I’m fond of dividing music into genres. The arbitrary act of placing art into equally arbitrary boxes amuses me, as do most pointless efforts to chain the unchainable. My friends call the music of Whale in the Pond ‘dreamfolk’. It’s a fitting qualifier, given that most of their music is just right for unfocused stares into the distance with mists of longing in the eyes. Their songs fit right into those obscure little pieces you come across on YouTube if you happen to click your way into the meandering digital vales of post-rock from cold Bavaria or atmospheric doom ballads from Norway. The band is a trio : Sourjyo Sinha (primary songwriter, singer, musician), Shireen Ghosh (multi-instrumentalist, mixer, producer) and Deep Phoenix (guitars and percussion). Every last note on their debut EP has been composed, mixed and produced independently. They count on social media, friends and word-of-mouth to get their music out into the world. They are students who make music for indie films and ad jingles, ruminate on creating their own musicals and work hard at exams and academic papers. If the whole thing sounds a bit too charming for real life, then you might already be experiencing their sound more profoundly than you think. The songs exude warmth; seemingly easy rhythm makes for eager engagement with the twilight-ballroom-world of ‘Araby‘ (“You make me crave for the ways you control me”) and the hypnagogic, dream-twinkle verses of ‘Marbles‘ (“Constellations align as I’m waiting, waiting home for you”). Both songs…
