March is already shaping up to be a month full of music, so it’s important to not overlook Rachika Nayar’s debut record. Titled Our Hands Against the Dusk, the first full-length record from Nayar is set to have eight songs.
A (Soon-to-be) Hit Single Drops
The first single from the record, “The Trembling of Glass”, is out now ahead of the March 5 release of the LP. It’s a song with a beautiful texture that turns a guitar into a twinkling piano. A multi-talented composer by trade, Nayar truly laid out the melodies on this single release.
Pitchfork recently reviewed the single after it’s early January release. The rave review put words to a lyric-less song that many couldn’t. “As the song progresses, endless variations of the sample emerge and collide like particles in an accelerator, assuming unexpected forms as they build towards clarity.”
“The Trembling of Glass” is airy and ghostly, but still vibrant. Every piece of instrumentation that makes up the song plays a role in the way listeners understand it. The rise and fall of beats makes the track a magical journey to be part of. A press release explains that Nayar believes this journey is about feeling and connecting with both the art and people.
Rachika Nayar’s Debut
Nayar wants her debut record to transcend time and space. With this song as it’s lead single, she’s already set the perfect tone for that.
Another ambient, dreamy track, one set to release on the album, is titled “Losing Too Is Still Ours.” In a press release, Nayar explained it’s significance. “I used to hear these lines over and over in my head years ago when I was learning to let go of people and pasts with grace, even after very painful or violent events. It talks about loss as something that is still shared, through this image of absence itself drawing a ‘magnificent curve’ around everyone and everything involved.”
Although not outwardly containing social commentary or political messages, Nayar hopes the record connects communities. Each song on the record has a different message, but every listener can take it in from their own perspective. Nayar is not shouting from the rooftops what each song is about, she’s letting fans put the pieces together. (Just like rising pop star Olivia Rodrigo is doing with her latest single, the cryptic sensation “drivers license.”)
People love to put themselves in a performer’s shoes and Nayar is giving them full reign to do so. As a composer, much of what Rachika Nayar creates is up to interpretation. Her debut album is set to do much of the same starting March 5.
