Known for his work as a producer-writer with credits on songs by David Kushner, Mimi Webb, and Anson Seabra, Sarcastic Sounds is stepping into the spotlight and making a name for himself following the success of his 2022 EP, I’m A Disappointment. The Toronto native’s catchy melodies and quirky yet emotional lyrics perfectly capture what life is like as a 20-something in the 2020’s. You won’t want to miss Sarcastic Sounds’ debut album, Haunt You Forever.
Payton: Congratulations on the new album, Haunt You Forever. How long have you been working on this?
Sarcastic Sounds: I have been working on this album for quite a while. I probably wrote the first song like two years ago. Spent almost a year just recording everything, getting everything right and mixed and all that.
Payton: Do you have any favorite tracks on the album? Are there any lyrics that you’re particularly proud of?
Sarcastic Sounds: The title track, “Haunt You Forever” is probably my favorite. That’s why I called the album that. I was just really stoked about it. I mean, I love this song. I wrote it and I just loved how the production turned out and for all those reasons, I was just really high on it. There’s a lyric “I hope your friends ask about me. They don’t know you without me.” I thought it was a very petty line, which I like.
Payton: What musical influences do you think inspired this album?
Sarcastic Sounds: It’s sort of like Bon Iver with indie songwriting and Kanye-esque kind of drums. It’s very folky, with sort of emo lyrics and melodies and just super banging drums.
Payton: So you started your career as a producer, writer and have several notable collaborations. What was it like to write a full length debut album for yourself?
Sarcastic Sounds: This particular album was a great process, because there’s other producers that I worked with on it. I find, maybe ironically, that a lot of the time when I’m working on other people’s stuff all I’m doing is assisting the artists, so I don’t get in my head about it as much when I produce it for other people. But when I’m working on my own stuff, in the past, it’s been just me, so I’ll get so hung up on really small, insignificant parts of songs or think everything sucks or whatever. And so for this album, I was able to work with other producers who provided that clarity to me, which I’ve never had before. In a way, this was a lot easier than it’s been before. It felt more like how I feel producing for other people, where I didn’t have to be in my head so much about it. And I think that’s why I was even able to do 10 songs, because in the past, it’s taken me a year to make two songs. I was able to bring in other people that have more strengths. I could just be focused on what I’m good at and have other people help me with what I’m not good at.
Payton: Do you think working with artists so closely on the writing and production side before influenced this album?
Sarcastic Sounds: I’m sure there’s similarities in the writing, but I really do think that those two parts of my careers are very, very separate. I feel like my writing style for other people is often very different from how I write for myself. When I was writing these songs, I was really in a zone of “these are for me,” and I write a certain way when I do that. For example, when I write for myself, I use way bigger words and more complex rhyming which, sometimes it’s too much for sure. And that’s where it kind of comes in where other people can kind of reel me in a little bit. But I find that I have pretty distinct writing styles between the two.
Payton: Let’s talk about the title track, “Haunt You Forever.” How did you come up with that concept and what was it like to actually produce it?
Sarcastic Sounds: I was like, “let me see what is the pettiest song I can write.” I put [an acoustic snippet] on TikTok and people seemed to like it. I had a session the next day with a songwriter, so I brought in that idea, and we just finished it together. It’s not really about anything in particular. It’s more of an amalgamation of all the breakups that I have been through and pulling from all of that to write a song that encapsulates a lot of those different emotions. That’s one that I wrote a year and a half ago, and then we only finished it a few months ago, so it was a long process, but I am really happy with how it turned out.
Payton: Walk me through the creation of “Stumbling.” Why did you choose that for the lead single and opening track?
Sarcastic Sounds: That’s one that I wrote with other people and I think I just wanted to do an uptempo kind of song. A lot of my music is not that and the album is not whereas stumbling is light hearted. It just doesn’t take itself so seriously, which I thought was cool. It’s just fucking groovy.
Payton: “Someday Soon” is one of my favorites. What inspired the lyrics and what was the process like?
Sarcastic Sounds: That one has a very similar vibe to “Stumbling.” It’s just like a reminder to myself to not take everything so seriously and to not get so stuck in my own head sometimes. So that’s just what I was writing about, and it came from a very similar place.
Payton: “Jaycee” and “Better Half” seem very personal, as I imagine a lot of other songs on this album are. What is it like to have that music go out into the world with your name attached?
Sarcastic Sounds: It’s a little scary for sure. I mean, “Jaycee” is about a real girl. Obviously parts of it are fictionalized, but that’s always a little a little scary. But I gotta speak my truth. “Better Half” was partly inspired by my current relationship with my current girlfriend. So obviously, that was a conversation before it came out. But she loves it. I love it. It’s scary, but it’s part of the job.
Payton: So you wrote a song for your friends, called “I Love My Friends.” Have you shown this song to the people it is about?
Sarcastic Sounds: It’s about my friend group from home. I live in LA, but I’m home in Toronto right now and it’s about my friends that I grew up with here. I think one of them has heard it, but I’m seeing them on Friday and we’re having a little album release party. We’re gonna listen to the album altogether, so they’ll hear that song for the first time. It’ll be fun to do that in person. It’s always awkward listening to your own music. This feels like a special moment, so I’m hoping it’ll feel like that song.
Payton: What emotions come up when you’re thinking about your upcoming release day, especially since you haven’t released a full debut album before?
Sarcastic Sounds: I’m obviously really nervous. I’m nervous whenever I put out music, even if it’s a single. This has been a long time coming, so I hope that people like it. I’m proud of it. Regardless of what it does, it’s just really gratifying to have a fully formed piece of art in the world. That’ll be there forever and I’m proud of that.
Listen to Haunt You Forever here!
