Members of the Kolkata scene (and of the indie persuasion) probably know Subhas Mazumdar relatively well. He’s been in quite a few bands before and released quite a bit of stuff; French Girlfriends is a new solo project. He’s had two songs out under this name; ‘I’m Not Sure Exactly What I’m Feeling’ is the second. It’s a slick, vibe-y combination of dreampop, synthpop and electronic grooves that doesn’t seem to want too much attention. It’s more of a track to quietly vibe to, which is always welcome in a world dominated mostly by linear songwriting.

The song is four minutes long and has a stream-of-consciousness kind of quality to it; ‘sections’ flow into one another quite naturally as opposed to, say, a standard pop/rock template that telegraphs what’s coming next well in advance. There are vocals, but they’re drenched in effects and buried in the mix, so they essentially act as texture; and there’s a lot of that to enjoy. You will find aggressively modulated guitars, quite a washy drum sound (but the grooves themselves are tight and programmed), a few layers of synths (both lead and ambient) – the lot. Putting all of this together ends up being a completely unlistenable mess a lot of the times, but Subhas Mazumdar uses restraint at the right moments (like the trippy middle third of the track). So, ‘I’m Not Exactly Sure What I’m Feeling’ is an enjoyable, easy listen that doesn’t really lend itself to hours of breaking down deep meaning. Which is good sometimes.