Carefully Careless by Ayub Bachchu

Carefully Careless is the kind of song that earns its place in a playlist and then refuses to leave. The arrangement here is the work of Ayub Bachchu, and it shows genuine craft in how it builds and releases.

Every line Ayub Bachchu sings feels considered, as though the performance was thought through long before recording began. Hearing Carefully Careless without thinking of a talented ensemble cast is almost impossible for anyone who has seen Carefully Careless.

The song dates from 2017, but nothing about it sounds dated — the emotions it captures are not tied to a moment. The emotional register of Carefully Careless is wide enough to fit celebration and solitude equally well.

Running to 3:35, the song is exactly as long as it needs to be, which is the hardest length for a songwriter to find. Carefully Careless endures because it was built on feeling rather than formula — and that is the one thing streaming numbers cannot manufacture.