Itra is a 2-piece band with barely any moving parts; Vinod Patney does vocals and Naren Thota does the backing arrangement. It’s a setup that’s especially popular these days where doing a lot with a little is the norm. The band’s new single, ‘Ab Na Pila’ is yet another attempt to maximize the impact of a track while also minimizing the number of elements used. Depending on what your preference is, it either works perfectly or comes out as being a bit simplistic. Both outcomes are positive.

To begin with, there are two versions of the track. The ‘regular’ version is more of a peppy, poppy version while the ‘acoustic’ version is a more, well, stripped down arrangement. The acoustic version is a more nuanced track and is thus more impactful. It’s a very straightforward affair with no real structural or tonal craziness, but it sort of works the way a hearty meal does; it is simple, robust and fulfilling. The song is produced in a fairly safe way as well (as much as such a skeletal arrangement can be ‘produced’). The parts to this are few but important. There is an acoustic guitar that plays a lead while Vinod sings about various things like a loss of innocence, the possibly tricky parts of being a functional adult and being nostalgic. His delivery is a bit quirky and interesting. He does not stretch out his notes or employ a soaring voice to drive anything forward, instead using an almost staccato cadence and abruptly cutting off his vocal lines. It’s kind of weird and jarring at first but you find yourself warming to it as the track goes on. There are a few synths and electronic percussion elements that support these two things, but they are definitely not much more than that, so they come in and out to do their job whenever required.

Itra has done a smart thing with this track by keeping it short and sweet. ‘Ab Na Pila’ really doesn’t have too much to write about or discuss, but that is its main strength. It’s not a crutch that the song is so simplistic and that there really isn’t much going on, but there is definitely a chance of the nuance of the lyrics being a bit lost when they don’t have all that much happening musically to support them. That being said, the arrangement does do a good job of staying out of the way to allow Vinod’s vocals and lyrics to shine, and in that sense, it works absolutely fine.