by Arthish Banerjee
After enjoying immense success with hits like 'Kasoor' and 'cold/mess', with the latter earning him praise from the former US President Barrack Obama himself, Prateek Kuhad is back with a brand new single titled 'Just A Word' which gives us a sneak peek into his upcoming album, 'The Way That Lovers Do' which is slated to be released on May 20th through Elektra Records.
Photo credit: Vansh Virmani / Elektra Records
From growing up in Jaipur in a musical environment but never receiving any formal guitar or vocal lessons (apart from a few guitar classes from when he was in fifth grade) to selling out shows around the world and winning numerous prestigious awards – the Prateek Kuhad story is an absolute fairytale that stars a young prodigy finding his true calling and pursuing it with all his heart.
'Just A Word' sees Kuhad venture into more mainstream pop sounds, away from his usual folksy guitar-based approach. Navigating through the dreamy soundscape of the song, the lyrics arguably created the biggest impact on us, which, by now, is a characteristic element of any Prateek Kuhad song. As seen before with songs like 'Kasoor', 'cold/mess' and 'Kho Gaye Hum Kahan' – the listener has no choice but to give in to the masterful songwriting that he delivers each time while also being swept away by the sheer melodic nature of each of those pieces.
On this track, however, Kuhad hits the nail on the head for the Gen Z, who repeatedly find themselves confused about love, relationships and everything that is related. Mixed signals and indecisiveness are commonplace in this era of lightning speed, and it shows in each interaction of our daily lives. Yet, what suffers the most, is love.
The words on this song paint a picture of how this indecisiveness makes us all doubt who we are, what we're worth, and what lies ahead. Pertinent questions are sometimes passed on as trivialities in these situations, even if the answers could change the course of the relationship completely. In all these uncertainties, if we're ever lost for words, we now know which song will ask those questions for us, thanks to a certain Prateek Kuhad.
'Is this love?'
Perhaps love is 'Just A Word'.
Just how Kuhad puts it:
It was just a word, But we never let it hurt us
Photo: Prateek Kuhad performing on his Winter 2021 Tour.
Credit: Prateek Kuhad on Facebook
Coming to the song itself, if you ever thought that grooves could never function without a strong rhythm section, think again! Embellished with all the ambient synth parts that one could imagine, Kuhad puts all his mellifluous might behind the acapella-style ensemble vocals and just sheer silence on two different ends of the spectrum of sounds to highlight the undeniable groovy quality of the track.
The wonderfully flowing pattern on the synth on this track is undoubtedly its most noticeable trait, which catches the ear even more as it transitions from utter fluency in the verse to a strong pulsation in the hook keeping the listener engaged in rapt attention as Kuhad weaves a web of magic around them with his gentle voice that you could mistake for a caring whisper in a tuneful lullaby.
Yet, why trust us on this? Go give this absolute beauty a listen for yourself!
Listen to 'Just A Word' by Prateek Kuhad here.
Pre-save 'The Way That Lovers Do' by Prateek Kuhad here.