The problem with Indian Rock (yes, there is a problem) is one of scarcity. You can count on one hand the number of bands that have actually managed to make their music profitable, and that too not on a ‘full time’ basis. There aren’t enough people talking about it, and even fewer who’re listening. All this means just one thing – apathy. Let’s be honest, everyone takes the ‘scene’ for granted, even those who’re in it.

Pentagram’s last album Up, heralded a new era for Indian Rock. In its own little way, it bridged the gap between a stagnating scene and a future that though not too bright, wasn’t too bleak either. With Randolph Correia pushing the boundary of what would otherwise simply be ‘genre-defying’, we had a cohesive, progressive blast of a record. Five years later, an album that was due for release about two years earlier is apathetic at best and poor at worst.
One listen of It’s OK, It’s All Good and you can easily identify what Pentagram has been listening to in the last five years. The mish-mash of Bloc Party, Nine Inch Nails, a smattering of Bjork, and every trip-hop band on the planet results in something that is far from the formidable tour de force that one would’ve expected from a band that should be at the height of its game. What’s worse than the loss of expectation is the feeling of being taken for granted. When all a band’s lyrical prowess can deliver is verse like “Man made chocolates/Man made hot chicks” it’s definitely not all ‘OK’ in the Pentagram camp.

The unimaginative brush that paints thick over this album stretches further than just the lyrics. Musically, there’s not much to write home about with Correia’s electronica affecting everything from the processed percussion to the vocals. Vishal Dadlani loses much of his exuberant personality in the numbing trip-hop effects that leave no song untouched. Songs like ‘Bad Man’, ‘This World Is Mine’ and ‘Man Eat Man’ struggle to create anything but mundane, angular and dodgy fillers. The opening track ‘Today’ is a short dose of catchy pop with electronic sensibilities but it too loses its charm after a few listens. Chock-full with choppy riffs and stop/start melodies, the album flails around for an hour at the end of which the motivation to ever hit Repeat on this record all but leaves one’s numbed out mind.

The only reason this record will sell is the video for the single ‘Voice’ which airs 42 times a day on VH1. If Pentagram doesn’t get their act together, and fast, they’ll fade into Indian Rock obsolescence faster than you can say “It’s all good”.

Indiecision: C

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