Re Teu - ‘The Author’ | EP Review
January 14 | Written By Evelyn Burr
‘The Author’ is the debut EP from Nottingham and London-based multi-instrumentalist Re Teu. The record was released at the end of October, and only now do I feel I’ve come to terms with the profound talent and imagination that radiates across it. Across a short four-track run, Re Teu creates a sublime folk-rock sound that feels simultaneously familiar and otherworldly. This duality is expertly maintained across the EP, being continually expansive and yet rooted in a deep authenticity. It’s impossible not be swept up in this record’s ethereal embrace.
The lyrics on this EP are written in the second person, with all of the directness of a diary entry and the intimacy of a love letter. Glas, the record’s opening track, is no exception - the first words we hear are ‘Hey, love, I was wondering’. The deep resonance of Re Teu’s vocals sits beautifully alongside the track’s shimmering instrumentals, and carries with it a great sincerity. Fans of Bon Iver and Novo Amor - two of Re Teu’s self-proclaimed inspirations - will find a lot to enjoy on this track. That said, the song, along with the rest of the EP, feels wholly individual and intensely personal; the supernova of sound that erupts on the second half of Glas feels as if it's bursting out of Re Teu’s psyche.
The second track, Journey, sees Re Teu search for the ‘might to fight / the strive to live’. It’s driven by acoustic guitar, and is slowly accompanied by layers of string and percussion, creating something of a sonic mountain for Re Teu’s vocals to climb. The song captures a tremendous amount of emotion in relatively short lyrical passages; as Re Teu traverses ‘A journey, thick with ice / Fall time, to you love’.
If Journey is the climb up the mountain, For the Soul is Re Teu standing defiantly at its peak. The lyrics are brutal and brimming with heartache, as Re Teu describes himself ‘caught up in the friction of two, missing you’. It’s a song about confronting your flaws, regrets, and desires: in Re Teu’s case, he needs ‘something for the lost, and for the soul’. You can almost feel the wind in your hair as you listen to the track’s cathartic drums and Re Teu’s incredibly raw vocal performance - it’s undoubtedly the emotional high-point of the EP. This unwinds into the final track The Author, which closes out the EP with a melodic ambience, as Re Teu finds a small closure to the tale of love and longing explored in the prior tracks: ‘Honey, I’ve reading about our part ‘Love’ / To tell you that the ink was written by blood’.
There is still room for Re Teu to experiment with and expand this atmospheric folk-rock sound down the road, and to create more narrative depth across a longer piece of work. That said, this EP packs so much artistry, feeling and spirit into its fifteen minute run-time. Re Teu’s vow is ‘Ambience, Forever’, and if The Author is anything to go by, that surely is a wonderful prospect.
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