stay for a meal, is the perfect name to an album that sounds like music music to play as background music to a house party — something warm, that extracts intimacy. Ansh Mehta, only 23, does a lovely job with his debut album, and it will make you excited for so much more that is to come from his music.
The opening track, invitation, is a poem written by Isaac Hoeschen about finding shared understanding over a dinner table, and an ‘invitation’ to sit down and take the album in. It is recited over music with jazz big band tendencies, a dramatic score with swells and frills that serve to excite and welcome.
own goal is a catchy little tune that will make you want to huddle around with your friends and have a little chat. It’s a subtle segue into Mehta’s conflicted state of mind, certain inspiring decisions that he has taken, with subtle instrumentation to ease into the album.
next room is a 70s & 80s inspired synth-pop tune about the artist’s relationship with his family. In stark contrast to the uptempo arrangement, Ansh sings about developing avoidant relationships with those around him, when small arguments feel symptomatic of deeper disconnections. It’s a very indie-pop-bedroom sort of song, something one would possibly play at late night after an angsty argument with their parents, feeling thoroughly misunderstood. It’s common understanding these days, that it is usual to feel lonely even amongst a group of people, and when you hear Mehta sing ‘why do I feel so far away, to the person in the next room’, it is bound to break your heart a little bit.
love thing is the third single on the album, a sweet love song about a long distance relationship from the artist’s teenage years. It’s a lovely homage to all of us who believe our our high-school partners would be the ones we’d marry.
Unfortunately the middle of the album seems to fall a tad bit short, with decode and trivia sounding much too similar to each other, although trivia tells a story that most of us have probably been through, and are a slightly too embarrassed to admit — the absolute desperation to know how someone is doing even after we have let go of them, and therefore we are often desperate to collect scraps of their lives through a very common digital diary, where we, well, sometimes lurk, to the point of inappropriateness.
recalibrate picks the album back up. It is an honest and beautiful song, it tackles the writer’s journey from cognitive dissonance to disrepair, and the soundscape is experimental, but it works. maine is the sort of song you can’t help but bop your head to, it’s a delightful interlude.
passing lanes bursts forth as an energy-filled folk-rock tune, immediately compelling the listener to move with its head-bobbing instrumentation. As the first single, “passing lanes” effectively introduces Mehta’s signature imagery-laden lyricism. The song explores the unique and painful moment of realizing an ending is inevitable, choosing not to slow down, but rather to lean into resignation. The music is furious in its driving momentum yet reflective in its ultimate subject matter. It’s a powerful opening statement that marries immediate sonic appeal with a devastatingly honest core.
build stands out as the album’s most experimental and emotionally complex piece. Set years after a relationship’s conclusion, the music is discordant, reflecting the difficulty and lingering pain of moving on. The narrative centers on a desperate, vulnerable plea: the narrator has painstakingly “built a home” for themselves and is yearning for the former partner to simply “stay for a meal.”
This is the only track featuring the album’s title lyric, making it a thematic anchor point. The inclusion of Hindustani vocals from Renee Chaurasia, an indie-folk and neo-classical artist, elevates the song’s texture and adds an aching, expansive quality to the vulnerability. It’s a challenging but rewarding listen, showcasing Mehta’s willingness to push beyond conventional genre boundaries to express profound emotional complexity.
The appointment with the monkey king signifies a metaphorical meeting where the narrator, and by extension, the listener, is reminded of their courage, value, and the beauty of hopeful living. It’s a beautifully introspective piece that confirms the album’s overarching message: while the pain of loss is real, the journey ultimately leads to self-acknowledgement and positive reaffirmation.
