"well it's a crazy goddamn hell of a mess we made / it's a shot rock, stopped clock, hell of a bleak parade..."
The politico porch indie rock gut punches and hopeful whimsy of "Phantasmagoria", by Colorado songwriter / multi-instrumentalist and community builder Anthony Ruptak, wraps around your shoulders and pulls you into a stark slow dance and brash reality of life that corrupt puppet masters are all around us, seemingly camouflaged so well that they might as well be ghosts. Masterfully arranged and produced, the collision of folk, indie rock, blues rock puts you through it's emotional paces. Ruptak's poetry, sometimes acerbic but an always passionate combination of stirring wordplay and emotional bloodletting about the state of the world feels sometimes like a eulogy or soundtrack for our social and political head banging (against impenetrable walls) and, in my mind, he walks razor thin wires not rallying against any one side but against us, all of us for reaping what we are now sowing. After all, Mark Twain once said, "History doesn't repeat itself but it does rhyme".
The connective tissue leading the wonderful orchestrations of sound is Ruptak's vocal countenance that feels desperate at times, heartbroken, mind blown, drenched in existential dread and melancholia. When the song sits nearly still and Ruptak words cry, the song explodes into an amazing musical breakdown of lead guitar and waves of orchestrations with Ruptak mirroring some of the melodies with non-lexical singing as more lead guitar punches even harder and, in the end, this entire outro does feel hopeful. It actually gave me goose bumps.
"Phantasmagoria" as potent social commentary, hopeful declarations maybe like an amalgam of Twin Peaks, Dr. Dog, Grandaddy (or thereabouts) with Anthony Ruptak's unique voice, from his "most sweeping and emotionally charged album to date" named Tourist.
“As we try to navigate our roles and responsibilities during a time of rapid, volatile change,” Ruptak says, “we become beaten down and desensitized to the massive scale of suffering taking place on this shared, warming planet. People are lonely, fatigued, and scared. Phantasmagoria is an anthem for the apocalypse — a reflection of what it feels like to watch the world burn from our phones while the ultra-wealthy amass infinite capital and the rest of us are left grappling with helplessness and doom-scrolling fatigue.”
LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
[Phantasmagoria is a broad collection of ruminations on the overall state of the world in the year 2025. As we try to navigate our roles and responsibilities during a time of rapid, volatile change, we become beaten down and desensitized to the massive scale of suffering taking place on this shared, warming planet. People are lonely, fatigued and scared. We grapple each day with chronic doom-scrolling and feelings of inadequacy and helplessness, watching the world burn from our phones, while the ultra-wealthy amass seemingly infinite capital, while the poor become poorer and the powers-that-be continue to decimate the planet. It’s an anthem for the apocalypse.]
LYRICS
it's been both a short time
and a very, very long time too
i got a feelin'
i'll walk til my heart stops
making space for the next man's shoes
it's gonna have to do
well it's a crazy goddamn hell of a mess we made
it's a shot rock, stopped clock, hell of a bleak parade
it's a long line, wrong mind, liminal dime arcade
it's a crazy goddamn hell of a mess we made
it's hardly enough time
to get a sense of what makes you
you're likely to miss it
getting snagged in your lifelines
using up near the whole damn spool
you're such a beautiful misfit
well it's a crazy goddamn hell of a mess we made
it's a cheap-shot, tik-tok, weapon of mass decay
it's a blue pill, phone bill, throwing it all away
it's a crazy goddamn hell of a mess we made
don't you think that i look cool
swimmin' round in the gene pool, babe?
ain't i got something to say
i'm hanging on to the old school
but won't you show me all your cool new ways
that we can pass the days
phantasmagorical haze
phantasmagorical haze
well it's a crazy goddamn hell of a mess we made
it's a white collar crime, lithium mine, last of the last crusades
it a blue line, good time, less lethal hand grenade
it's a crazy goddamn hell of a mess we made
it's a crazy goddamn hell of a mess we made
it's a crazy goddamn hell of a mess we made
it's a crazy goddamn hell of a mess we made
it's a crazy goddamn hell of a mess we made
-Robb Donker Curtius
The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.instagram.com/anthonyruptak/
https://anthonyruptak.bandcamp.com/album/tourist
Colorado songwriter and community builder Anthony Ruptak returns this fall with Tourist, his most sweeping and emotionally charged album to date, out November 7, 2025.
Spanning ten tracks that move between introspection and catharsis, Tourist captures the sound of an artist confronting a fractured world with both clarity and compassion. It’s a record written from the front lines of daily life — part personal excavation, part social mirror — and it feels both timely and timeless.
Among the collection’s most striking moments is “Phantasmagoria,” a swirling, apocalyptic anthem that reflects on the shared anxiety of our current era. Ruptak describes the song as “a broad collection of ruminations on the overall state of the world in the year 2025.” It’s a fever dream of disillusionment, where the personal and the political collide — a meditation on isolation, exhaustion, and the constant hum of collective dread.
“As we try to navigate our roles and responsibilities during a time of rapid, volatile change,” Ruptak says, “we become beaten down and desensitized to the massive scale of suffering taking place on this shared, warming planet. People are lonely, fatigued, and scared. Phantasmagoria is an anthem for the apocalypse — a reflection of what it feels like to watch the world burn from our phones while the ultra-wealthy amass infinite capital and the rest of us are left grappling with helplessness and doom-scrolling fatigue.”
Built around shifting rhythms, lush vocal layers, and cinematic arrangements, Tourist explores the tension between chaos and calm, collapse and care. The album traces the emotional topography of modern life, moving from existential unrest to fleeting transcendence — finding beauty even in the wreckage.
