Akshitta Patel makes music out of Ahmedabad, and her first EP is coming out soon. ‘Love Comes And Goes’ is the lead single from that EP, and it reinforces a point people have made time and time again over the years; while the ingredients of acoustic pop in the singer-songwriter space are very simple, getting a good song out of it requires getting them right. Indian indie has a zillion artists making this kind of music, and at the end of the day, the songs that reach the larger listening public often adhere to this approach. Here’s one.

Firstly, sound. This is a Compass Box operation (in fact, the maiden release from their new label Compass Box Music), so it’s covered. The tune sounds warm, vulnerable, and intimate. Production and mixing are a big piece of the process that isn’t given its due, especially when the number of moving parts in the music is low; the main things you will hear here are vocals and an acoustic guitar. There is some textural stuff to support it, but the bones of the track are given care and attention. This helps a great deal.

Next, songwriting. It’s quite standard, which is a sort of demonstration of the musicians involved understanding that you don’t really to do much more with this genre. The lyrical content is relatable enough, and the listening experience is easy as you like in that you always know what’s coming next.

Finally, and most importantly, performance. There’s nothing to hide behind when you have such a skeletal arrangement, so it has to be done properly. Akshitta sounds great here, choosing to use a sort of fluttery vocal delivery at times and a fuller sound in the choruses. Raag Sethi is on guitars and bass, so those sound great too (needless to say). And that’s all there is to ‘Love Comes And Goes’, honestly. Proof (for the thousandth time) that you don’t always to go crazy with a genre and an idea. You just have to make it good.