New York-based Late Again (aka Rafael Melo) has announced their next EP, Clearly It’s All Staged, set to be released on September 2nd. The release of the EP follows its latest single, "Easy on Myself," which was released on July 16th along with an accompanying music video.
Clearly It’s All Staged begins with "Chick’n Fingers," an anthem for sad and confusing nights out. Combining mentions of parties and nights that “could be the last” of the early 2000s and the 2010s, somber social imagery of waiting for Ubers and the fears of growing older and growing apart from your friends, this track sets the pace for an EP that reflectively winds down feelings of summertime sadness.
"Sunrise/Sunset" revolves around Melo’s vocals, which repeat and reflect off of each other, giving the effect of the entire track moving in slow motion or mentally replaying the same scenarios over and over. Track 3, "Ick?," takes on a more precise tone than the previous tracks, with its exacting beat and clear vocals. "Ick?" Brings a more active and funky tone to the EP; it somehow manages to be a melancholic song to move to.
Melo gives the EP a musical interlude in the form of "Oh, Wait," which uses the same electronic and slow-moving tunes from the previous tracks to transition into a much livelier second half. This second half begins with "Nothing By It," in which featured artist Ella Walton brings the track into the fantastical realm, before Melo brings the track back to a slower and more grounded pace.
Similarly to "Nothing By It," "Easy On Myself" resets and refreshes the pace and energy of the EP, beginning with a sound bite, which then picks up and grooves easily into a more upbeat tune, so far not heard in this EP. The song is a contemplation to separate himself from everything. This is proposed with the opening lines “I’ve been taking it easy on myself/ I’ll drink more water/ wake up at 7”.
The EP closes with "Koolbloom." With a more strictly electronically focused sound than the rest of the EP, it cements the second half of the project as an artistic branching out and looking forward for Melo. This track closes out an EP that, both in its music and in its lyrics, is searching for a place to sit down, relax, and feel welcomed, while also calling out all of the useless formalities we put ourselves through in the process.
To pre-save Clearly It's All Staged: Click here.
Listen to "Easy On Myself" below:
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