Minh Comes Full Circle with ‘amends’
To make his new EP, Minh returns to the music he always wanted to create. In doing so, he makes a case for being a leading voice in independent music.
Listen to Minh’s new EP amends, released this weekend, and you’ll hear a musician excelling at his craft and easing into a newfound confidence. Longtime fans of the Houston-based singer won’t be surprised to learn this: Since his breakthrough EP angelbites, Minh has carved out a space for himself as a leader in a new class of independent R&B and pop musicians. But Minh is opening the soundscape up on amends, expanding the eclectic base that he created on angelbites, and creating some of the most mature, enjoyable music of his career.
The music came together over the past six months and was singularly created by Minh, who writes, records, produces and mixes all from his home studio. “There’s something for everybody on this EP,” Minh told me in an interview this week.
amends opens with “bad habits” and “moon”, two tracks that Minh categorizes as some of the most unapologetically pop music he’s ever created. “bad habits”, which was released to streaming in March, follows the trajectory set by angelbites. It’s a catchy earworm of a track that circles around familiar lyrical content for Minh, surrounding obsession and heartache. It made big returns for Minh, racking up over 230k streams to date, and becoming one of his most popular songs. “moon”, though, might be the most enjoyable song Minh’s ever released. It’s true that this is straightforward pop, but it’s also bouncy, bright, even. “You take me to the moon,” Minh sings over a wickedly addictive guitar riff. It instantly became one of my favorites.
The remainder of the project shifts its focus, exploring deeper themes . “While there are fun moments that aren’t necessarily that lyrical,” he continued, “a lot of the songs on the EP reflect on my personal struggles, insecurities, and heartbreak.”
Indeed, as amends progresses, the mood does grow darker and more introspective. Minh considers the project’s first lead single, “gemini”, “the darkest song on the project both lyrically and instrumentally. Blunt, resentful lyrics are coupled with heavy 808s and a dramatic build into distorted guitars in the latter half of the song.
“pieces”, the latest pre-release single from the EP contrasts dreamy, sweet chords and reflective, somber lyrics. “Falling apart/ heart’s barely beating/ Lost sight of us/ Chasing a feeling,” he sings in the chorus. “‘Pieces’ explores subject matter that I haven’t really touched on in the past,” he reflected, “It’s about my relationship with work and passion and how in chasing my dreams, I sometimes get blindsided and unintentionally hurt my personal relationships.”
Minh sees the title track as a representation of the music he wanted to make at fifteen. “I really wanted to capture the essence of the music that inspired me to start writing and performing my own songs,” he said. He’s right: The first time I heard “amends”, I noted that it sounded like classic Minh. It’s the smoothest R&B track on the project that calls back to his first EP butterfly, as well as other early staples like “713”.
Looking back, Minh realized, a running theme for amends is that it honors the music he always wanted to make as a young teen. “This, in a way, is almost a return to the songs that I wrote on my first EP butterfly. Every song on that EP is extremely personal and, honestly, I think pretty well written for a 16-year-old, but lacks the production quality and maturity of my recent music.”
What resulted, Minh said, is a fusion of the ambitious lyrics he wrote at fifteen for butterfly and the catchy production he crafted for angelbites. “I’m still perfecting my craft, but I feel that this project is a big step forward from even my last EP.” He continued, “amends is really me finally finding the blend I’ve been looking for and elevating everything further.”