Much of Tourist was written during the quiet hours between Ruptak’s shifts as a paramedic, when the thin veil between life and loss feels most visible. The result is a body of work that bears witness to human fragility with honesty and grace. Songs like “Trauma Naked,” “Ptarmigan,” and “Lenny’s Rest” transform lived experience into something universal — an invitation to feel deeply at a time when it’s easier not to.
Hailing from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Anthony Ruptak has been a cornerstone of the Denver music scene for over sixteen years. He’s shared stages with Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, Kiltro, Mimicking Birds, Anna Tivel, Los Mocochetes, Covenhoven, Bellhoss, Sun Stoney, Joe Sampson, and Julie Davis, and has performed at Red Rocks, the Westword Music Showcase, FoCoMX, the Midwest Music Fest, and Honky Tonk Hodge Podge, among others. In 2025, Ruptak returns to the Underground Music Showcase as a Legacy Artist, celebrating more than a decade of contribution to Colorado’s thriving creative scene.
For seven years, he co-hosted the award-winning Syntax Songwriter Open Mic alongside Rachel Pollard, fostering connection and mentorship in Denver’s songwriting community, where monthly guests included artists such as Nathaniel Rateliff.
Beyond music, Ruptak is a longtime community activist, working with Denver’s refugee, immigrant, and homeless populations, often organizing music-based fundraisers and awareness events to support humanitarian aid. When he’s not performing, he divides his time between emergency medical work and backcountry hiking, gathering inspiration from the natural world — sentiments and bird calls alike — for his next song.
With Tourist, Ruptak distills all of these lived experiences into a single, resonant statement. His sound — often likened to Elliott Smith, Death Cab for Cutie, and Broken Social Scene — continues to evolve while remaining grounded in emotional honesty and lyrical vulnerability. At its heart, Tourist is an album about witnessing: the world, one another, and ourselves, in all our flawed, fleeting humanity.
Tourist will be available November 7, 2025, on all streaming platforms and limited edition vinyl.
Colorado songwriter and community builder Anthony Ruptak returns this fall with Tourist, his most sweeping and emotionally charged album to date, out November 7, 2025.
Spanning ten tracks that move between introspection and catharsis, Tourist captures the sound of an artist confronting a fractured world with both clarity and compassion. It’s a record written from the front lines of daily life — part personal excavation, part social mirror — and it feels both timely and timeless.
Among the collection’s most striking moments is “Phantasmagoria,” a swirling, apocalyptic anthem that reflects on the shared anxiety of our current era. Ruptak describes the song as “a broad collection of ruminations on the overall state of the world in the year 2025.” It’s a fever dream of disillusionment, where the personal and the political collide — a meditation on isolation, exhaustion, and the constant hum of collective dread.
“As we try to navigate our roles and responsibilities during a time of rapid, volatile change,” Ruptak says, “we become beaten down and desensitized to the massive scale of suffering taking place on this shared, warming planet. People are lonely, fatigued, and scared. Phantasmagoria is an anthem for the apocalypse — a reflection of what it feels like to watch the world burn from our phones while the ultra-wealthy amass infinite capital and the rest of us are left grappling with helplessness and doom-scrolling fatigue.”
Built around shifting rhythms, lush vocal layers, and cinematic arrangements, Tourist explores the tension between chaos and calm, collapse and care. The album traces the emotional topography of modern life, moving from existential unrest to fleeting transcendence — finding beauty even in the wreckage.
Much of Tourist was written during the quiet hours between Ruptak’s shifts as a paramedic, when the thin veil between life and loss feels most visible. The result is a body of work that bears witness to human fragility with honesty and grace. Songs like “Trauma Naked,” “Ptarmigan,” and “Lenny’s Rest” transform lived experience into something universal — an invitation to feel deeply at a time when it’s easier not to.
Hailing from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Anthony Ruptak has been a cornerstone of the Denver music scene for over sixteen years. He’s shared stages with Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, Kiltro, Mimicking Birds, Anna Tivel, Los Mocochetes, Covenhoven, Bellhoss, Sun Stoney, Joe Sampson, and Julie Davis, and has performed at Red Rocks, the Westword Music Showcase, FoCoMX, the Midwest Music Fest, and Honky Tonk Hodge Podge, among others. In 2025, Ruptak returns to the Underground Music Showcase as a Legacy Artist, celebrating more than a decade of contribution to Colorado’s thriving creative scene.
For seven years, he co-hosted the award-winning Syntax Songwriter Open Mic alongside Rachel Pollard, fostering connection and mentorship in Denver’s songwriting community, where monthly guests included artists such as Nathaniel Rateliff.
Beyond music, Ruptak is a longtime community activist, working with Denver’s refugee, immigrant, and homeless populations, often organizing music-based fundraisers and awareness events to support humanitarian aid. When he’s not performing, he divides his time between emergency medical work and backcountry hiking, gathering inspiration from the natural world — sentiments and bird calls alike — for his next song.
With Tourist, Ruptak distills all of these lived experiences into a single, resonant statement. His sound — often likened to Elliott Smith, Death Cab for Cutie, and Broken Social Scene — continues to evolve while remaining grounded in emotional honesty and lyrical vulnerability. At its heart, Tourist is an album about witnessing: the world, one another, and ourselves, in all our flawed, fleeting humanity.
Tourist will be available November 7, 2025, on all streaming platforms and limited edition vinyl.
Anthony Ruptak, singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, folk, indie rock, folk rock, "Phantasmagoria", New 10 track album "Tourist", "Phantasmagoria" (Official Video), an anthem for the apocalypse, poetic, impactful,
No comments:
Post a Comment