Delhi’s Kavya Trehan is far from a fresh face in the scene; her releases and track record speak for themselves. ‘Know Me Better’ is the name of her upcoming EP (dropping in December), and ‘Affection’ is the first single from it. It’s quite clear that Kavya sticks to her guns as far as her sonic repertoire goes. In the now completely saturated world of Indian indie singer-songwriters, her niche was always the more electronic side of the spectrum, with synths and wobbly bass being her foil as opposed to acoustic guitars and piano. That being said, ‘Affection’ is a sign of her moving into a more relatable and vulnerable place, so there are subtle differences.

Primarily, her subject matter is a bit more direct this time around. ‘Know Me Better’ is a pretty obvious tell when taken literally, but it’s not always easy to sound honest while having this more mechanical and sterile background to work off of. But it does work, pretty much. The synths have some life to them, Kavya takes a good five and a half minutes to wind her through a bunch of slow-build sections and when the track does open up, it’s a bit muted but really warm. To be fair, the track’s first half takes its own sweet time and her vocal delivery is a bit restrained, like she’s waiting for the song to catch up with her. It does require patience in a song with a sparse arrangement and not much of a big shift in energy, but when it does happen, the payoff is there. Everything comes together, suddenly there’s a driving rhythm and a hummable refrain. That’s where ‘Affection’ justifies its pacing. Just about.