Bengaluru's AKOG Go Heavy, Navigate Dilemmas on Debut Album 'A Rock And A Hard Place'

Across seven tracks, there are stories of anti-establishment sentiment, broken hearts and coming to terms with one's identity

- ANURAG TAGAT

AKOG AKA ANOTHER KIND OF Green members are seated around an office desk, taking a break from their day jobs (except bassist Vishal Varier, who's on the call from home, since he's a full-time musician) to talk about their new album A Rock And A Hard Place.

As college friends who came together in 2016, AKOG have released a steady run of singles, but an album was something they were sitting on for about a year and a half. Late in 2022, drummer Sanket Chakraborty says the band put an end to their pondering and put together seven tracks in the span of two months. "We had changed our songwriting approach and I think as individuals, we went through a lot of things that came into our writing," he adds. Guitarist Chethan Kadoor, seated next to Chakraborty, says, "We were too obsessed with perfection and reaching standards of professional labels and all of that. Yes, it's important and we still have that goal in mind but we felt it shouldn't be an obstacle to put things out."