Presence “Pendulum Hearts EP” Review: A Hazy and Enamoring Debut
Written by Greg Poblete | Photos by Ben Moskow via Nettwerk Music Group
June 2, 2023 — Southern-California based artist, Presence, is cementing his, well, presence in the world with his new Pendulum Hearts EP. Already turning heads and capturing ears across Spotify with millions of plays and over 500,000 monthly listeners, Jonathan Martinez, known as the stage name Presence, is building an authentic following with his deeply introspective and vulnerable songs. Tracks like “Just Hold On” and “Dear Depression,” highlight Martinez’s songwriting skills of translating his internal struggles into beautiful melodies that connect to the masses.
Having proved himself through his countless singles, this debut EP provides Presence the playing field to demonstrate his ability to create a cohesive batch of tunes while interweaving a narrative of falling in and out of love. With spacious and hazy instrumentals paired with his melodic rap flow, as the name Pendulum Hearts suggests, the EP illustrates the push and pull that comes with romantic relationships, dispersed across the five tracks.
The opener, “Young Forever” is a mellow anthem about longing for love surrounded by whirly pianos and reverb-drenched drums. The lyrics are sweet, knowing that forever is “a long ass time” but sticking it through the “ups and downs” with someone makes life a little bit easier. With Martinez’s emotional vocals and simple yet sparkly production, “Young Forever” serves as the perfect introduction to the lovestruck concept EP.
The next track, “You and Me” is another mellow, barebones instrumental with a twangy electric guitar hovering over the entire track. The guitars are reminiscent of a John Mayer guitar lick with its bright and shimmery tone. “You and Me” is a sweet little love song with the sentiment of “all that exists right now is you and me.” With soft guest vocals from San Diego singer/songwriter Ella Lombardi, this track embodies the love-tinged duets you would hear in the honeymoon stage of a relationship montage in a rom-com movie.
The third track, “Never Enough” is a bit of a change of pace as the subject matter transitions from falling in love to the more confusing and overwhelming phase that comes with romantic relationships. Over a heavy, spacious instrumental with plenty of kick, Presence delivers his “sad boy” rap flow that he is known for, rapping about falling in love “too immediately” rather than “tediously.” “Never Enough” highlights the negative emotions that can stem from being in a relationship such as jealousy, fear of rejection, and losing one’s self to another person.
The next phase in the relationship is the breakup during the track “Since We’ve Been Okay.” This song paints this toxic relationship of a couple who have a difficult time of letting each other go despite not being good for one another. Their relationship is like a drug they both keep coming back to no matter how much mutual hate there is between the two. Presence once again delivers his melodic rap flow over a smokey beat, with glimmering keys and trap hi-hats riding towards the latter half of the song.
The final song of Pendulum Hearts, “Darling I’ll Be Back,” represents a sort of acceptance of the ending of a relationship. Although there is a sort of pleading when he says, “Darling, I’ll be back,” there is also an optimistic tone as the end of this phase of the relationship signifies a new potentially more promising beginning. Sonically, the track combines dense choral-sounding synth chords with shimmery guitars bathing in reverb, creating a soft weighted blanket wrapped around one’s shoulders for the sendoff of this EP.
Pendulum Hearts ends in a similar place to where it began. The EP begins in a rather hopeful and lovestruck place where a romantic relationship has the opportunity to flourish. Narratively, the project is succinct and cuts straight to the chase portraying the journey and numerous emotions that come with falling in love, and then demonstrates the eventual turn some relationships can take. Although the writing across the five-track EP is concise, the nuance and complexity that comes with romantic relationships is a bit watered down.
The reason that there are so many books, movies, and songs about love is because of how intense of a feeling it is. When writing about love, and alternatively, writing about heartbreak, there are so many intricate moments that occur along the way to bring someone to those marvelous highs in a relationship as well as those melancholic lows. And writing a project as condense as Pendulum Hearts naturally leaves the listener wanting more.
Although it is true that a lot can be said with very few words, sometimes an artist shouldn’t feel afraid to take up space when they have a story to tell. As solid as the tunes are on this EP, there is still plenty of room for Presence to flesh out more of this journey of love, whether it’s with grander and more prominent instrumentation, fleshed out lyrics describing the in between stages of romance, or a clearer representation of the cyclical motion that comes with falling in love.
Pendulum Hearts EP is a solid debut for Presence that shows plenty of potential as well as his capabilities of creating a consistent bundle of tunes but definitely leaves listeners craving for more. This project highlights Presence’s melodic rapping and hazy production, and only establishes his bright future in creating more lengthy music projects like this.
Pendulum Hearts EP by Presence is available to listen to now on all streaming services.
Make sure to check out the music video for “Young Forever” and follow Presence on Instagram to keep up with future releases and live shows!
