To celebrate the release of ‘Words To Hide Behind’, Cincinnati-based songwriter Spencer Anthony has provided a track-by-track look at the EP.
‘Monsters’
“‘Monsters’ is a look into how we deal with anxiety in today’s world, especially the way teens deal with it. It’s such a prominent issue in our society, and I wanted to reflect on how I’ve dealt with it. During my first two years of high school I struggled heavily with social pressure, more specifically the expectations I had for myself. I had to deal with a lot of adversity, and midway through my sophomore year, I broke down and had this episode of panic and anxiety attacks. I had repressed a lot of emotions, and they boiled over but through that experience my world flipped on its axis. This song is a reflection, a cathartic moment for me, speaking on how it feels to be dealing with those emotions, and how things can spiral out of control when you feel like you don’t have a grip on your own mind. When we focus on a negative experience, or thought, it continually digs itself deeper under our skin until it starts affecting our happiness, and how we function as people. One of my favorite things the song has to offer is the acoustic ending, I loved that positive energy and the hopeful turn the song takes. That layer of the song really reminded me of that light at the end of the tunnel everyone talks about.”
“Writing this song was so fun for me, there’s a lot of sonic depth to it. There’s a lot of different layers that borrow from different genres, and that is one of my favorite things about it. I started with a piano riff and that bass line from the verse, then from there the lyrics and melodies came from me walking around my apartment in LA diddling on my acoustic guitar. Working with a producer as professional and collaborative as Mike Pepe really helped me take it from an acoustic to a full band setting. He took my vision and created an atmosphere for the song that we’re both incredibly happy with.”
‘Chase’
“I had this chord progression that I would play around with a lot. One day I was messing around with it and had this almost magical moment where the chorus melody just popped in my head, along with the lyrics. My favorite band is All Time Low, and they had this interesting lyric “Pretty face but the chase ain’t worth the price.” From the moment I heard that lyric when I was like, eleven, it got stuck in my head. A few years later that really started to resonate with me. I think that’s what inspired this song, so the “Are you really worth the chase?” lyric is definitely a nod to them.”
“When I initially took this song to Mike, we went down many different avenues, and blew it up with production. Guitars, drums, synths, everything. Eventually, I realized that the song was begging to be an acoustic sing along, instead of a rock and roll tune. I guess the silver lining with “Chase” is that sometimes the simplest choice is the best choice. It’s only three chords, and the structure of the song is really simple, but there was always something so special about the simplicity. It’s kind of like an angsty campfire sing along. I’m definitely keeping that.”
‘Happy Pill’
“‘Happy Pill’ was originally titled ‘My Girlfriend’s A Vampire’… I know, cheesy, right? One day I was going crazy on my piano and belting out all these chants, and I realized that the serenade to my pale heroine actually needed to be a message to kids struggling with self worth issues and bullying. All of these empowering lyrics starting flowing, and originally my plan was to write an acoustic based song, more in the vein of Mumford & Sons than Weezer. When I started working on it with Mike, we decided to make it into a synth-rock jam. It really added a new layer to the song, and the response to it has been so awesome! It would mean the world to me if this song reminded someone to feel good abouthemselves, and how awesome they are!”
‘Words To Hide Behind’ is available now via all digital streaming services’.