
“I was the antagonist in my own story,” indie artist John Van Deusen said in an interview preceding the release of his newest album. Anthem Sprinter works as a prequel to the four-part I Am Origami series, which Van Deusen brought to a conclusion in 2022. Many of these songs were started in his teen years and recorded during the same sessions as I Am Origami, Pt. 3 in 2019. This is a glimpse into the man Van Deusen was in the past, so keeping that firmly in mind, listeners can relax as they hear the angst of an unsettled soul. This is merely the setup, featuring songs largely written in chaotic, angry, and painful seasons of life. Across the track listing, John acts as our tour guide as he searches for temporal highs, relational carnage left in his wake. That’s why, for a period of time, he had asked his label (Tooth & Nail Records) to shelve this album. He had moved so far past these songs that he wrestled with the pain of revisiting them regularly...
