Boston-based indie-folk singer-songwriter Spencer LaJoye has just released a heartfelt and lyrically deep new album, “Shadow Puppets,” a collection of songs that are rich in storytelling and unpacking the past. LaJoye sat down with @skopemag to talk about these earnest and insightful songs.
@skopemag: Tell us about “Shadow Puppets.”
Spencer LaJoye: Most of the songs on this record are excavations into my past. I’d reached out to Chris DuPont, my producer, about the possibility of working together, and we were both psyched about it, so I buried myself in songwriting until I had a collection of 12 really dear songs.
@skopemag: Do you have a favorite song on the album?
Spencer: It fluctuates! I love “Serial,” because it’s the most soul-baring, and I’m not sure everyone will “get it.” I guess I have a soft spot for misunderstood kiddos. I wasn’t sure whether to include “Serial” on the album, but the family of songs just didn’t feel complete without this little brooding oddball.
@skopemag: What is your songwriting process?
Spencer: I don’t know how to write a song like I don’t know how to breathe. If I think too hard about it, the process becomes laborious. If I can get out of my own way, it’s easy. I do have and need methods and tools to help – like object writing, candle lighting, morning pages, open D tuning, and rhymezone.com – but it’s nebulous where a breath starts or ends.
@skopemag: What is one word to describe how you feel about releasing this album?
Spencer: Great question! I feel “protective.” I also feel proud, confident, and grateful. These songs lived very intimately with me, and then with Chris, for a long time. We have no control over the impression they make on other people. And it’s the strangest thing – I’m not worried about my own feelings being hurt. I feel protective of the songs’ feelings.
@skopemag: How would you describe your music to people who haven’t heard it before?
Spencer: It’s dynamic, with the melodic sensibilities of musical theater and the lyrical earnestness of a closeted, gay, middle child.
