Change is inevitable. Nothing truly remains static or stays the same. The world shifts. Economies evolve and devolve, as industries adjust according to the interest of markets, company shareholders, responding and reacting to geopolitical shifts and social trends. There will always be breakthroughs, busts, disruptions, diversions, divisions and all the things that impact the upturns and downturns of everything that affects the general populous at large. The art realm and its creators also adjust their approaches, mediums, focuses and more as all the aforementioned world stage theater shifts in the background and foreground of their respective productions. Observing and chronicling these divergent motions showcases our universe in its constant state of flux, where nothing stops and starts at the convenience of anyone, but according to the logic and physics that seemingly defy the equations and algorithms prescribed by both artificial intelligence and the brainiac predictions by analysts and other assorted smarty pants figures.

An artist that understands this degree of creative growth and geographical shifts is Tucker Rountree of legendary DIY pop institution Total Slacker. Moving back home to help out family, Tucker traded Brooklyn to work alongside his dad in Utah (his father a musician in the 70s/80s group The Western Reflections) where through the process of painting homes and soaking in the surrounding small towns inspired a new course of songwriting full of new heartfelt/heartland perspectives. Announcing the new Total Slacker album ExtraLife; Rountree presents a new sound and style singing ballads about humble places and people that stand at threshold between antiquity and uncertainty. Tucker takes us to the main streets of everytown USA, extoling its rustic charm in the emotively tinged chords while observing the droughts and economic recessions and depressions that have left them in the dust.

Presenting the debut of the Total Slacker single “Dried Up Well”, accompanied by visuals from TJ Fitzgerald — Tucker gives us a sincere ballad direct from the rustbelt of America. Employing rhythmic interplay between concerned chords that send prayers upward to the heavens and keyboard progressions of hope for better things; Rountree takes his talents from his previous Brooklyn bombast to shine a light on a world in need. A world in trouble. A world left behind. A testament to the resolve of hardworking small townships turned ghost towns where the only certainty is working every single day for the rest of your life. Autobiographical aspects come into play, reflecting on anonymity and the struggles for gainful blue collar employment, juxtaposing the allure of city lights and the dust bowls of quaint communities that quietly stand like relics from a bygone golden era.

The video from TJ Fitzgerald furthers the throwback 80s Springsteen-esque aesthetic that features Tucker wandering the barren roads and seemingly infinite expanses of desert. Clad in an all denim Canadian tuxedo and strumming in earnest on his guitar, we watch the Total Slacker transformation occur in real time on the paths of nowhere, seeking the comfort and solace of possibly better times ahead and taking refuge in the warmth of a bonfire to shield himself from the cold of a long night. The message is that the roads ahead toward prosperity are long, lonely and ever unfurling where a certain peace is found in the glowing aura of the embers in a campfire surrounded by the desolation boulevards of the world.

Tucker Rountree provided some reflections on the new album ExtraLife and the single and visual for “Dried Up Well”:

Seemed like moving back West to Utah after living in NYC for 7 + years was a catalyst for my songwriting. Somehow that coalesced with the past couple years world events and trauma we've all been going through. I think the album leaves you with a feeling of hope though, and regeneration for the future. The music video for ”Dried Up Well” is really touching on contrasts in a broad sense and empathizing with peoples that have had to move over and over again to find work... I've seen immigrants suffer in our country that have endured so much adversity. I've also seen families out of work and towns and cities in America shrivel up economically and it feels like a dried up well for many, while the select few continue a life of luxury in this country.

The music video for dried up well, is really touching on contrasts. I've seen immigrants suffer in our country that have endured so much adversity. I've also seen families out of work, and towns and cities in America shrivel up economically, and it feels like a dried up well for many, while the select few continue a life of luxury in this country.

Total Slacker’s new album ExtraLife will be available May 27 via Phase Shift Records.