Dhyani Gajjar is a young singer from Ahmedabad who has a sizeable interest in modern pop and the emotions that go with it. Her strong and well-made debut single ‘Asphodel’ has the kind of strong and accessible melodies that made certain now-free artists enter record deals that took their intellectual property and sold their own music back to them years and years later for astronomical sums of money; I mean, is it that difficult to get a lawyer- I digress. This song shows a lot of early potential and space for growth, and hey, if the climate changes to a point where strong and emotional arena pop ballads make a return, Dhyani’s here for it.

Obviously, a lot of the song’s strengths are amplified by its strong production. It is handled by Raag Sethi, Divyang Arora and the gang over at Compass Box, so the expected incredible quality they’ve been putting out is met. Soft but strident pianos, smart bass and guitars, strong backing vocals… they’ve absolutely nailed the glossy and weirdly sterile instrumental palate that topped charts six years ago (and even now) and it goes a long way towards making it as listenable as it is. The rest of it is handled by Dhyani’s easy vocal power. She seems to be very into power-pop ballads and long, grandiose proclamations of confusion (at times in the romantic department); her influence, Taylor Swift, has been doing that for so long that she has pretty much made it its own, dramatic thing. It does help that Dhyani has a strong singing voice, so her delivery saves ‘Asphodel’ from sounding corny and contrived. This sounds like an honest effort, and it goes over well to boot. If you’re entering your teenage years, get that sentimental Instagram post ready.