We’re living in tough times right now. Things are frayed all around the world and we are in our homes; eventually, once all the entertainment possible runs out, we are mostly going to be left to self-reflect, ruminate and think about stuff. Well, that’s been the subject matter of indie music for more than a decade now and such feelings are exactly what the stripped down and soft sound of the genre love to explore and speak out, either in layered metaphor or simple and direct storytelling. Hanita Bhambri’s new track is just that and possibly just the right thing to listen to while stuck in your home and finding your thoughts coming to the surface once you shut off your Netflix for the day.

The big indie-singer-songwriter-acoustic-guitar-sad wave went across India’s music scene fairly recently, but it has since been overplayed into oblivion and kind of lost the whole shy, sweet and truthful ethos it was always supposed to have. The reason indie was the go-to genre in the noughties is because it started in a very underground and grassroots way, so you genuinely did feel like that sad song from Sufjan Stevens or The Microphones was made just for you. Even though that wall has sort of crumbled today, it doesn’t make the material like on ‘Bored As Fuck’ any less compelling by itself. Hanita’s voice is really good for this kind of thing, and she shows great control on the track, allowing her vocal to swell and diminish in power and weight as and when she wishes. The guitar that accompanies her is the only other main member of the track and its continuous but subdued melody is enough for her to play off of. The drums that appear in the second third are actually very welcome; they propel the song forward and give it some context. That’s something that Hanita manages to avoid well on this song. She doesn’t fall into the trap all low-effort indie falls into, which is that songs just sound like a bunch of rambling over a guitar. The last section of the song even provides a bit of fulfillment before everything just drops off a cliff; there is a lot done with a little here.

Yes, like a lot of the genre, ‘Bored As Fuck’ is a bit dreary and morbid. Hanita sings about self-care (or the lack thereof) and how her life and connections own her and not the other way round. She sounds like a person being sucked dry because she’s forgotten that she’s her own best friend, and while that is a compelling and thoughtful idea, it certainly isn’t a morning workout or a squad-party song. Luckily, there aren’t going to be any parties for a while, so while we sit in our lockdown, there is certainly enough time to think about our lives and re-evaluate how our minds work. ‘Bored As Fuck’ provokes thought and gives you that melancholy feeling that is warm and familiar. Maybe don’t be too sad, though.