8/10

In a musical landscape increasingly obsessed with maximalism and polish, Mahto & The Loose Balloons return with a soft-spoken counterpunch. Their new EP 'Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue' strips everything back to its roots; four songs recorded on a phone, built on instinct, late-night reflection, and a refusal to overthink.

This isn’t lo-fi for aesthetic’s sake. It’s lo-fi because that’s what life allowed; snatched hours after work, melodies hummed into the quiet, and arrangements that feel more like field recordings than studio constructs. And that intimacy is exactly the point. From the first note of 'Parking Lots', you’re in the room with Mahto, hearing the creak of the floor, the breath before a lyric, and the subtle imperfection of something real.

Inspired by the old wedding rhyme, the EP is more conceptually cohesive than it initially lets on. “Old” comes through in the songwriting’s timeless structure of folk tunes that could have been pulled from any decade but clearly belong to this one. The “New” is Mahto’s way of letting the songs be born as they are, without sanding off the edges. “Borrowed” takes shape in 'Crisscross', a tune originally penned by friend and collaborator Niko Graham but reworked through Mahto’s lens. While “Blue,” fittingly, is both mood and melody of the collection.

It’s hard to pinpoint a genre for this. There are hints of folk, Americana, even outsider art-rock in the delivery, but ultimately Mahto is letting the songs find their own way. As a result, the EP feels more like a handwritten letter. Unfiltered, unfinished in the best way, and deeply personal.

This EP delivers four heartfelt sketches from an artist content with letting the imperfections breathe. In a world of constant noise, 'Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue' is a quiet triumph, proof that sincerity still hits hardest when whispered.