There is a new mostly-acoustic, guitar heavy EP on the block – and it’s Max Kate’s Sunflowers and Dreams. The artist, originally from Uttarakhand, describes his new project as a “life journey” and not an “artistic project”. A press release from the artist states, “Written over three transformative years, these six songs were born directly from lived experiences — the electric rush of a first love, the slow collapse of a romance burdened by trauma, and the bittersweet taste of memories that linger even after everything falls apart. “I don’t sit down and write songs for the sake of it,”” the artist shares.”I write after experiencing an event or a moment that really moves me. Every track is a snapshot of those real emotions.” From the innocent butterflies of early love to the darker moments of fear, insecurity, and heartbreak, Sunflowers & Dreams doesn’t shy away.”
The project comes along with some curated visuals in the form of music videos, and the artist has dropped several videos that help you trace the storyline in his head. The press release further continues, “Young Again”” was Executed by Abhas Rawat & directed by Garvit Arora in Delhi, *showcasing Max’s different tales of his life when he was 15, 18 and 21. He balled out as he was always sporty and fit, his 18 was knocked out by his girlfriends and rare nights in the dance clubs … “Gum Gaye””, shot in the serene coastal town of Alibag, was crafted by Rambo Kherwal and his Mumbai-based team — giving the song a backdrop as heartfelt and raw as the music itself. The artist says, “It’s all about getting lost with someone special in the sailing boat of your life.” The context helps you understand the arrangements of the tracks, and a kind of chronology that he establishes.
The record begins with a spoken word piece, echoing over the sounds of waves and the strumming of a guitar – and this first number sort of sets the mood for what is about to follow. Once you watch the videos and listen to the initial tracks, you do develop the understanding that the vision for this album is almost like reflections formed on a coastal vacation. The artist uses sombre instrumentals for the most part, on the first song – Gum Gaye, which in my humble opinion is the strongest track on the project. The artist whistles, is relaxed, and it is very reminiscent of a polished version of the early years of Hindi indie music, where you would come across this sort of understated arrangement and more gentle, tender lyrics missing the pessimism that characterises most post-pandemic Indian indie that has some soul within itself.
Zara, the next track stays on a similar vein, and the artist intersperses Hindi and English lyrics — and is mostly playful, especially when he is singing in Hindi. It almost seems like he has two personas, Kate’s English singing is more suave, demure, and perhaps a teensy bit edgier than when he is singing in Hindi, where he seems like he is more willing to let the restrained singing drop, letting his voice do its job, and float and soar at times. Paradise has him at a different register, and you can hear him experiment with his voice and the light, gentle touches he can bring to his music when he is not singing in a baritone.
For the most part, this EP is a cohesive project, and has some really good tracks that sort of glide over your psyche. However, there is a minor problem, is that the record is almost circular, where each track blends into the other so much that they become a little too indistinguishable from each other. Only Don’t Follow Me Now has an upward curve of sorts, where there is a lot more instrumentalizations, and the bass guitar adds texture. However, this texture is a little too absent in most of the tracks that this one almost takes you by surprise. The songwriting is honest, clear, and is devoid of the overperfected sheen that you see in most indie–pop these days – which works for the way the songs are arranged. It would be more interesting to see more textured sounds [something that you would come across in Kate’s 2021 project October] that complement his honesty, where maybe Kate uses the guitar in full – or breaks free from accepted orders of making music, and taps into the potential he quite obviously possesses. There is a lot of heart in this project, what one looks forward to is a few more ways of seeing it laid bare.
Sunflowers & Dreams is available to stream on popular music platforms.
