If you ever think India’s growing alternative musicians lacked soul, you don’t have to look further than Delhi-based rock band Run It’s the Kid. The quartet are led by a familiar soft, melancholic voice – Shantanu Pandit, who released his own solo effort Skunk in the Cellar last year – and guitarist-keyboardist Dhruv Bhola, drummer Bhairav Gupta and bassist Danik Ghosh.
The band starts out strong on the emotional front with ‘Forgetting How to Swim’ and ‘Love We’re Made From Porcelain’, establishing their signature sound of slow waltz that builds up emphatically to metaphor-heavy poetry about heartbreak. Pandit’s vocal inflections and melodies – as is the case with his solo work – easily place him amongst most British, Scottish and possibly even Irish singers. Sure, there’s nothing Indian about it, but they wouldn’t want to force a local influence, which is why Run It’s the Kid’s appeal is certainly universal on their self-titled debut album.
The strum of the guitars matching each note on the keyboard, while drummer Bhairav Gupta handles everything from a light tap on the tambourine to lush percussion and ace assistance in build-ups on songs like ‘The Big Parachute’. Earlier, on ‘One Time’, Pandit muses about not fearing goodbyes. He sings, “The truth about falling so hard/now dawns on me/the dust and the dirt/they come off easy.”
On shorter songs such as ‘Aimless Quest’ and ‘Haste’, the band lets Pandit’s voice take the spotlight, showing just how well they can use silence, while the somewhat jovial guitar-tinged ‘Souls to Save’ features Bhola throwing in a few dreamy layers that might go unnoticed on the first listen.
The emotional factor on the album peaks beautifully with ‘Great Big Scare’, which addresses Pandit’s disappointment with someone who refused to grow up. Bittersweet couldn’t be better sonically summed up than the closing two minutes of this song.
With production duties helmed by Kolkata-based Miti Adhikari, best known for his work with BBC’s Maida Vale Studio recording everyone from Nirvana to being the man behind the console at festivals for Coldplay as sound engineer, Run It’s The Kid has that wistful, dreamy edge to it that makes it a perfect listen for the lonely hearts club.
The album is available via Pagal Haina Records for $7 (MP3) and $8 (CD) on runitsthekid.bandcamp.com
