The first few seconds of the fantastic ‘Time’s Not Normal’ from Chennai alt-pop (at least that’s what they characterize themselves as) band Blurple lets you know exactly what sounds they’re working with. There are warm keys and synths (think a modern organ-Rhodes-electric piano thing that you have heard on multiple modern neo-soul albums), a sparse but immovable groove and wistful vocals. Oh, and a bassline that is well and truly the song’s center. Now, contrary to what many might think, Blurple isn’t jumping on bandwagons. They have managed to make this sound theirs and use it such that it is an irreplaceable element of the song. In fact, it makes for a cohesive listen.

The woozy, layered mix is a big part of it, with its wobbly synths, excellently places guitars, almost old-school dance drums and faraway vocals. Electronic sounds fill all the space to give that good ol’ warm and fuzzy feeling that serves as a bed for everything else. There’s some nice reverb, a repetitive keyboard phrase that almost sounds sampled and the bassline. The bass is absolutely driving the song here; it supplies all the groove and feel and is a big part of its replay value. The real satisfaction here, though, is the forlorn melodies, delightful snatches of guitar and the general songwriting on display. The chorus is a whole vibe even though there isn’t a change of pace anywhere in the song. The little guitar section that ends the song is only a few seconds long but does a lot to bookend it. The general mood is nocturnal, a bit bitter and detached, and the combination of that with the complementary sound palate is what makes ‘Time’s Not Normal’ such a good listen (and re-listen).