Have you ever wondered about Neil Armstrong’s train of thoughts as he rocketed through the void of space towards the moon? This Mumbai-based rock band certainly has, and has taken a step further by releasing their debut album chronicling these thoughts from a musical point of view. Gumbal is no stranger when it comes to tinkering around with musical elements in order to provide their albums a more experimental and out-of-the-box feel. With their debut album ‘Armstrong’s List’, they intricately laid down several interesting musical and vocal elements that will keep the listeners hooked from the very first minute till the last.
A genuinely
well-produced album, ‘Armstrong’s List’ attempts to paint a
picture of the thoughts and feelings of Neil Armstrong on his way to
the moon. Real life conversations relayed between the space shuttle
and the Houston base have been weaved in between the songs in order
to accentuate that very feeling. The musicality in this album is off
the charts with beautifully written and exquisitely composed
instrument portions have been coupled with vocalist Arjun Iyer’s
voice successfully locking those elements in place without
compromising any aspect of the songs.
This beautiful stream of interconnected songs deliver a kind of a space rock-y feel to the dedicated listener and somehow manages to link the journey of a man in the vast emptiness of space with the liveliness and wholeheartedness of music. Gumbal has truly managed to wow its listeners with this experimental release solely because of how they’ve managed to place it in front of the audience and how they’ve managed to capture the essence of music being an integral part of interstellar travel. After all, Iyer described this album as “the music Armstrong was listening to on his way to the moon”.
