What makes an album different from a playlist is that there is a deeper coherent thought process that goes into making one. It’s like a fashion designer displaying a themed collection on a ramp, instead of disparate clothes being dumped in a box at a discount store. Take, for instance, an album that Pune-based indie act Lotus released last month. It’s called Dear Diary, and each song is presented as an entry in a journal, collectively encompassing a mix of emotions. It’s a cohesive effort that takes the listener into the inner recesses of the band’s mind.

These are emotions that people will easily be able to relate to, says bassist Robert Alex. “The loss of a loved one, confusion, a sense of numbness where you feel disconnected from the world, the detachments that occur whether between friends or family — those are [the aspects of the human condition] that we addressed, which were amplified during the pandemic.”