When Joel Tan of Gentle Bones dropped his self-titled debut EP in 2014, praises were sung for the 22-year-old. Now, two years later and with a steadily growing fan base as well as two sold-out concerts at the Esplanade, Tan is back with a second record to top it all off.
But in Geniuses and Thieves, he’s no longer singing the same tune.
His sophomore effort, which soared to the top of the local iTunes chart an hour after it was released last Friday (June 3), departs from Gentle Bones' regular folk-pop material – instead, it settles for thumping beats and alternative R&B-influenced sounds. Besides Tan's own croons, the five-track EP also features the handiwork of violinist Josh Wei, producer Flightsch, and up-and-coming homegrown singer-songwriter Linying, who lends her soothing but crisp vocals to ‘Liar’.
Tan has also just released a music video for the track ‘Run Tell Daddy’, the first single off this EP. Check it out below.
‘Geniuses and Thieves’ is now available on iTunes and Spotify.
Gentle Bones is at Esplanade Concert Hall on Jun 10 & Jun 11.