Kolkata-based dream pop duo Parekh & Singh's (instrumentalist/vocalist Nischay Parekh and percussionist/producer Jivraj Singh) latest track "I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll" stands out more for its visually arresting music video - which clearly pays homage to Wes Anderson's films (especially Moonrise Kingdom) with its symmetrical framing, desaturated colours and quirky cinematography.
The song itself works as a minimalist folk-inspired ballad to an unattainable other, with "subject matter charts the agony and ecstasy of uncertain young love -- innocence tempered by experience" (2016):
'Monday come slowly, I feel a bit out of touchWith all this daily heartache it hurts me so muchI cannot help it if I'm hard to love
There are things about me that you don't know, I don't like acting toughYou can be serious and I can be mysteriousShare my feelings everyday but you'll just smile at me and sayI love you baby and I love you dollTimes get tough but my heart won't change at allI love you baby and I love you doll'
Lyrics: Musixmatch
While I agree with indie music journalist Arjun Ravi, who argued that "Just because a band or an act is Indian, it doesn't mean they need to have classical influences or a sitar or tabla in their music to be considered legit" (2016Huffington Post, ), the last scene in the video - where Parekh & Singh perform their 'deracinated' version of indie music, with its prominent influences from the Anglosphere, to a crowd of Indian villagers - was jarring to me. Given the general whiteness of the indie music scene, there seems to be a missed opportunity here.
