Will Jones
“EP 2,” Tin Lung’s latest release, keeps listeners on the edge of their seats across four tracks and just over 15 minutes. The tension offers only brief moments to catch a breath before the intensity builds again.
Rett Smith, the Los Angeles-based artist, producer, and songwriter behind the project, opens the journey with “MORNING LIGHT.” The track starts at full speed, like a roller coaster that takes off before riders have time to get a firm grip. Synthesizers and repeated phrases sustain that intensity until the halfway point, when the rhythm offers a moment of relief. The pause is brief, setting the stage for the next climb before another plunge into the unknown.
“TAKE OVR” extends that momentum, this time with metallic sounds that add new layers to the experience. Just two tracks in, the EP has already conjured a nighttime scene in the listener’s mind, complete with shifting lights and bodies moving in sync.
A distant echo announces “MORNING HIGH,” the third track, which makes more room for a faraway voice. Its presence finds its place among the electronic textures, offering a vocal thread to follow in a listening experience that, until then, has been dominated by the sheer weight of the sound.
“LOS ANGELES PROMISES” closes “EP 2” with the brightest sound. Softer than its predecessors, the track retains tension while allowing the journey to end with a little more breathing room.
The release continues what Smith introduced in September with “EP 1,” which quickly caught the attention of music publications. Just a few weeks separate the two releases, yet that has been enough to expand a universe that already had rules of its own.
Every sound on the EP is created using physical instruments and external hardware, with no virtual instruments or artificial intelligence involved. This approach also defines his live performances, where he plays solo using analog synthesizers and drums.
Released through Lavoir Records and AWAL, “EP 2” sets the stage for a debut full-length album scheduled for March 2027. In the meantime, these four tracks offer an experience that finds its closest expression of Smith’s vision in the live setting.
“Playing these songs completely alone, performed raw directly to the audience—connecting in the most human way possible—that’s the whole point of Tin Lung,” he explains. That goal comes into focus when listeners let go of their preconceptions, close their eyes, and surrender to the intensity of a sound whose purpose extends far beyond synthesizers.