Toronto artist Rayhan has already earned our praise here with his previous releases, and last summer he returned with his latest larger project, the EP LAZY BURNING.
The six-track EP runs just under twenty minutes. It opens with So Goes It, featuring Kataem and NAVIN. Flow is one of the track’s strongest elements, while the instrumental feels incredibly cozy and immersive – listening to it feels like suddenly finding yourself in an intimate, dimly lit club sometime around midnight, drink in hand. The chorus, “So it goes…”, is highly memorable and effortlessly catchy. As the longest track on the EP, it also feels like the most accessible and potentially the most standout moment of the project.
The following track, SUMMER TUNE, is a two-minute, rawer composition that carries a darker tone. The mood shifts dramatically – instead of the warm club atmosphere, it feels as if the listener is stepping into a shadowy nighttime street. The transition continues with BONE MARROW, which maintains a similarly raw and unsettling vibe. Halfway through, a heavy bassline emerges and drives the track into deeply haunting territory. The thematic content here is particularly heavy, as Rayhan confronts incarceration, loss, and psychological exhaustion. References to prison sentences and dead friends are delivered in a restrained, almost matter-of-fact way, which makes their impact feel even stronger.
The sensual energy of the opening track returns with Barz 1, another potential highlight. It begins with a playful and engaging intro but quickly unfolds into thematically heavy territory. The listening experience feels equally entertaining and emotionally weighty, leaving a strong and lingering impression. This is followed by the connected Barz 2: Player Music. One of the most striking moments arrives in the final seconds, when the fully layered and heavily processed vocals drop out, leaving only a Bon Iver–styled vocal texture accompanied by soft keys – a beautifully executed and atmospheric ending.
The closing track, THIS THE LAST SUMMER I WANNA DIE, leans strongly into a synthpop-inspired palette. The synthesizers are highly prominent, though far from comforting. Instead, they create an uneasy, almost aggressive melodic presence that pushes the song into a darker and more emotionally raw space, providing a fitting and somewhat unsettling conclusion to the EP.
Overall, LAZY BURNING presents Rayhan as an artist who confidently balances sonic sensuality with emotional heaviness and experimental production choices. Across its relatively short runtime, the EP manages to build a cohesive nighttime atmosphere while exploring personal and socially reflective themes.
This album was discovered via Submit Hub
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