It’s okay to admit that you, too, have come to Greg Mendez listening party a little late. He’d probably do so himself by the sounds of it. But let’s start from the top anyway: last year’s self-titled, self-released debut album was an underrated success story across DIY spaces (specifically, the Philly DIY scene which Mendez has richly contributed to over the years,) and now with some added respect being put onto his name in properly being signed to a label in Dead Oceans — who will reissue said-debut album to a wider audience before year’s end — it’s safe to say that this present moment is the best moment to discover the sentimentalist indie rock songwriter.

His latest EP, First Time / Alone, is the perfect place to begin even if your plan is to work backwards from here on out. For those already initiated, the listen will only peel back a few more layers on an artist you’ve already begun to know and warm up to. The 8-minute long extended play is Mendez’s craft fully naked, piecing together four sequential tracks sketched out in post-recovery following a wrist surgery where the fully-alived band feels from his debut instead are stripped back to just he, the rampant thoughts of someone whose had too much time to think over the course of the past four months, an acoustic guitar, the occasional glow of an electric organ, and some company kindling to ward off the loneliness from his bandmate and wife, Veronica.

You’d maybe not guess that last part given Mendez’s way with words concerning solitude throughout most of the songs’ subject matters. From Mountain Dew hell to angels knocking at his door, he brings us right into the pain med delirium that has haunted his soft-sung heart during his downtime, and the songs’ muted appearances only highlight the wry deprecation in his emotions. Any fears on his part of a momentum stymied by an unplanned setback need not apply here regardless. This is a short but necessary reminder that the simplicity of earnest melancholia laid bare in well-crafted melody is going to find its way to the right people, whether it’s their first time or not as well.

Highlights: “Mountain Dew Hell”, “First Time”, “Alone”

Greg Mendez’s First Time / Alone is available now on Dead Oceans.

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