princefarming, the solo project of singer, guitarist, and songwriter Michael Wynn (Vicky von Vicky, Melted Wings), shares Bleeding Star, a three-track EP that reaches more than 15 years into the past to revisit a formative chapter of his songwriting. Bringing together newly remixed and remastered versions of two early favourites alongside a previously unreleased title track written during the same period, the EP gives Wynn an opportunity to reconsider songs he once overlooked and finally put them into the world on his own terms.

“For a long time, I didn’t think anything of these songs,” Wynn admits. “It was only recently that I started listening again. I don’t think they are my best work, but I do think they have promise, and I thought they should be ‘out there.’”

Arriving alongside the EP is lead single “You Win The Trophy,” a driving, off-kilter alternative track that turns its attention toward the mythology of Hollywood success. Written from the perspective of someone watching another person pursue dreams of becoming an actor or musician in Los Angeles, the song gradually reveals a darker undercurrent, as ambition gives way to the possibility of excess, addiction, disappointment, and eventual burnout.

Rather than being built around one overarching narrative, Bleeding Star offers a snapshot of the recurring ideas that have long fascinated Wynn as a songwriter. “Signals” takes the form of a breakup song, the previously unreleased “Bleeding Star” looks outward toward existential questions and humanity’s place in the universe, while “You Win The Trophy” represents his tendency to find songs in quirky, unexpected subjects.

Originally recorded at home using GarageBand, the songs retain the exploratory DIY spirit of their beginnings. Wynn revisited the recordings with additional vocal and guitar parts before enlisting Nixon Boyd to remix the material, allowing the songs to retain the character of their original performances while giving them renewed depth and clarity.

That process reflects Wynn’s broader approach to songwriting. Rather than forcing himself into a routine, ideas tend to simply “show up,” often beginning as fragments captured in voice memos. His subject matter can be similarly spontaneous, drawn toward odd occurrences, everyday observations, or stream-of-consciousness ideas that might otherwise go unnoticed.

On “You Win The Trophy,” that instinct becomes a cautionary story about the pursuit of success. While the song initially follows someone dreaming of making it in Los Angeles, its perspective comes from someone watching that dream begin to unravel. The narrator never entirely condemns the ambition at its centre; instead, Wynn leaves room for the idea that seemingly impossible dreams are still worth having, provided they do not consume the person pursuing them.

Musically, Wynn underscores that tension through driving single-note guitar lines and dissonant rhythm chords, drawing inspiration from the taut, angular guitar language of bands like Interpol. The alternative and indie framework gives the track forward momentum even as its lyrics complicate the ostensibly uplifting promise contained in its title.