percussion. Dischordian takes its name from the esoteric religion Discordianism – which worships Eris, the goddess of discord, and idealizes chaos. There is an undercurrent of punk rock that runs throughout the album, but their sound is more Beirut than Crass, a mix of chamber pop, folk, country, ’60s rock and roll, and American pop standards. Their music references artists like Eddie Vedder, Nick Cave, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Iggy Pop. The band members’ Goan heritage is also an important influence, visible in not just the album title, but the music as well.
Nick Drake and Nick Cave are huge influences on D’Mello and it shows. Album opener ‘One Of These Days’ wraps a strong sense of desolation and longing around a Nick Drake-esque guitar melody. The anthemic ‘The Old Whore’ has Agnelo’s smoky jazz trumpet acting as a foil to the cheerful malice of the lyrics. “Let her body decompose / While the grass above her grows / Make sure everybody knows / That she’s no more,” goes the deceptively cheerful chorus. Inspired by the Mangalore pub attacks in 2009, ‘Your Right Heel’ is Garreth’s ode to an imaginary woman who would stand up and wreak retribution on those self-proclaimed saviours of our culture. The song has a restless energy and a hint of menace that makes it a highlight of their live set. Dripping with righteous indignation, ‘Save Me’ is a savage attack on the hypocrisy of organised religion and politics. D’Mello’s powerful voice takes centre-stage as he rails against, “All these politicians and preachers / Astrologers, godmen and bullshit teachers.”
The Feni Farm Riot is a great showcase of D’Mello’s ability to craft minimalistic melancholy songs and sinister murder ballads with the same accomplished ease. But it’s let down by a lack of consistency and occasionally lacklustre production. ‘Stone’ lacks the venom and bite implied in its lyrics, while the lyrical awkwardness of ‘She Lied To Me’ shows that there’s still plenty of room for progress. But the occasional filler track aside, this is a pretty solid debut from an act that has already earned a hardcore fanbase by virtue of constant gigs and patience.
Indiecision: B
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