There’s one side of Indian independent music that wants to specifically lay emphasis on the word Indian in their categorisation, but then there’s another side that never worries about putting their music within a certain geo-cultural box. Look around and you’ll see bands such as Sky Rabbit, Sandunes and not to forget, almost every big metal band never really consciously thinking of adding Indian elements to their music. Delhi rockers Barefaced Liar fall right into the latter, with their new album Mind Over Matter. Vocalist-guitarist Sumant Balakrishnan told us, “The most difficult part of making this album was writing the lyrics. We worked really hard on making it relatable.”

That’s why they even have a song about sticking through in the Indian independent scene (‘Dig Yourself In’), along with regular-joe issues like overcoming fear (the title track, which also has a video out), battling addictions (‘Big July’) and looking back on life choices (‘All I Have’, their latest music video, watch below).

Balakrishnan, along with vocalist-guitarist Akshay Chowdhry, has been working on the album since 2013, although they did release a single ‘Toe the Line’, which eventually ended up on the nine-track album. Bala adds, “There are eight completely new songs we’ve never played live before.” The aim with Mind Over Matter, according to the frontman, was to “not make it sound like an Indian band.” When probed further, he adds, “We made sure we had a better drum sound and just more modern production elements. If you compare it to a CD released in Europe, they would both have that contemporary production.” Recorded by Zorran Mendonsa and mixed by Sweden’s Jens Bogren, Mind Over Matter has a distinctive modern rock sound that ranges from pop to harder rock. Unlike their 2010 self-titled debut, this one is much less self-indulgent and doesn’t go overkill on guitar solos.

There are plans on to create a different live experience, but Bala doesn’t let on too many details. Although he does add, “We are playing a Friends of Music gig in Singapore on November 28. Apart from that, we’re looking forward to perform everywhere and anywhere.”

Watch the video for ‘All I Have’. Buy the album on OKListen.