We are living in an age when 21st century sounds have infiltrated music like a bunch of unannounced guests who land up at a party. But Rock the Highway by Girish and the Chronicles is an album that harks back to a time when bands picked up their guitars, sat at the drum kit, and belted out tunes without the aid of software like Ableton Live, which is the bread and butter of bedroom producers. The outfit is originally from Gangtok, Sikkim. But the members are now based in different Indian cities, and their collaborative record has recently found mention as the third best album of 2020 according to MetalSucks, a music webzine based in the US.

That speaks a lot about India, a country where musicians who stick to the old school are finding it increasingly hard to stay afloat in a sea of electronically produced sounds that seem to be the current wave. Front man Girish Pradhan tells us where the conundrum lies. He explains that there are people who appreciate his voice because it resembles that of Axl Rose of Guns ‘n’ Roses, and thus expect him to play covers. On the other hand, there are those who deride bands that don’t play original music. “I can’t explain it,” he says about what it means to be caught in between such a rock and a hard place. “I just want to play what I love listening to,” he confesses, adding that while growing up, his earliest influences included a diet of Megadeth, Pantera and other such acts that would wake the neighbours up, had those unannounced guests at the afore-mentioned party been metal-heads who took over the playlist.