By his own admission, Will Sprott has been doing “some strange things for money” these days.

After spending five years in Oakland, the San Jose-born singer, songwriter and former leader of The Mumlers is now living in Seattle. He moved there about a year ago, without any idea of where he would live or work.

He’s been able to pick up odd jobs—as a tour manager for Seattle band La Luz and for a bike delivery service. One of the oddest occupations of late came in the form of a contract position for a Boeing subcontractor. Off and on for about six months, the 33-year-old Sprott, would show up at 4 a.m. in the morning, sit in a chair and tally the number of people who jaywalked across a given street, drawing an accompanying diagram of the route they took. He says his employer used the information he gathered to figure out where to place crosswalks.

As Sprott discusses his various and sundry gigs, he chuckles and through his languid drawl it’s clear that he isn’t worried about finding ways to make rent. He seems confident that everything will work out, and in many ways things already have. As an artist, the struggle to stay afloat has proven inspirational, he says.

“I think a lot of the songs are about that very thing—about not making everything super easy for yourself,” he says, referring to his brand new album, Vortex Numbers, which came out this week. “I like making things difficult for myself. For now, at least, I’m glad to be taking in a wider world.”

It shows. The songwriter’s travels away from his hometown of San Jose have resulted in some of the best music he’s ever written. On the 10-track Vortex Numbers—which finds Sprott meditating on the end of a relationship, the soul-crushing and soulless nature of the rat race, and the challenges of being a strange person in a strange land—Sprott boils down all the best of what he did on previous Mumlers releases, producing a compact album that nonetheless plumbs the depths of the human experience with his clever and vivid lyrical constructions.

“You might not see my face anymore,” he sings to an unnamed former lover on “Under My Eyes.” “I might not hold you in my arms like I did before. Please don’t think I’m leaving you behind. I’ll carry everything in the bags under my eyes.” The song moves forward over a dusty, shuffling beat, a warm guitar line and shaky harmonies, which recall the loose and rambling chemistry of Jagger and Richards.

He creates a spooky atmosphere on “Psychic Lady,” a song with a propulsive beat, which recalls “Coffin Factory” from the 2009 Mumlers release, Don’t Throw Me Away. The song describes the various roles people play in society, from scientists to wrestlers to the titular psychic lady.

“Everybody’s got a job,” he sings. “I’m going to do my job. When you are through, you will be paid, don’t forget you will be paid. You will be given what you have earned. You will take home what you deserve.”

It’s the kind of observation that would be banal in almost any other context, but in the hands of Sprott it turns into something infinitely more profound.

If Vortex Numbers feels at all like previous Mumlers records it’s due mostly to Sprott’s unique lyrical style and preference in chord progressions. The arrangements themselves are far more stark than anything he’s done in the past.

“I think this album is a little bit more stripped down,” Sprott notes, a fact that may have more to do with the fact that he’s going it alone this time, than any deliberate decision. The Mumlers was a six-piece band that took “a really maximalist approach” to recording, he observes. For the new record, he says that he didn’t consciously try to pair anything back.

“I was just making songs,” he says with a shrug.

And he plans to continue making songs and sharing it with his fans, including the hometown crowd—hopefully. A tour is in the works with La Luz, and while there is no San Jose date planned just yet, he aims to book one. Just like everything in Sprott’s life, he seems quietly confident that he’ll find his way, one way or another.

Check out Sprott’s “A Dog Will Love You When Nobody Else Will”

And take it back to 2009 with “Coffin Factory” by The Mumlers:

Will Sprott, a solo artist and member of the Mumlers, shares his favorite songs from 2012, a mix of retro soul, modern R&B and songs from his comrades in the Bay Area music scene.

Bobby Womack – “Please Forgive My Heart”
This one gets me every time. “Please forgive my heart. It’s not that the problem lies anywhere in there. I’m a liar. I’m in a dream. Going my way. Nothing to rely on.”

 
Plantain – “Talk Like a Mouse”
I played music with two of the guys in this band from San Jose for several years, JF Holmes & Andy Paul. This is my favorite song from their album that came out in July. I like how languorous it is.

 
R. Kelly – “When a Man Lies”
I saw R. Kelly play on Halloween night. He played over 40 songs & completely destroyed it. This song felt like a classic the first time I heard it. He’s just telling the truth.

 
Ugly Winner – “Secret Song”
For most of the time I played music in San Jose, the bass player of this band, Todd Flanagan, pretty much single-handedly created a underground clubhouse that fed local music by opening his house for bands from around the world to play in. In the context of Ugly Winner’s new record, which is a a pretty aggressive guitar record, this song feels like a similar hidden fort.

 
Family Room – “Us, Free”
Plantain, Ugly Winner and Family Room all put out records within a couple weeks of each other over the summer. Plantain and Ugly Winner played release shows to celebrate but Family Room just slapped this album up on the internet and receded back into the woodwork, mostly because the singer Evan Jewett, has moved away to New York. It’s a good record, though, and this is a good song.

 
Upside Drown – “Castles”
Upside Drown is a two-lady operation based in Oakland comprised of Colleen Johnson and Rosie Steffy. On this song they are joined by Matt Montgomery on bass and saxophone. Over the last couple years, I’ve played more music with these three than I have with anyone. They are all extraordinary talents and this is my favorite song of theirs. I don’t think I’ve ever heard another song like it. It’s alien & beautiful.

 
The Fresh & Onlys – “Long Slow Dance”
This title track from San Francisco band the Fresh & Onlys new album. I enjoyed the whole record.

 
The Dodos – “Companions”
This one came out in 2011, but nobody asked me to make a list last year. I did a tour with this band from San Francisco and this was my favorite song to hear every night. It still sounds good.

It’s been almost a year since James Fenwicke and the rest of the original Mumlers lineup parted ways with singer-songwriter Will Sprott. So far, life after the Mumlers hasn’t been a bad thing for Fenwicke. It’s meant that Plantain, a side project of his since 2008, now gets his full attention.

“It’s freed up quite a bit of time. So much energy was going into the Mumlers for a while,” Fenwicke says.

Already Plantain has finished recording and mixing their debut album, Fall of a Candy Empire, something that had been on hold for years because Fenwicke’s time was so full juggling work and the Mumlers’ busy schedule.

Plantain’s album is all set to release just as soon as they duplicate it on vinyl. They launched a kickstarter campaign to raise money to fund the duplication costs and have almost reached their goal. Now there’s even talk of a Plantain tour this summer.

“I think people don’t take bands seriously till you have a recording,” Fenwicke says.

People only familiar with Fenwicke through the Mumlers might be surprised at what a departure Fall of a Candy Empire is from that band’s sound. That’s because Sprott and Fenwicke are two totally different kinds of songwriters.

“Will’s songwriting tends to draw off of more traditional blues and less from free-form experimental indie rock or experimental bands,” Fenwicke says.

Sprott’s interest in early American music is obvious in his songs, though he mixes up his influences in a totally unique, creative way. Fenwicke, on the other hand is all over the map with a much hazier combination of influences. There are elements of 60s psychedelic pop (like Zombies and Beatles), weird drug-addled rock and roll (Lou Reed), lazy ’90s DIY indie rock (Pavement), ’70s power pop (Alex Chilton) and bits of early Americana and country tossed in the mix. It’s a big blend of anything-goes rock and roll.