New Music: From New Delhi Psychedelic to Pune Dream Pop

We Are Excited by Begum

New Delhi lo-fi psychedelic jam band Begum’s new album expands the scope of their spontaneity on the nine-track We Are Excited. From the piano waltz of “All My Friends Are Sluts” that also includes mind-melting synth to the melancholic “Smells Like a Rip Off,” the album closes with “Nothing On My Mind,” which also features a trumpet-led outro by guitarist-vocalist Kartik Pillai.

“This Alarming Calm” by Lucid Recess

The Guwahati alt rock/metallers return with the first single since their 2015 album Alive & Aware, pummeling grooves and sounded more complete as a three-member band than most quintets can pull off. In the vein of American alt metallers Chevelle, the insomniac’s tale that is “This Alarming Calm” still has Lucid Recess’s own signature, partly with their latest recruit, drummer Sandeepan Baruah.

The Unfinished Story of the Unknown Band by Dreamhour

Pune-based duo Debo Sanyal and Gunzan Pradhan, originally making music in Siliguri, have tapped into retro dance music like few other producers in the country, mingling dancewave and chillwave influences that’ll bring any dancefloor alive. While they arrive at their catchiest on “Safe On Your Own,” they invite Mumbai vocalist Arjun Iyer (Gumbal, Barty’s Path) for a heavily modulated track called “Old Enough.”

“Whalemobile” by Zenguin

Delhi-based duo Saksham Gupta (from prog metal group Colossal Figures) and Akash Gupta have been composing for a year now and they’re pretty sure of the potential their electronic rock act Zenguin possesses. With Saksham handling guitar noodling and synth while Akash adds bass and synth, they’ve enlisted drummer Sarthak Kapoor. In addition to releasing their spaced out debut EP Binary Breakfast last month, they’ve got a new live take of the trippy “Whalemobile” up, and have plans for a two-track EP, followed by a four-track live EP.

“Anonymous ”“ The Legion’s Anthem” by Night Wings III

Inspired by everything from Internet hackivist group Anonymous to action film/graphic novel adaptation V For Vendetta, Jaipur metallers Night Wings III have finally shaken off any amateur leanings to arrive at more mature songwriting on their new single “Anonymous.” Armed with those can’t-fail grooves, the band uses lyrics from Anonymous’s mottos to encourage people to “wake up from oblivion”.

“A Clarity of Indignation” by Démonos

Although largely an alter-ego project led by an Indian guitarist, vocalist and bassist, Démonos reaches far into depths of Scandinavia (and other parts of Europe) for puerile black metal that traverses murky territory like few other in the country, on his debut EP From Sacred to Profane. Our pick is the ghastly “A Clarity of Indignation,” which features everything from voice samples from movies to ever-changing riffs.