Melodrama is set for release on 12/12/2025, built from five instrumental pieces written and produced by Jonathan Sherer and mastered by Steven Blake. Ahead of the EP, our early 2024 discovery, Mezmer, has been rolling out singles, including “Heaven”, which plays like a reflective ending rather than a standalone experiment.
Sherer explained that the track appeared late in the process, after he decided to cut two songs that no longer fit the shape of the record. “I loved those songs, but something didn’t feel right to me about them when I looked at the piece as a whole. I felt that they were good songs on their own but didn’t add to the story I was building.” Removing them pushed him to write something that functioned as a final line rather than an extra paragraph.
The decision was tied to the project’s direction. Sherer called it “the finale of the EP. The closing statement that would serve as a punctuation mark to the journey.” Where early material leaned toward slow-building arrangements, he shifted his approach after playing shows last year. Live performance revealed that energy doesn’t always translate from the studio. “There were older songs that I thought would hit really hard live, but then seemed to fall short – and others that unexpectedly pulled some serious weight.” That informed the pacing. He wanted something that demands attention immediately, without needing six minutes to stretch itself awake.
“Melodrama” is largely instrumental. Sherer was interested in removing himself from the center, letting the record develop its own meaning. “I liked the idea of letting the music speak for itself on this release, and ‘staying out of its way’. Surrendering to it allowed me to be a vessel for something powerful that could have been easily convoluted with my human ego had I tried interjecting my personal transcriptions overtop of it.” He prefers not to tell listeners what the songs are about. In his view, that leaves enough room to build a personal narrative rather than borrowing someone else’s.
Visually, he sees the record in grayscale, with soft distortion hanging over it. “I picture glowing fragments behind a veil of film grain. Something that feels familiar but hard to describe, almost like glimpses of a memory that you aren’t 100% certain belongs to you.” The artwork is meant to connect those pieces and hint at future context. He wants the visual language to expand as more material arrives.
“Heaven” carries a dreamy pulse with enough weight to feel like a landing. It skirts the expectation of vocals, staying instrumental even when the energy suggests a singer might suddenly appear. Instead, the track holds that space open and lets the listener wander through it. Sherer mentioned the threat of losing “aliveness” when everything happens in a studio. This one feels built to avoid that. It’s concise, awake, and shaped by the room it was imagined for.
The EP’s full track list runs:
“Melodrama”
“Flood, 1937”
“Eternal Bloom”
“From My Lifeless Body, Flowers Will Grow”
“Heaven”
“Heaven” doesn’t explain itself, and “Melodrama” looks content to avoid easy commentary. It leaves a pocket for memory and lets the listener decide what fits there.
