More often than the indie scene would like to admit, artists do sometimes find themselves in the middle of two trains of thought while making a piece of original music; that liminal space between the ‘complexity’ of one’s creative vision and the notion of ‘people liking their art’. In an ideal world, the latter does not matter one iota; people create exactly what they want to, and that’s the way it should be. Take singer-songwriter Hrishi Upadhay’s single ‘Masoomi’, an expression of purely commercial and saccharine pop music so brazen and overt that you have to admire how in-your-face it is.

This is not a case of taking pop elements and twisting them out of shape (which is what has characterized most of the hyperpop movement) but just a focused attempt to make every element of the modern pop blueprint as accessibly easy to listen to as possible. The verses are filled with the most pleasant chords, the most hummable vocal lines and the most head-noddable drums. The chorus even has a four-on-the-floor kick, and twinkling acoustic guitar; not a single item on the ‘radio checklist’ has been missed.

A short solo that follows it is perhaps one of the most inoffensive instrumental passages you will ever find, and it goes on… ‘Masoomi’ is Hrishi Upadhyay’s single-minded effort to make by far the least involved but most frictionless listening experience in its genre. This song is definitely not challenging or thought-provoking or otherwise likely to offer much in the way of vibes, but it is without doubt the most approachable and nice single you’ve heard so far this year. Maybe the real triumph is how this song is as sweet as it is without being obnoxious and annoying. And that, it isn’t.