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Track by Track is our recurring column that sees artists take readers through each song on their newest release. In this edition, Greg Mendez explores his new album, Beauty Land.
Having captured a whole new crop of indie folk fans with his wonderful 2023 self-titled release, Greg Mendez has finally returned with a brand new record: Beauty Land, his debut for Dead Oceans. Similar in tone and feel to its predecessor, the new set finds the Philly songwriter leaning even further into hypnotic production and creative spontaneity.
As Mendez explains to us, several of the songs on Beauty Land are the result of happy accidents or happenstance, as he let the songs guide his intuition through trial and error. Whether it was a take that was supposed to be scrapped being saved at the last minute, a serendipitous siren passing by while recording, or finding inspiration backstage at an Ohio show, Mendez’s description of his process almost sounds less like he’s crafting a sculpture from scratch and more like he’s carving away at a block of marble that some unknown muse dropped at his doorway.
Take “So Mean,” a rare Greg Mendez song that features open tuning. “I’m too lazy for all that shit, but I kinda heard this in my head, and I picked up the closest guitar, which happened to be my wife V’s that she keeps in open tuning,” he tells Consequence. “So, that’s how this one ended up coming about. I also filled an entire notebook with lyric revisions before going back to the originals; sometimes that’s how it goes.”
The final result is just as mesmerizingly, melancholically lovely as the best of his previous work, making good on the album’s title. Stream Greg Mendez’s Beauty Land below, and scroll on for his full Track by Track breakdown of the record. You can also pick up a copy on vinyl here.
English (US) · 