us

With understated, lowercase intimacy, L.A. singer/songwriter gnash’s seven-song EP is a celebration of love and collaboration. Every track on us features a guest vocalist, often a female duet partner for gnash’s warm ballads, though even Compton rapper Buddy gets sentimental on “rip.” An acoustic cover of Bright Eyes’ “first day of my life” sets the confessional tone for the originals. Gently thumping beats lend subtle bite to his skeletal arrangements, and the darker, piano-driven “i hate u, i love u” brings depth and grit to gnash’s meditations on relationships.