Hailing from Ahmedabad, Saaz marks the debut of vocalist Aditi Bhardwaj. Like many other recent indie debuts, Saaz too deals with notions of love. What’s interesting is that singers/songwriters who helm such soothing mellow pop numbers aren’t glamorizing themes of eternal romance or the like. Instead of exaggerated poetry, they aim to explore a more grounded and relatable concept of love. Saaz is an interesting song in this regard as it seems to incorporate the best of both worlds. 

On one hand, Bhardwaj’s track documents the experiences of a nascent stage between two people. They seem to share a spark but still aren’t full-fledged lovers yet. They desire to share their mutual affection for each other but aren’t open yet to fully reveal these feelings. 

At the same time, there’s a certain maturity present in her voice and Naman Mahajan’s lyrics which goes beyond certain cliches of ‘newfound’ or ‘young’ love. In fact, towards the end, the lyrics also evoke a spiritual side of love as she croons, ‘Tu bhi maan jaye toh mera rab ban jayega‘. This roughly translates to, ‘If you also are ready, then you can be my god’. Hence, Saaz is a strong testament of unrequited love if nothing else. 

Aditi Bhardwaj seems to be calm and composed in her vocal delivery all throughout, especially in the chorus. There’s hardly any part where she seems to be faltering. Raag Sethi’s production is also equally commendable with his bass and electric guitaring giving off an easygoing blues-y vibe. 
While Saaz might be too abstract for some, others can still appreciate the poetic lyrics that do attempt to break away from a conventional oversaturated love ballad. 

Verdict: A thoughtful ode to the early stages of love.

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