While comparisons to legendary songwriters like Elliott Smith and Arthur Russell have followed mehro since he first arrived on the scene last year, the young Angeleno is undoubtedly also a product of this current period of pop’s genrelessness. Even the most intimately stripped-down acoustic tracks on his new project SKY ON FIRE are marked by his soulful vocals forged by the current moment in pop and the various genre elements it’s sucked in.
As a soundtrack to the loneliness of existence—particularly the comforting “not alone”—mehro’s new EP also feels more than a little pertinent for this present moment of isolation. To give us a little more detail on each of the project’s seven songs, we had him break down SKY ON FIRE track by track, filling us in on its autobiographical lyrical elements, offering even more comfort than the record emits. Stream the project below, and read on for mehro’s words.
This song was written late one night as a lightning storm raged on across the horizon. In the summer before my junior year of high school, my best friend died at 16, and my grandpa died on the same day. That’s when I knew what it felt like to be hit by lightning.
Life is not promised, I hope you can enjoy it.
2. “hideous”
This song is the moment when you realize a person you love may not have ever really loved you. It’s a hard punch to take, but you get knocked down, you get back up, and you face another day a little bruised, a little battered, and a little wiser. I realized that people have drastically different capacities to love and to be loved.
3. “perfume”
This song is a hello, a thank you, and a goodbye to who I was when it was written, my outlook on life, the people in my life at that time, and the experiences that shaped me. I am grateful for every single one of you.
4. “not alone”
An important person in my life admitted something they did, and while reading the text, I couldn’t hear anything but the ringing in my ears. A bomb went off in my gut, and I went numb. I was so hurt, so upset, and felt so betrayed. But sometimes those who we love most are those who we hurt most. Eventually we will be on both sides of it. That is the kiss and the hidden dagger that life promises. You are not alone in your pain, my loves.
5. “chance with you”
This song takes me back to the night of its inspiration almost every time I hear it. It goes out to every person who I could have had an experience with and didn’t. It wasn’t meant to be. You are worthy of incredible love, and incredible experiences. But also: make the most of the choices you have made. Find your form of alchemy.
6. “the same”
The deepest love imaginable: beyond comprehension, and beyond the senses. I did my best to capture it, but it’s impossible to entrap forever. We may graze its echelon for fleeting moments, but we are not able to always grasp it.
7. “sky on fire”
The death and rebirth. Where everything behind you is gone, and where anything before you is possible.
