Featuring Asfar Hussain on vocals, Haider Abbas on bass, Shahrukh Aslam and Muqueet Shahzad on guitars and Mansoor Lashari on drums, Bayaan came into being after appearing on Nescafe Basement as individuals who ended up becoming a band in 2015.

Since then, the group has made music but never broke into national consciousness until they won Pepsi Battle of the Bands, in 2018.

Now Bayaan, in collaboration with PBOTB, has finally released its first album since winning. Released during the fifth edition of Lahore Music Meet 2020 earlier this year, and distributed via Rearts Records on 150 plus digital mediums including Apple Music, Deezer, Saavn, YouTube, Spotify and Patari, it is easy to find Bayaan’s first album in 2020.

Though originally overshadowed on the series by other musical outfits such as Xarb, their songs had enough grit to land them the ultimate prize.

Unlike contemporaries Kashmir, Tamasha, Auj and ESharp, the four most popular acts since the series has resurrected, Bayaan has made less leeway into national consciousness or a bigger dent, if you will. But they have a following or they wouldn’t have won.

Having participated in live sessions and Patari Aslis Volume II, Suno, their first major LP, is kind of a test for Bayaan as they are now under the spotlight, and the album will prove if they have what it takes.

The Suno Manifesto

There is something to be said for good pop/rock music. But with rap music and electronic music rising, with a spiritual path taken by some and instrumental by others, as well as full-length albums from the likes of Janoobi Khargosh, Ali Suhail and Strings, and that’s off the top of my head, it isn’t easy to make a crafty, good full length album.

And yet there is room for good pop music, always. This is where Bayaan, paradoxically enough, fit the mold and push the envelope.

For one thing, they seem to be clear about the songs they wanted to put on the album; it’s a cohesive collection. It is obvious that not all PBOTB songs have made the cut. Their lead vocalist, singer-songwriter Asfar Hussain has invested a great deal of emotion per song and that reflects. The musicianship, while not completely flawless, is however a sign for greater things to come. They sold out their physical copies at LMM2020.

The presence of high quality studios and high quality producers has also helped their cause. With this pop/rock album, produced by veteran Mekaal Hasan as well as the very talented Rakae Jamil and Farhan Zameer and mixed and recorded at Digital Infidelity Studios, Red Brick Studios and Grammophon Studios, there is clarity to the sonic landscape that benefits Bayaan.

Not including a crux of songs they presented on PBOTB, Bayaan has not only taken a risky move but has taken what is an unprecedented step.

This is where their public journey begins and recording for an album and for a live performance are too different facets. Without the chanting crowd or the presence of mainstream music stars to judge your song, the pressure is off. Whether Bayaan felt a different kind of pressure with this album is, for now, a mystery but as for the songs, they have a decent – if not flawless – album.

Beginning with ‘Azhik’, to the title track, ‘Suno’, with ‘Bekhabar’, ‘Mera Musafir, ‘Jaag’, ‘Tifli’, ‘Teri Tasveer’, ‘Daira’ and ‘Paani Aur Matti’, Bayaan sound like a more focused and a much more confident outfit.

The songs are technologically sound but the vocalist needs some work in parts in various songs whereas in a band like this, it is the music that provides that elevation. ‘Azhik’ is a great example because it outshines the vocalist musically, with its sharp transitions and a gorgeous guitar solo in the middle that refuses to leave centerstage even as the singer croons, “Zinda Ho Tum/Zinda Hoon Mein”.

‘Mera Musafir’ is lyrically melancholic and the music supports it but as the melancholia turns to hope, the song rides on its mellow guitars, but kind of bores at the end.

‘Jaag’ in comparison has more grit; the obscure opening followed by the appearance of a very ambient landscape is almost perfect.

‘Tifli’ is a somewhat hopeful, mystery-laden lullaby while ‘Teri Tasveer’, ‘Daira’ and ‘Paani Aur Matti’ also compensate the mistakes with their presence.

Bayaan’s first LP since PBOTB is not groundbreaking but it does show that the band is trying to develop a sound and an identity and Suno will take them a long way. The songwriting does need some work and Asfar Hussain does need to work on his vocals but this is a good start for Bayaan. It is a promising record.