If you’ve caught any of the hushed and haunting performances by Philly scene singer-songwriter Greg Mendez over the past six months, you know something impactful is on the way with his next album.
Channeling painful experiences from childhood and early adulthood into gorgeous, melodic indie folk songs, Mendez music can be somber, but poppily striking; Elliott Smith is an easy comparative go-to, but you’ll also hear hints of more contemporary voices like Andy Shauf, or one of Mendez’ Philly neighbors and collaborators, Shannen Moser.
Following up a beautiful concert recording called Live at Purgatory documenting a July 2022 show at the Brooklyn venue of the same name, Mendez will release a self-titled album on Forged Artifacts on May 6th, and a pre-release track called “Goodbye / Trouble” is out now, paired with a music video that layers distressed footage with an old VHS aesthetic and flickering computer graphics, collaged by Doug Dulgarian of TAGABOW.
Like the visual, the lyrics can sometimes be messy.
“There’s a lot of pretty bleak memories in the songs,” Mendez says. “But one thing I hope comes through is that nothing is ever fully dark.”
Watch the “Goodbye / Trouble” video below, pre-order the album here, and be on the lookout for details about Mendez’s Philadelphia release party in the works.