Karachi: Since the launch of the first episode of Pepsi Battle of the Bands Season 03,
the show has successfully managed to engage the audience by showcasing exceptionally talented bands
and offering us top 08, and then giving us an emotional ride with elimination of two bands and
announcing top 06 in the previous episode.
The fourth installment is inevitably no less in keeping that momentum of excitement intact as we see
Kashmir, the winning band from Season 2, making their comeback on the very same platform from
where they began their musical journey.
Setting the right mood for this episode’s knock-out round’s theme which is bringing original tracks of all
bands to you, Kashmir performed their new track Darbadar which is not a song to miss. The song is
about the struggle to fight helplessness in a state where you feel stuck, lost, and confused while you had
previously felt so content in the same place. It’s a feeling that every individual goes through and then
tries to find solace in another person, only to realize in the end that that the person we need to find is
within ourselves. Talking about their return to this stage, the band members said that the feeling of
being back here is overwhelming for them and brought back so many memories from their time of
participating as contestants on the show.
Receiving constant appreciation and consecutive standing ovations from all the judges, the highlight of
this episode was Tamasha. The band performed their song titled Roshni that focuses on hope, its
presence, and its inevitability in dark situations. By the end of their performance, judges were not only
seen fully enjoying the song but also ended up granting another standing ovation to the band. Fawad
Khan went a step ahead and stood on the table to appreciate the marvel that was performed by
Tamasha.
Xarb, which is known for being constant in giving some memorable and soulful performances and has
also received consecutive standing ovations, performed a very powerful number titled ‘Deewar’. The
song speaks about breaking barriers, both internal and external, and embracing change. It talks about
ending conflicts and spreading positivity. Highly appreciated by all the judges for moving out of their
known comfort zone of Sufi and Qawwali genre, the band, as pointed out by Bilal Maqsood, truly
explored themselves and went a step above on this platform.
21 The Band was one of those who received mixed reviews in previous episode but won the confidence
of judges back in this episode by their power-packed performance on their very own track titled, Mein
Bolun. The song aims at portraying a feeling of acceptance that an individual goes through. The band
pays tribute to their signature sound in this track as it has elements of pop rock and punk rock and a
catchy melody that will leave a lasting impact on their listeners. The band received positive reviews from
all judges and was suggested to go a step ahead and bring more versatility to their compositions going
forward.
The band that survived the danger zone last week was Bayaan. This week, they decided not to take any
risks and performed their original titled Tau Kya Hua. The song was composed by Asfar a few years back
and the band has revisited its arrangement to give it a flavor of their own sound. The song talks about
the search for purpose and the greater good after losing direction. It gives out a message that despite all
odds and debacles, life goes on. While the lyrics had a message for the listeners, and the performance
was also on point, the band could not impress the judges enough and once again ended up in bottom
three this week mainly because as pointed by Faisal Kapadia, the expectations from the bands are
extremely high this year.
The two bands bidding farewell to the show this week were Kaghaz and Déjà vu. Kaghaz’s song
Gunahgaro is a powerful satirical tune about how our society tends to exploit the evil that is present
amongst us. Déjà vu on the other hand performed their song Bus kar ji. This song is a sufi poetry of Baba
Bulleh Shah ji and was originally composed by the band’s drummer Amanat Ali back in 2011. The band
rearranged the song in Sufi rock style and to add a new flavor to their sound Amanat Ali was seen
singing this song along with the main vocalist. Unfortunately, it was a sad day for both bands as they
ended up in bottom-three and couldn’t make it to the next round.
