Patio Unplugged: Indie electronic rock duo Perfect Blunder find beauty in the debris of love, life and loss

Perfect Blunder was formed when two students of music production at The True School of Music in Mumbai came together to form an indie electronic rock duo. The band – which comprises Kush Asher and Andrew Sabu – sound like a crossover between Plain White T’s (of ‘Hey There Delilah’ fame) and Owl City (best known for his track ‘Fireflies’) but with just a touch of an indelible sadness. While Asher handles the electronic side of the duo’s music, Sabu is the guitarist and the lead vocalist of Perfect Blunder. The duo performed two of their newest singles on the latest edition of Patio Unplugged. These singles, ‘The Ship’ and ‘Lost in Her Eyes’, come from a place of honesty, and is of extreme personal significance to the duo. ‘The Ship’ is a slow-burning, crisp, funereal sounding track that flows evenly throughout the length of the song. Sabu’s voice is steeped in clarity. The vocals on the track possess the power of inducing in the mind of its listeners a surprising sense of calm. There’s a mournfulness that lingers on with every strum of the guitar. Sabu’s voice does not sound jovial or hopeful, and that’s what makes the song stand out. It’s not an ode to how much better things can get; it’s a declaration of how bad things have gotten. The duo use a stranded ship as a metaphor for life. “Help that never came in time / Reaching out for hope / I feel I’m caught in a landslide,” Sabu sings with an earnestness that makes Perfect Blunder’s music worth listening to.

The second track, ‘Lost in Her Eyes’, is far from uplifting. But, on this song, Perfect Blunder’s playfulness is very much evident. The soothing tunes of the guitar beautifully complement the electronic elements that Asher brings to the band’s music. Devoid of any joyfulness, this song too relies on creating soundscapes that its listeners will feel affected by. ‘Lost in Her Eyes’ revolves around the tragic past of an ex-girlfriend, and the ’tragic’ part of the song does shine through. Perfect Blunder tries its best to fuse electronic sounds with the sound of slow acoustic rock, and the results are appreciable. With bands like Perfect Blunder springing up ever so often, Mumbai’s local scene will be filled with innovative music in no time.