Two years on from the release of his sixth studio album, Sometimes I Just Don’t Know in 2019, Filipino-Australian artist Bryan Estepa returns with another exciting set of soulful and melodic guitar pop. Released under Lilystars Records, Estepa’s new EP, Back To The Middle grows closer to home with its penchant for warm, inviting hooks and sunburst instrumentation.
Lyrically speaking, there is no set thematic agenda when the acclaimed singer-songwriter conceptualized and penned Back To The Middle. In an authentic troubadour fashion, Estepa lets the song take him to where it wants to go most of the time. “But by the end I did notice a leaning towards the idea of letting go and acceptance,” Estepa shares in a statement. “Life throws us curveballs that we may not want or see coming, but then we ask ourselves how do we deal with them? There’s always a slither of light ahead.”
While his previous record, Sometimes I Just Don’t Know exhibited a more melancholic, brooding treatment, Estepa’s six-song EP essentially gravitates on a balance between light and shade, with songs whose bright sparks pop up. Expanding his sonic palette with power pop choruses and irresistible exuberance, Back To The Middle sounds brighter and jumpier than he’s never sounded before, and is buoyed with a renewed sense of energy.
