The best acts to have ever come through the mainstream have been those whose start came somewhere else, far outside of cities we’ve come to know as the capitols of pop music. Rising melodic singer/songwriter Ajay Mathur isn’t an industry insider; he’s more of a casual move than he is a conventional musician’s musician, but the harmonies he introduces the world to in his new single “Don’t Want the Phone to Ring” are going to have listeners around the world reaching for a cold drink and some sunshine on the nearest stretch of beach this summer. In the tradition of soft rockers that have come and gone in the past, Mathur is breaking off some of the best and brightest new sounds in laid-back pop in 2023, and if you want a good sample of his personality, this is the song to start with.
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“Don’t Want the Phone to Ring” is built upon harmonies that are more or less an extension of the lyrics they’re designed to frame, and although they’re more prolific because of the crisp production quality, they don’t sound gilded exclusively because of the top shelf polish. Something tells me Mathur would make this track sound just as inviting and relentlessly soothing were he playing it solo on an acoustic guitar right in front of us as he would in a studio setting like this one, and it just so happens that he’s working with a squeaky clean setup for this release. Both artist and audience benefit from the precision, and it shows how meticulous a player he can be when given the right tools.
These strings glisten beside the lead vocal Mathur puts up at the forefront of the mix, and I think it’s quite obvious regardless of the angle from which you’re examining “Don’t Want the Phone to Ring” that this is a singer/songwriter who values tonal presence more than a lot of his peers do (which is part of the problem in the major label scene these days). From one end of the arrangement to the next, everything is adding something to the story being told at the heart of this single, and while it’s celebratory and brings to mind the most relaxing of moments life can present us with, it isn’t lacking in sonic and melodic bite where it counts the most.
Cut-and-dry but packed with the kind of charm superstars are made of “Don’t Want the Phone to Ring” is one slice of chill pop music just about anyone from novice critics to seasoned aficionados can fall in love with this June, and it would surprise me a great deal if this didn’t become the overall consensus among listeners. Ajay Mathur is a very affectionate, harmony-focused singer and songwriter who isn’t afraid to put himself out there even when it’s through the metaphorical and implied subtexts of a freewheeling single like this one. I’m becoming a fan of the charisma he’s got here, and if it’s something I can expect out of his future releases, I believe “Don’t Want the Phone to Ring” will be the first of many successes his discography contains.
Garth Thomas