Greg Mendez has released his anticipated new album, Beauty Land, via Dead Oceans. On Beauty Land, Mendez perfects his raw and quietly devastating sound, as evidenced by the album’s singles ‘I Wanna Feel Pretty,’ ‘Gentle Love / Frog,’ ‘No Evil,’ and ‘So Mean,’ released alongside an understatedly heartbreaking video directed by Luke LeCount, shot on 16mm film in Wildwood, NJ and at Minimart in Philadelphia, PA.
On the album, we’re guided by a wry but forgiving narrator, an underdog who has learned to balance cynicism and faith. These songs are self-effacing without self-pity, carefully constructed altars of imperfection channeled through pop melodies, shimmering but urgent guitars, and a voice that reaches for choir boy innocence.
The bulk of Beauty Land was recorded directly to tape, almost entirely alone in Mendez’s makeshift home studio in Philadelphia – a small room with no natural light. It’s his first full-length album since his unexpected breakthrough self-titled album in 2023, which was a slow burn success following 15 years of writing and recording music in relative obscurity between Philly and New York. Beauty Land picks up where we left off three years ago – plumbing the depths of grief, love, and addiction – but its intense, quiet clarity shows Mendez at his songwriting best.
Greg Mendez – So Mean (Official Video)
Praise for Greg Mendez
“In less than two minutes, Greg Mendez can express a lifetime’s worth of pain, regret, and resilience.” –Pitchfork
“It’s at once a grandiose and understated… Mendez’s severe lyrical specificity opens up entire worlds in which the listener can find themselves.” -Rolling Stone
“In Mendez’s hands, coming to terms with the worst of times has led to music so grippingly human, you’ll want to hear him grapple with his demons on an endless loop.” -NPR
“Mendez’s unrefined, plaintive voice, his piercing melodies, and his conversational but haunting lyrics all mark him out as one of the best songwriters to come out of a city teeming with great songwriters.” -Stereogum
“The best songwriters can take visceral moments from their lives and bend them to the palettes of the people listening to them unfold, so they can inject themselves into these spaces; Mendez’s ability to leave that door cracked for the rest of us is what makes him one of our subtlest geniuses.” -Paste
“Nakedly honest and gently strummed indie rock confessionals.” -The FADER
“Sweet, melancholic, and perfectly understated” –Consequence
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Greg Mendez – I Wanna Feel Pretty (Official Video)
Greg Mendez
Beauty Land
Track List:
- I Wanna Feel Pretty
- Looking Out Your Window
- Mary / Dreaming
- Everybody Wants To Be Your Friend (Except Me)
- Gentle Love
- Frog
- It Breaks My Heart
- Sunsick
- No Evil
- Geranium
- Interlude in D Minor
- Serving Drinks
- So Mean
- Concussion
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