Bristler’s Rudy Meier had been kicking around “Crapshoot” for nearly a decade. “That in itself feels wild to say,” says the frontman for the slowcore-skewed indie outfit. “The song has always been one of my favorites, especially lyrically. But any previous attempts to record it didn’t hit me the way I felt the song should.”
So he rethought the arrangement, beginning with a finger-tapping approach on rhythm guitar—a technique that’s become something of a Meier trademark. Rather than complicate the song’s relatively straightforward chord progression, he relied on shifts in dynamics, swapping out instruments and manipulating rhythms to mimic a sense of movement.
The song’s origins date to a less-together mid-20s Meier on the road somewhere in the Midwest.
“I was likely intoxicated, depressed and ruminating over whether I’d made the right choice following a musician’s path as opposed to being a ‘normie,’” he says. “Anyone who’s been broke and sweating in the dead of summer in Wisconsin hoping at least 20 people will be at the next venue will know precisely what I mean. Life goes on when you’re gone, and you can’t expect a parade upon your return.
Based in Asbury Park, N.J., Bristler began as a way for Meier to revisit unfinished material from his previous band, Wetbrain. But it soon developed into a full-fledged group, with Biff Swenson on drums, Dana Yurcisin on bass and Robert Bost on guitar. “Crapshoot” teases Bristler’s sophomore LP, Inside, Outside, Upside, Downside (Mint 400), which was recorded, produced and mixed by Meier. While 2024’s Cascades At Play was defined by glitchy textures and intricate guitar work, the new album began with a self-imposed restriction: Every song had to stand on its own as a straightforward acoustic arrangement.
“I wanted the songs to be more vocal-centric and accessible up front,” says Meier. “I just wanted to try something new.”
We’re proud to premiere Bristler’s “Crapshoot.” Look for Inside, Outside, Upside, Downside on February 12.
—Hobart Rowland
