The moment No Easy Way Out by Oregon’s Supplemental Pills started, I was hooked. The organs in “Judgment Time” felt apocalyptic. Was divine intervention imminent or was the impending chaos of hell on the horizon?
On the sound for No Easy Way Out, Ezra Meredith (vocals, guitar) says,
We do a lot of things: heavy blues, psychedelic, and atmospheric rock. It’s not as psychedelic/jammy as our first record. It’s more dark and brooding. It has some jams in it, but it’s far more focused.
Assisting Ezra on sound is Joel Meredith on guitar, Andy Foster on bass, RonJon Datta on keyboards, and Mark Folkrod on drums and backing vocals and the five piece observe and investigate life and death but also finds possible closure on the mysterious tragedy that took the life of founding member Aron Christensen in 2022.
Regarding the inspirational elements behind No Easy Way Out, Ezra says,
Aron knew about the struggles of life, and how hard it is to get out of bed every morning and deal with the day-to-day. He could understand the darkness, look at it in the eye, realize what it was, and attempt to deal with it. We’d often talk about struggles we were going through, and how it’s super-hard to get through life at times. He could understand that better than most people I’ve ever met.
The hauntingly beautiful title track, “No Easy Way Out” resonates with the finite nature of life, urging one to cherish it and even revere it. It conjured shades of Kula Shaker and deepened my appreciation for Supplemental Pills.
After the passing of Aron, the lyrics for the song took on a different meaning and Ezra adds,
They aren’t necessarily about Aron, but I did change some lyrics, including the lyrics at the end of ‘No Easy Way Out’ that specifically deal with Aron. Everything else was done before he died. We were mixing it, and near the end of the mixing process was when he passed. If you just listen to the lyrics, they point to the tragic problems of life and questions of what is life worth? What does it mean? Why are we here? And, how do we deal with tragedy, because that’s what it was all born out of.
Stand out track, “Babylon” not only has frank and sincere lyrics, but the music is visceral, raw with energy and fervent with passion.
Ezra says he is not a lyrical person and says this about “Babylon”,
I’m not much of a lyric person, but on this record the lyrics are very serious, because I was dealing with a lot. It’s not really personal, but there is a line in the song ‘Babylon,’ I think it’s the chorus, ‘God’s alive looking for soldiers, Satan’s on the come around all day long looking for answers, while Babylon keeps rolling down.’ I don’t know how I came up with that line, but it captures what people have been observing across America the past several years. Nothing seems to be working out, everything seems to be falling apart. There is certainly joy to be found, but if you’re like me, or a band like us, you get caught in the dark places of life and it’s easier to reflect on that, at least for me.
Whether exploring surrender in “Rest My Soul”, the duality of good and evil in “Babylon”, or the pain of loss in “Goodbye Reno”, Supplemental Pills handles the topics with a caring and refined finesse, enabling one to connect their own pain with the band’s pain.
The connection between the two is what makes No Easy Way Out a sonically healing journey. The echoes of life and death, love and hate, creation and destruction resonate through the album, not just through lyrics but through music that confronts grief and pain, allowing one to start the healing process.
No Way Out is an atmospheric and psychedelic work of art, and it carries the weight of deep respect for both the lives lived and those lost. Offering solace for those that listen, No Easy Way Out also stands as legacy for those that were lost too soon.
MUST LISTEN TRACKS: “Judgement Time”, “No Easy Way Out”, “Babylon”, “Truth”
FAVOURITE TRACKS: “Judgement Time”, “No Easy Way Out”
