Photo of Spurts by Austin West, courtesy of the Planetary Group
Trying to make it as a musician is a rough gig often full of disappointment, dejection, and frustration. Most bands just take the music industry as it is, but the Oakland-based quartet Spurts use their new single “Easy For You” as an opportunity to air their grievances—tongue firmly planted in cheek, of course. Or, to paraphrase the immortal Frank Costanza, Spurts has got a lot of problems with you music industry types, and now you’re gonna hear about it!
Sonically, Spurts delivers “Easy For You” with a Pavement-esque lo-fi slacker shrug. Over a brittle beat from bassist Chris Schubert and drummer Jack Kovacich, singer Robert Sanlis delivers his lyrics with the melodic snark of Sloan’s Chris Murphy while his guitar twangs like it’s been spiced up with a dash of Son Volt. Over the top, Nathan Graves lays down loopy synth accents akin to the Rentals or Mates of State. The song “intentionally leans into my influences,” Sanlis explains, “and sounds like an Olivia Tremor Control song.”
Thematically and lyrically, though, the song drips of pettiness—in the best way possible. “This song showcases some of my unhealthy preoccupation with ‘success’–whatever that even means,” Sanlis explains. “I’ve been writing music my whole life, yet none of my songs have ever really found an audience or led to a real fanbase. Over the years, I’ve watched as many friends and acquaintances new to the music business gain followers and an audience on their first release. The capriciousness of the music industry has always kind of baffled me. Not to say that I deserve attention, I’ve just always been interested about why my music seems to feel cursed to never go anywhere.”
“One day while in a particularly bad funk, and ruminating on my lack of success, I watched an Adam Neely video on YouTube about how to be ‘successful’ in the music industry,” Sanlis continues. “The advice was more or less ‘Just keep going! Make sure you’re making music for yourself not anyone else.’ While I think that this is good advice, I felt resentful to hear it at the moment and it let me say. ‘Easy for you! You’re a famous musician! You haven’t put years of your life into somewhere only to have it never go anywhere! Your hard work paid off! Mine hasn’t.’” “I totally understand that this impulse is petty and wrong,” Sanlis adds. “However, I did double down on the feeling and use it to create a fun anthem of petty frustration,” he says with a laugh.
The Arts STL is proud to present the debut of this “anthem of petty frustration,” which you can stream right here:
Originally titled “Lofi Bedroom Song,” “Easy For You”—and its accompanying album, That Was Mean and I’m Sorry, due out May 3rd on Lavasocks Records—were recorded in Sanlis’ parents’ house in Oakland, Calif. “I convinced my retired parents to go on a vacation to wine country in the North Bay so I could use their big suburban living room to record the full band without noise complaints,” Sanlis says. “Their living room was great for recording; however, it did mean that we recorded nearly the whole album in a room completely decked out with religious placards and photos of me as a child—a less than rock n’ roll setting,” he laughs.
The album was mixed, engineered, and produced by Dustin Hayes, leader of the similarly DIY power pop band Walter Etc. (née Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra). “I am an embarrassingly big fan of all of Dustin’s music,” Sanlis says, “so having him work on my music was both amazing and a little daunting.” Sanlis sent Hayes 15 demos, which the pair traded back and forth to develop the arrangements and pare down the album’s final tracklist. Matthew Gragg of the Philly-based band the Vernes assisted in the production, adding “some additional effects” and mastering the album. “Matt Gragg is also a favorite songwriter of mine,” gushes Sanlis, “so the two of them working on this project was a bit of a dream team.”
If “Easy For You” is any indication, the end result sounds fuller and more like a band than Spurts’ debut LP, 2021’s more singer-songwriterly The Long Haul, more fleshed out without forsaking the band’s lo-fi roots. Sanlis calls the album “markedly more upbeat compared to previous Spurts releases.” “I think ‘Easy for You’ sets the tone,” he explains, “and serves as a sonic thesis statement: Upbeat, Fun, Sloppy.”
“This [song] is me acknowledging that my music might not be for everyone,” Sanlis concludes. “It might be too sloppy or shitty for a general public, but oh well! This is what I like and I’m gonna double down on it.” | Jason Green
Follow Spurts and listen to the rest of their discography on Bandcamp.
