Shalom Benjamin (left) and Saurabh Roy

A sense of humour, oodles of pop culture and loud and soft soundscape are very much the next stage of their evolution. The new album’s title — Suburban Prose — is a nod to the American band Green Day. Roy says, “They use the word suburban a lot in their verses, and were an influence on me. The Prose in the title was an attempt to move away from poetry, to simplify things and be direct with our expression in the album.”

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Their first album, Revenge of Kalicharan, had definitive punk signatures with guitar lines, and a variety of pop-culture influences. From a song named Garam dharam, to I am a disco dancer, it was a clear homage to Mumbai’s cinemas. “It was a part of our childhood memories. I just thought the names were cool. The lyrics also spoke through characters,” he laughs.

Describing the recent rise of lo-fi music as a part of the game, the 33-year-old guitarist says, “We always chose to pursue sounds that we were intrigued by. It is better to create something for yourself, than to follow the herd.”

So what has changed in the last decade? “Technology,” he says, “we were just a band that was creating music on our own. With time, the influence of technology has increased greatly. You learn more as you do more.” This explains their many single releases including Mellow and Satire in 2020. The funky beats of the latter convinced Roy that the band had found their new sound. “We worked on multiple versions of the song. Finally, we arrived on a funk synth that laid the blueprint of our way forward,” he says.  

The first single from the album, Pills, released on March 5 and captures this balance through its dynamics, bass-lines and vocals. Their next single will build upon the growing chasm between generations created by technology. Roy explains, “With the Internet generation, the gap has deepened so much that our battles can be awkward and funny, but they always come from a place of love.” It looks like these punks are here to stay for a while. 

On: May 5
Log on to: The Lightyears Explode on Spotify 

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