In a way, Filhaal by Towers is not a new sound, especially if you listen to Western music. But it is released in an industry where the influences of rock (classic, progressive and alternate) and qawwali are much more prominent than the sounds of funk and R&B. It’s not that these two styles are alien, but rather that they show up as occasional seasoning rather than core flavors of the main acts in Pakistani popular music.

Filhaal goes back in time as much as it goes forward. The musical influences look backwards a few decades, but the production, the highly processed sound, the bilingualism again, all are very much of this moment.

It’s good.