Reeju really isn’t one to rush the process. The New Delhi composer/songwriter (real name Gaurav Singh Aleria) has been steadily working alongside his day one, Hasil, towards releasing his debut EP ‘Bleeding,’ stopping along the way to work with the likes of DRV, Boyblanck, and Talwiinder in recent years.

Over the past three years, the sprawling world of Punjabi contemporary R&B/New-jack has become one of the most vibrant, influential music scenes going, with Reeju and Hasil comfortably taking on the role of ringleaders. While Hasil delights in jarring surprises, Reeju has showcased just how vivid the free-wheeling genre can be.

Through a rose-tinted lens, ‘Bleeding’ wrestles with heartbreak over hip-hop — it’s not all gut-wrenching emo though — more a coming-of-age record than a barbed attack on your blisters of separation. “O sajna, kyun tu mennu chhadeya?” Reeju muses on the opening track ‘Sajna,’ which depicts the suffering of shifting post-breakup emotions. Its pensive, ill-lit beginning leads into a dark, melancholic ambience that eventually circles back to its original question — “Kyun mere hisse likhi bas dooriyan?”

The blood-pot of endless yearning is central to ‘Guzaara,’ the folk-infused track speaks to the throbbing pain that permanent loss leaves behind. The fullness of Reeju’s musical vision vibrates in these gorgeously crafted moments but really peaks when it gets fuller and more unpredictable. In ‘Guzaara,’ and ‘Jawaab,’ nearly everything revolves around Sukh Sarpanch’s tender voice and potent lyrics, which skip and twirl through the ‘Bleeding’ story of love pursued and lost.

Meanwhile, the Boyblanck team-up track ‘Liar’ lends its shapeshifting vocals to a pulse-pounding drill beat — a slick collaboration that features an enchanting verse from the ever-ascending G16 flag-bearer. The self-inflicted ache of ‘U Don’t Care,’ cuts to the core when the two sing atop warmly pulsing waves. And even when bereavement is at the forefront — the abandoned dreams and incomplete pictures of ‘Yaad’ come to mind — there’s a feeling of hopelessness alongside it.

Reeju may not have shed all of his growing pains, but ‘Bleeding’ ultimately does everything a debut should, cutting through a complex tangle of emotions with a clear mix.

Listen to Reeju’s EP ‘Bleeding’ here: