Published on 12:00 AM, August 30, 2018

SINGLE REVIEW

A trap symphony

I am not sure about what all the cool kids are listening to these days, but Muhit K. Chowdhury is someone everyone should be checking out.

His most recent single, 'Library Pickup', which was written by Muhit and composed by Muhit and MESSUP, is reminiscent of the many hip-hop/chill-wave tracks you come across on the inter-webs. Its distinct sense of musical style and vocal work, however, gives this song an identity of its own.

The song starts off with the voice of a distraught girl arguing with a boy, accompanied by subtle xylophone notes playing in the backdrop. As the boy begins to calm her down, the song swoops into a trip-hop groove with the sultry voice of Muhit carrying the song into its depths, with vocal works reminiscent of Drake's 'God's Plan'. The electronic synths, while perhaps a little too inspired by The Weeknd, is compensated for by the ethereal guitar solo that binds the chorus and the next verse perfectly. From there the song maintains its momentum as it progresses into some vocal harmonies. By the second-last verse, the drums kick in, giving the song a melodic lift, with subtle guitar riffs echoing in the backdrop, which represent a clear John Mayer influence on the artist's musical sensibilities. The overall production work, done by MESSUP was crisp and vibrant, making the song very immersive.

The lyric of the song isn't exactly poetic but it delivers a sweet memory of a lover's desire to take his love away from a library into the night of the mystical cityscape.

With a blend of trip-hop, alternative R&B and a bit of lo-fi magic, this song is the perfect song to groove to, lying in your bed, pretending to be the "aesthetic" little hipster kid that you are.