When we last heard from Compltr's Jeff Wright, the San Francisco-based artist had just released the Purfication Ritual cassette on Wax Idols' label Etruscan Gold and we are delighted today to announce the anticipated upcoming Rogue EP arriving April 19. From previous works in The American Scene, Unconditional Arms and so forth; Wright delivers the latest slice of Compltr power pop perfection with the world premiere of the delinquent public transit riding ode, "Fare Jumper". This is an anthem for the down and out, the disaffected working masses, the bored and ignored living unemployment insurance cheque to cheque, the hungry and ambitious ones, the MUNI hoppers with expired transfers (or none at all), the bus and tram dodgers who bolt for the back doors, the BART turnstile skippers and for the downtrodden that are trying to better themselves by breaking the conventional rules of people mover payment.

Compltr’s “Fare Jumper” is a reflective and emotively laden rocker that turns pensive thought trails into glimmering electrified pop. Wright’s meditations on a bastion of inequities that are illustrated in earnest as expressions surrounding life’s shortcuts and short-term fixes and self-medicating rituals are told like a power chord studded storybook. The rhythm guitars and delivery sway and move like the ebb and flow of oceanic tides that start to swell with the sorts of sung shouts that break the deafening silence and stillness of night. “Fare Jumper” is a form of DIY penance that collects the transgressions of the past like a therapeutic primal scream into the void of our shared earth in pursuit off self- care, self-betterment and a more beautiful and brighter day.

Compltr’s Jeff Wright penned the insights on the single “Fare Jumper” along with the thoughts on the Rogue EP:

“Fare Jumper”

“Fare Jumper” was a strange one to get through namely because it came together pretty naturally. I regularly try to challenge my songwriting after I think it’s reached a finished state. With “Fare Jumper”, I didn’t really do that. Recording it was kind of a manic array of open tunings and capos accompanied by my first shot at trying to transpose what the whole record ultimately became about, lyrically. In that light, it was really an ah ha! moment when I finally made a piece that I could immediately believe in, since I have been striking out for a few years now on that score.

Rogue

Rogue, as a whole, carries a theme around sobriety. I discovered and acted that theme while I was trying reignite my creative self. “Fare Jumper” was the first product of the changes I made in my life. The content of the song is meant to paint the picture of how I spent years continually doing the wrong thing until it became routine, validated (only by me, a psychopath), and eventually, it destroyed my sense of self. When I hear “Fare Jumper”, I think of my actions associated with that content of the track and all I can think is: Fuck that.

Compltr’s Rogue EP will be available April 19.