Album Review : ‘Big Big Joke Part Two’ by ‘Tough on Tobacco’

It would seem that the gaanja is wearing off on the happy goat (Fans of the band would get this). I was at the Hard Rock Cafe in Bangalore for the launch of the second album of ‘Tough on Tobacco’ - ‘Big Big Joke (Part Two)’. The album which took 3 years in the making is a big shift from the first album to a more pop-rock sort of feel. Unfortunately, I don’t think the songs would make the play list of fans of the band who might continue to shout out requests for older material and covers from the other avatar’s of the band.(namely Helga’s Fun Castle).

After a first listen, I was not overly eager to go back for seconds which was a bit of a bummer. With a band of this stature, one normally expects that you’d put the album on loop until your mp3 player screams ‘No more’. The riffs are nothing new, nor are they old material that you know you've heard before and love in all its forms. It’s just there. I’m not sure if it’s a case of high expectations considering the likes of people like Sidd Coutto and Jai Row Kavi. It’s a good attempt by band member Gaurav Gupta on the production of the album but that’s the best he could have done given the songs were not particularly memorable.

Sidd and Jai Row feeling 'Happy'

Producer and guitarist - Gaurav Gupta

Pais and Dhar

If I have to be nice and point out the good points of the album, it would probably be the unique album cover. (check promo poster at the start) In terms of the songs, ‘Do what you got to do’ and ‘Big Big Joke’(predominantly thanks to the overly simple chorus) leave somewhat of a mild after taste. I can’t say the same for the rest of the songs on the album. Here’s hoping Big Big Joke Part One is better.

Sidd Coutto worried about Love,love,love

 The gig was a sober gig considering the crowd at HRC chose to sit down and continue with their drinking and eating while the band seemed to have been reduced to some kind of a side act. While Sid Coutto was animated on stage, it was not enough to rile up the crowd and get them off their chairs and dancing. The evening that began on a higher note with ‘Come on down’ and ‘Rock and roll party’ sobered down while the band played material off the new album to very meek responses from the crowd. The evening closed with some of the older material such as ‘Happy’ and ‘Smoke some gaanja’ which had the old fan base grooving for once.

Performing the cult classic SSG (Smoke some Gaanja) by Helga's Fun Castle

Overall, the album gets 2 out of 5 stars for a fair attempt. Given the expectations from a band of that caliber  I was fairly disappointed. Tracks that stand out would be ‘Big Big Joke’ and ‘Do what you want to do’.