On Greg Mendez’s eponymous new album, the Philadelphia singer-songwriter paints reflections on sobriety, heartbreak and needed development in a honey-tinted sonic glow. “There have been a few years there the place I used to be actually unable to carry a job. There have been lengthy intervals of sofa browsing,” he informed Bandcamp Day by day in a latest interview, wanting again on the interval of houselessness and habit that formed this batch of songs.

“Goodbye / Hassle” is the liveliest observe on the album. An uptempo drum beat, major-key electrical piano motif and fluctuating vocal melody distinction uncooked subject material. It finds Mendez recounting seedy tales, compassionately writing off an previous companion in crime within the course of. “I offered some s*** to some shady bros / You took the cash however you left me their garments and / Your ache and hassle / Stayed in hassle,” he sings within the last verse, one way or the other sounding matter-of-fact and on the verge of tears suddenly. In Mendez’s palms, coming to phrases with the worst of occasions has led to music so grippingly human, you may need to hear him grapple together with his demons on an limitless loop.