Dhruv Visvanath Finds Himself on Sparkling New Album

Dhruv Visvanath 

The Lost Cause

★★★★½

Artwork for ‘The Lost Cause’ by Prashast Thapan

Traveling the country to find his roots probably did a lot of good for Dhruv Visvanath. The Lost Cause tour which took him around the country also became a vehicle for meaning. Unlike his debut 2015 full-length Orion, Visvanath is guitar-spanker no more. Well, he still is (sample the playful instrumental “Midnight”), but he lays over vocal hooks and an instantly-recognizable range like few other singers in the country on the eight-track album The Lost Cause.

He is emphatic (on the immediately memorable “Jungle”), soulful (“Standing Still”), reflective (the supremely poignant “Wild,” aided by Ajay Jayanthi on strings) and shimmies brilliantly from reminiscence to fun-loving (“Botswana”). He throws back to show off his percussive guitar skills only “Twice,” which is his way of saying that even if all these songs feature a tap and smack on hollow wood, there is much more to it than instrumental virtuoso.

Like never before, he unwaveringly and regally sings on the intricate “Afterglow” about love and risks ”“ “It’s everlasting, this melody/And I never asked to be remedied.” He closes with something entirely different on the title track, a sliding harmony greeting us tenderly, warm basslines and a soaring, almost operatic voice.

The Lost Cause is not just Visvanath at his diverse best, but it’s also growth at its finest. Whether you’re in a small room or at an open-air festival, this one’s going to hit just as hard.

Key tracks: “Jungle,” “Afterglow”

Watch the video for “Wild” below. Buy here.