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Reviews

Scatter Nature - Your Chin

7.0

album Reviews Feb 17, 03:49pm

A review of Scatter Nature by Your Chin, the solo project of Raxit Tewari, the frontman of Mumbai's indie electro-rock act, Sky Rabbit.

 

Your Chin sounds like good new age indie guitar pop-rock without guitars. The endearing simplicity of the short four-song release, Scatter Nature, often disguises the degree of thought put into crafting these charming odes, with multiple traditionally “conventional” elements – for e.g., the straightforward rhythmic structures of ‘Run Along Little One’ and ‘For Love’ or the leisurely bass line of opener ‘Fingerprints & Mugshots’ or the sprinkling of arpeggiated and unarpeggiated synth runs, or even the sporadic casual open strums of the guitar – coming together to forge an entity that, lo and behold, doesn’t seem all that regular or conventional. And the trump card in Your Chin’s pocket is his voice. Raxit Tewari, who also sings often-indecipherable and equally-often-incoherent musings for Sky Rabbit, has a unique style – a laidback, languid drawl that distills the underlying essence of the deep melodies being sung.

Make no mistake, despite the reasonably strong arrangements and the alluring melodic disposition of the music here, at the forefront of Scatter Nature (excellent name) is undeniably the voice. Mid-tempo, mid-range, and aesthetically sluggish, the singing is used to great effect to direct these songs to fruitful conclusions and add some sort of validation to the music. The plip-plopping behind settles in with the dopey delivery, with Tewari showcasing a keen understanding of his own limitations and strengths as a songwriter. Then again, the thing with having a distinct style is that a listener will usually either love or hate that style, depending on her own taste and consumption of the music, and the possibility of monotony and repetition is much higher. Tewari is talented, but versatility, whilst not entirely absent, isn’t one of his core strengths as a singer. Nevermind, though, because with four songs, the record never really overstays its welcome. So while he does repeat himself – quite understandable since that’s just the style of the music – and there’s barely any variation or change of pace, it doesn’t really get monotonous because the songs, superficially fairly similar, do have enough happening internally, with the motifs taking their time to grow on the listener and establishing their distinct identity over repeat listens.

Moving on, the tracks are crisp, tightly packed, neatly produced, and the melancholic daze that descends every now and then – in part due to the mid-tempo fudge that permeates the album and in part due to the distant vocals – is offset by the underlying happiness throughout; a measured sense of jubilation, if you will, accentuated by the cheerful sounding synths. And there’s some Atoms for Peace in there, if not in the singing then definitely in the arrangements. Nevertheless, this is a solid album that reveals a lot more of itself after multiple listens. 

Stream Scatter Nature by Your Chin below: 

 

Scatter Nature by Your Chin is available for purchase here

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