Underground by Trina Chakrabarti
Well it’s back around again, quick innit! #FeatureFriday on Bluesky social, which as always includes thoughts from Aaron Smith, Mortamar Kahn , Florgoth, Foxy HxC Macfly ♪🜏 and myself, Mark(untidymusic)
I have to say it, I love honest music.
I do, I love it. I also love it when I can feel the organic decisions. I love it when people push for something. Go big or go home…, the guts and glory I also love diction, when a singer makes damn sure you can hear what they intend you to hear.
Love it.
Love.
It.
Which brings us to…
Underworld by Trina Chakrabati has this. A singer who can throw some serious shapes vocal wise. Daring and bold and unashamed. Now I’m going to drop a name here and probably offend a lot of people but this puts in mind of Jeff Buckley, not musically but that unfettered vocal style that just left his soul and bled in to the air. That. That ease and precocious flight.
I mean I may be getting carried away or possibly I’m struggling to explain what I mean without hyperbole?
This EP starts with it’s Title track “Underworld” and the first line throws you. What is this? You ask, and before you get chance to press stop it tells you.
It’s glorious is what it is. Well, in my opinion – It sounds otherworldly – a fairy tale? Ah, Greek Mythology! With it’s vinyl scratches and filtered vocal. Until it opens up to acoustic guitars and organ and subtle drums. It’s story telling, descriptive, childlike with it’s backing vocals. It sets a mood for what is to come…
“Come with me to the most magical place
Where all your nightmares come true”
– Underground
“Is this Human?” – Track 2 is giving trip hop vibes, smooth. Acoustic guitars subtle keys and downplayed drums and the hint of strings allowing the space for the vocals to shine. That word, subtle is there again but I think there’s a better word. Considered. Letting the song breathe so that it can fly when it needs to. Which it does. The singer showing off their vocal range and ability to genre skip effortlessly.
“Self-absorbed
Privileged Gits”
– Is This Human?
“Just For You” – Track 3 is another mood switch, it has a 60s vibe and is the gateway to a more personal lyrical style – there’s heartbreak and anger here and it feels raw, honest. Again the arrangement works so well, allowing the song to live.
“I Trusted You With Every Song”
– Just For You
By the time you get to track 4 you have been primed for the emotional being that lives in this music. There is a sweetness to the venom but it still shows it’s teeth and bites when it’s ready. “Your Monster” starts off bluesy and then drifts into a lullaby which veers back and forth into a jazzy, lounge blues. It’s here where I hear Buckley, that raw emotion hitting those notes that most would avoid.
“As the monster in your head
Monster inside of your head
Might just leave you for dead
I’m the monster inside of your head”
– Your Monster
Penultimate track, “Lost” is a gut punch – It sounds like it could belong to a musical, as all the songs here could but it’s more than that. It continues the theme of loss and the failure of a relationship. That helplessness laid bare. – It’s beautiful and devastating in equal measure
“That are blood stained and bound
To this shell of a human
I’m trying to comfort
And somehow, I’m still trying to sell”
– Lost
“Burn Down” – The final track is full of cutting lines, but ultimately it’s the fight back from the opening line of verse one, “Something’s in the air tonight And I am feeling good” – To the line opening line of the final verse, “Something’s in the air tonight And I have come alive” – it’s got a battling mentality, a positivity backed by some bluesy/jazz piano and some cool arsed drumming and mournful sax – it get’s the arrangement absolutely spot on.
“You sure know how to fake an apology” – a left hook if I ever heard one.
What a collection of songs. It get’s better with every listen. Please check it out – Mark(untidymusic)
“A phoenix hunts its prey,
cause Something’s burning
through my mind
Are you ready?”
– Burn Down
You can find Trina here on bluesy social @takitrinatunes
Very unexpected project and little gem of a discovery to start 2025. Underworld is a 6-track EP full of incredible songs written and led by Trina’s enchanting vocals. It is full of interesting instrumentals: guitar, piano and organ, saxophone, flutes, and cello all propping up the vocals and the story told throughout the songs here: an interesting retelling of the story of Persephone and Hades from Greek mythology.
Originally a story of love, power, and the very nature of two individuals clashing despite how much they attract each other. A unique angle that really intrigued me before I even pressed play and that the artist completely nailed from beginning to end. Not a single drop of potential for storytelling is wasted here.
The tone is melancholic, the sound is smooth, and the melodies are entrancing. There’s a lot to love in this project. I highly recommend a listen!
Trina Chakrabarti Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, Twitch…
Off the bat, I can say she has PIPES. Great pop vocals that soar through a really well produced track. You can really tell the hard work that was put into this record. I often like picking last tracks because it tells you alot about the artist. Trina really makes it so you have to listen to the
record as a whole to get the full effect of the record. Concept albums are right up my alley and loved that this one heavily features Greek mythology, and specifically what I assume is Hades and the Underworld in this track. Definitely give it a listen, it’s worth the hype!
Essentially, “Underworld” takes motifs from Greek mythology and re-interprets them in a relatable way. There is familiarity and novelty in this approach at the same time. Combine this storytelling with the impressive instrumentation (especially the drumming in “Your Monster”) and Trina’s young, yet warm voice, and what you get is music that has detail, but burrows itself right into the listeners ears.
Would you have told me, this is from a musical, I would not have doubted it! Overall, this EP makes a seriously good first impression of this artist! Highly, highly recommended!
I absolutely adore this album! It lives at the 3-way intersection of rock, jazz, and musical theatre. Superb storytelling lyrics, wonderful vocals, interesting combinations of instruments! A compelling piece of work.
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