Mumbai alternative rock band Spud In The Box had an emphatic rise to find themselves playing to not just the college competition crowd, but also well-populated gig series such as the erstwhile Live From the Console in Mumbai and festivals including NH7 Weekender. But then, that was in the first two years of the band’s existence, between 2011 and 2013, when they had their first EP, the exuberant Attention Please , out in 2012.
In the three years that followed, Spud In The Box ran the risk of a sophomore slump, something all too familiar with most Indian rock bands. They began recording in 2014, but it is only now, after much delays and time taken off to concentrate on commercial work to fund the album, that Lead Feet Paper Shoes has been released for public consumption.
Understandably, some of these songs are old. The destructively melodic ‘Bullet Points’ kicks things off after ‘Drown In’ sets the mood as a prologue. Songs like ‘Use Your Words’, with its proggy keyboard layers duelling with sprightly guitar lines and a driving rhythm section, sounds even trippier than anyone who had seen it performed live in the last four years. ‘Highs & Lows’ clocks in at over six minutes but sounds even more rumbling than before and ‘Manic’ sounds like the most anthemic thing you’ll ever hear from the band.
Spud certainly loves working with a layered sound – whether it’s vocalists Rohan Rajadhyaksha and Ankit Dayal forming one of the best harmony duos to bassist Zubin Bhathena grooving with drummer Joshua Singh or guitarists Hartej Sawhney and Siddharth Talwar wielding spot-on complimentary tones. ‘Crime’ and ‘Institute of Madness’ harken back to their college rock days, but with a subtle touch of maturity.
Songs like ‘Headrush’ and ‘Hold Your Horses Closer’ are the real curveballs, though. Twisting and turning like few other compositions, you can tell the Lead Feet Paper Shoes ’ tracklist vaguely follows a timeline of growing up and facing your problems. The quiet acceptance of the title tracks – ‘Lead Feet’ and the heavenly ‘Paper Shoes’, which features guest vocals by UK-based Hebe Morwenna – are just the best way to draw out the album towards its close.
And as much as they love the sound and the fury, they can navigate a simple song like ‘Until We Fall’, featuring violinist Suresh Lalwani, piano and Rajadhyaksha’s stirring lyrics, “Now we’re going back and forth/For what it’s worth/I really don’t want to be/Just a spark in your flames.” Lead Feet Paper Shoes is going to keep Spud’s spark going for years to come.
