“We’re one, but we’re not the same/We get to carry each other, carry each other.”- ‘One’ by U2

When you’re on your sixth solo album, delivering a flawless album is a big deal. Having participated as music producer, guitarist, singer, musician, et al to a bevy of musical names, surprising listeners is almost impossible. The ability to do so, however, must exist or listeners will find a way to exit the musical highway. The preceding albums might hold larger value.

With independent industry flag bearer Ali Suhail, the case is quite the opposite. Irrespective of his extensive repertoire that includes contributing as singer-songwriter, axe-man, vocalist, producer, et al to other projects besides his own, Ali Suhail is equipped to do more. No album or lone single provides as much evidence as his latest release, White Flag, published by A for Aleph Records and mastered by Umair Dar.

Suhail has collaborated with some thrilling artists while offering a slew of crispy singles. In totality, White Flag is his most ambitious effort as singer-songwriter and music producer. It offers explosive verve and is one of the most memorable albums to emerge - at a time when content is all over the Internet and we are living through a pandemic.

White Flag, available on major platforms, does not cause cognitive dissonance and if anything, it alleviates it. If a record, both collaborative and personal, can accomplish that without clashing with the other, it then goes beyond awards and the routine. The Rubicon has been crossed.

“This gun’s for hire/Even if we’re just dancin’ in the dark.” -’Dancing in the Dark‘ by Bruce Springsteen

In this 9-track album, the distribution of collaborative talent in singles surpasses exclusive Suhail-only tracks. It was by design since the album is also playing with multiple languages and paying homage to some of the music industry’s finest and emerging artists. They are featured not just as vocalists - giving White Flag texture and depth - but they’ve contributed as lyricists as well.

Amongst artists who’ve appeared on the album include names such as Aaishay Haque (‘Firetruck’, ‘The Hustle’), Shehzad Noor better known as ‘Shorbanoor’ (‘The Wolf and The Hare’), Abdullah Siddiqui (‘Done’), Hasham Cheema (‘Chori Chori’) and Nadir Shehzad (‘Pathar’).

Upon hearing some of the collaborations, I am left wondering why big shows and projects tend to showcase quantitative talent from the past (most of the times), providing listeners and critics with an adhesive at best, when such exciting artists also exist.

I am struck by Aaishay Haque, who sounds to me a little like Skylar Grey (in the best possible manner) and also as a unique voice that needs to be given a much larger scale. Nadir Shehzad puts everything on the line when he sings; he’s done it with several shows and two albums as founder of Sikandar Ka Mandar and he repeats that same performance here, much to my delight.

Shehzad ‘Shorbanoor’ writes the most subversive songs and performs them in an emotive style that is his alone and he brings those qualities as one of the featured artists.

Abdullah Siddiqui, who has released three albums so far, doesn’t try to imitate his own releases like ‘Magenta Cyan’ (ft. Meesha Shafi) or ‘Resistance’ from Nescafe Basement. He goes where the song takes him as a singer-songwriter.

Hasham Cheema is an original voice and in this album’s context, he sounds like just the change of pace that was needed.

Ali Suhail champions some of the smartest artists within the music ecosystem through this record. He has also given Ali Suhail listeners his own narrative through a trio of excellent solo tracks like ‘TWP’, ‘Bubbleboi’ and ‘Red’.

As chief lyricist, vocalist, guitarist as well as playing several roles, what’s palpable is that Ali is not trying to take credit where it’s due.

“I can get there on my own/You can leave me here alone/I’m just tryin’ to do what’s right/Oh, a man ain’t a man unless he’s fought the fight.” – ‘Walls’ by Kings of Leon

The sonic landscape complements each song and is designed in such a way that it is not corrosive to the overall album but out-of-the-box in a paradoxical sort of way.

On ‘Firetruck’, Ali Suhail gives the singer a chance to spread her wings and she flies to the outer space like a pro. On the song, she speaks of guilt and denial and of a greater loneliness where the sound begins in a sparse form. But a guitar solo brings funk and progressive grit to it, changing its musical nature completely.

On the slightly jazzier in sound and darker in subject matter, ‘TWP’, Ali Suhail sounds like a fine and full-fledged singer in complete control of his vocals. As he sings of “coming to terms” and the “whims of memories, I can’t place”, it’s poetry in song. He repeats the vocal dexterity again and again on other songs such as ‘Bubbleboi’ and ‘Red’

Bringing gravel and gravity to ‘The Wolf & The Hare’, Shehzad Noor gives a lesson in songwriting with the song. He sings on the sharpest song on the record about “the phantom pains of limbs that we lost through the march” and “the unsteady sleep of books stacked/And all that they say” and it shines because of its observing and subtle nature.

Call it electro-rock, electro-pop or something that fits in no particular genre, in the end, the coming together of singers, voices, styles, words and the melodic structure and (stem) production of each song makes White Flag a refreshing effort.

It is not designed to pander nor is it so obtuse or confusing that a listener will find it difficult to digest. In fact, it is universal while playing with musical boundaries. This very quality is what puts it above a notch of Ali Suhail’s previous solo works. It’s what all artists yearn for: artistic growth and Ali’s growth registers on a level that you want to stream and/or download the album upon listening just once.

– Album artwork by    Sana Ahmed