Akela is a considerably different sonic experience to Ankur Tewari’s earlier work. Take, for instance, “Hum (Reprise)”, where the guitar-driven pop-rock original from his debut album, 2010’s Jannat, is transformed into an echoing electronic journey that keeps all of Tewari’s characteristic dreaminess but wraps it up in a new sun-kissed package. On this record, inspired by pandemic-induced loneliness, the Hindi and Urdu singer-songwriter trades his nostalgia-evoking, jaunty sonic template for a more ambient sound—albeit one that carries his evergreen themes of relationships and romance—with the lovelorn “Doobay” bridging both styles.