Tarana, the new single by Abhishek Gaur seems like a great alternative for the closing credits of a bittersweet dramedy. That sentence should sum up the emotions of this tune. Gaur seems to be crooning about old memories that seem pretty distant from (probably) his present-day situation.
The lyrical content and instrumental arrangement are derivative but the combination still works for Gaur’s hushed-down vocals. It’s perfectly suited for a slow-burn of an evening. It’s almost as if you can picture the singer-songwriter staring at the setting sun bleed down, and writing this ‘tarana’ of a song.
It’s composed entirely on the acoustic guitar, evoking slight strums and fingerpicking while his clear voice takes us on a sad sonic trip that sounds tragic yet comforting. Tarana is no overdramatic cry for help from a broken heart. Rather, it gives off the aura of a lover’s song who has found acceptance in his heartbreak.
He’s not subjecting himself to any toxic notions of getting back to his partner; all he thinks about is the little talks and the moments he shared with his beloved. It might sound a bit too emotional for some but Gaur has definitely attempted to go beyond the usual cliched ‘Prateek Kuhad-ripoff songs’ on heartbreak that the indie scene has been oversaturated with, more so in recent times.
An issue with such cliched love songs these days is that the vocalist ends up gushing down their sound a bit too low, to the extent when it almost sounds like the singer is just mumbling. This trend might work for a few acoustic pop-oriented singers but not all. In contrast, as mentioned before, Abhishek Gaur’s voice is rich and clear. There are moments in the song where Gaur is just vocalising or humming sounds like ‘tu-ru-ru’. Even this humming ends up being as soothing as the entirety of the song.
Tarana brings back familiar themes of reminising about loved ones but repackages them well enough for listeners to feel emotional and to maybe even relate. After all, the second wave of the pandemic has yet again thrown us in bouts of long distances and isolation. Maybe we all need an old memory or a ‘tarana’ to keep us moving ahead.
Verdict: A heart-touching slow jam that echoes the feel of a mellow sunset.
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