Theo Bleak is the alias of Dundee-based artist Katie Lynch, who bears a penchant for layered, ruminative songwriting that has helped her establish a place as one of Scotland’s most highly regarded young musicians. Lynch’s latest offering, the Bad Luck Is Two Yellow Flowers EP, is a typically thoughtful and intricate ode to a complicated friendship.

The collection leads with ‘Peach Sky’, a haunting reflection on the time Lynch spent living on the Isle Of Skye. Gracefully rising from a stripped-back whisper to a wailing crescendo, the opener helps to create an impressively unnerving atmosphere that lingers for the duration of this project. ‘Man, I could’ve been someone,’ cries Lynch on ‘Said Like A Poet’, a track littered with harsh, self-effacing lyricism. The brutal self-reflection continues on ‘Katie You’re A Liar’, as Lynch lambasts herself from the perspective of those who don’t like her, before the lavishly produced ‘Look Out The Window’ breathes a rare sense of optimism into proceedings. Any feeling of hope is swiftly quashed by the crushing finale, ‘You Don’t Want Me’, which, at 90 seconds in length, leaves the listener wishing it were more fleshed out.

Bad Luck Is Two Yellow Flowers is not exactly jam-packed with unforgettable moments, though the listener is never too far from the next piece of inspired lyricism. Given the marked progress Lynch has made in the three short years since her debut, it feels as though the big time may not be too far around the corner for Theo Bleak.

Bad Luck Is Two Yellow Flowers is released by Polymoon on Friday 16 May; main picture: Marilena Vlachopoulou.