Boondh vs. Meri Kahani

   Before I start comparing the albums by Jal and Atif Aslam(who was a former member of Jal), let me make one thing very clear. I won't be taking any one's side while writing this review, for the heck of it, you can say that I equally hate both of them.

Let me start off by reviewing the much awaited album by Jal. The song 'Sajni' has nice lyrics, good composition and Farhan's voice fits the song perfectly. The song also got a boost from a successful video which is playing on all desi tv stations. 'Raatein' and 'Mahia' are songs that made Jal what they are today. Drums, guitars, riffs, echoes, everything is used with perfect timing to make them successful Pakistani pop songs. Farhan's low tone voice is at it's best in 'More Piya'. Jal's attempt at sufi rock is very  mesmerizing with "Main Must Hoon". Once again, a great composition, great Punjabi vocals and off course lyrics by Gohar are awesome. 'Payal' is an ok slow song with 'Chup Chup' a better choice if you want to listen to a nice slow song by Jal. 'Kia se Kia' has thought provoking lyrics but composition could've been a little better, never the less, it's a nice song.

The title song of the album is probably the best song on the album. A very soothing and melodious song with refreshing lyrics about a guy who is remembering the good old days in his life. The video for this song is nicely done and fully compliments the song. 'Kinara' sounds like a continuation from the song 'Meri Kahani' as the lyrics shift from 'Meri Kahani' to 'Meri Zindagi'. Nice lyrics but unnecessary screaming makes it a good song instead of a great song.
'Rabba Sacheya' is Atif's turn to try his luck with Sufi rock. He has done a great job with the Punjabi lyrics and the balance in vocals, using calm vocals in the beginning and energetic vocals in the second phase of the song. 'Mann Hota Hai' can be labeled as a mixing failure as the piano is overpowering Atif's vocals throughout the song. 'Joug', 'Chhor Gaye' and 'Humrahi' are signature Atif Aslam songs. Atif surprises us with his rendition of a classical song 'Maye Ni'. That's where he shows us that he can actually sing a classical song as well as pop.
In 'Kaun Tha' Atif gives us a duet with SKJ an uncredited female singer with superb voice that matches Atif's vocal chords perfectly in this song. 'Yaaro' and 'Hungami Haalaat' are average songs with Atif trying his luck with Hard Rock this time around. Not sure if this genre suits Atif's style of voice but it was nice to have a different song in an album that has too many pop songs.

Overall, Jal has better compositions, original songs and more tunes in the album that are worth adding to your ipod play list. Although Atif has 2 remakes of old songs, his compositions lacks the nomination to the play list for repetitive listening. "Boondh" gets a 8.5/10 and "Meri Kahani" gets a 6/10.

Reviewed by: Azhar Moeen