By Neerav Gupta * .

I recently heard that Sidd Coutto had been doing soundtracks for some Indian movies after Zero split up (3rd time, was it?); I wasn’t impressed – doesn’t everyone go into Bollywood eventually? And then, on the 19th of this month, my friend  sent me a link to Tough on Tobacco’s new debut album. The album, surprisingly a free legal download (appreciated!) titled “The Happy Goat”, was promptly downloaded in FLAC (can’t compromise on t3h quality) and I write this now, whilst listening to the album for the 3rd time – impressed, and for good reason. When I heard about this project some time back, I wondered if it was a one man show. But it isn’t! Powered by Jai Row Kavi on drums, the down-low of Johan Pais’ bass, Gaurav Gupta and Pozy Dhar on guitars, the multi-talented Neil Gomes on the violin, the sax and the flute and the vocal prowess of Sidd Coutto, also on acoustic guitars. The band plays a mélange of pop, rock and reggae. Sid has played with Jai and Johan in the funk-alternative rock quartet Helga’s Fun Castle, and also with Gaurav and Pozy in Zero.

On the first listen of the album, I was curious to know what these guys would bring to the table on these 10 songs. The album starts off with “Voices In My Head”, with vocal harmonies and percussion based on claps, describes the tiny little voice that pops into your head everywhere, anytime! The second track titled “Already Told You” and immediately I love Sidd’s amazing drums (Sidd plays the drumtracks on the recordings). Many bands have started using live drums, and it’s a welcome change from software drums. “Concert Piano” comes up after that and is a humorous-happy ballad describing how the protagonist has a bit of a trouble playing a concert piano, and compensates by using technology. “Consuella” seems to describe the ups and downs of a relationship as does “Don’t Leave Me Behind”. “Forest of Doom” describes the protagonist under the influence of psilocybin mushrooms (magic shrooms) and features sax by Neil. The aptly titled “Happy” is a happy song about being happy and positive. “Happy” is a new anthem amongst crowds and is almost like a single having gotten airplay on many Mumbai and Delhi based radio stations. “Taxi Song” happens when you’ve been drinking in the pub and don’t want a breath analyzer shoved into your mouth. The album’s penultimate song, the self-titled “Tough on Tobacco” is about the band’s message on anti-smoking and the final song is “Wait Till The Night’s Out.”

When I heard the album for the first time, it reminded me of the hippie jam band scene; John Butler Trio and Dave Matthews’ band with touches of Zero’s pop-rock. I can imagine Sidd Coutto would love to have some dreads and is indeed a very funny guy. Smoke Some Ganja (an HFC classic) has that touch of humor, and it shows in ToT’s music as well. Johan’s bass playing has made me happy since the HFC days and Gaurav’s music in Red Cube was exciting as well (where are they now?). Pozy Dhar and Neil Gomes also impressed, and will love to see more of them in the future. The vocal harmonies (3 people sing) are lovely – the magic of well sung vocals in unison just sounds beautiful. At 36 minutes, I did think the album runs a little short and wanted some more. Production quality is good for an indie release; a little remaster and it should be ready to be shipped out on cd. One of the very few new bands that don’t play metal, stick to a standard verse-chorus-verse structure and play nice happy music. I love all of that in a band! Though the band’s message might be against smoking, I’m sure all of them enjoy a nice toke once in a while and have fun on and off stage. As I am right now, listening to their music.