After nearly two years since the release of their self-titled sophomore EP, Strutman Lane are gearing up to release their third EP, Made Up, on Friday. In December, the local eight-piece band will take their show on the road with performances in D.C., Philadelphia, and Boston.
Since forming as a funk-pop band in late 2019, Strutman Lane have evolved in sound and genre. At least when it comes to making studio recordings, the band has moved from what drummer Henry Godfrey describes as a “jammier” process toward a “more ruthless” editing and mixing style. “We still jam live and we still love doing that, but the focus is shifting more toward the storytelling of the songs,” Godfrey says.
Strutman Lane returned to the studio last November, and spent the year crafting Made Up. The EP features plenty of local and international guest talent—including Mark Reiter, a recording engineer from Virginia’s Bias Studios, local singer Taisha Estrada as a backing vocalist, and Hungary’s Budapest Scoring Orchestra. To keyboard player Jack Gruber, Made Up feels one step closer to reaching the band’s ideal, telling City Paper, “It’s almost like we’re chiseling away and getting closer to the pure version of our sound.”
It helps, of course, that the making of Made Up was a true collaboration between all eight band members. Part of that collective nature comes from the fact that the members consider the band more than a band, but also a friend group. As vocalist Adam Landa explains it, this extends to Strutman Lane’s growing and changing lineup—band members come and go, and substitutes become new mainstays. “I think potentially the band is just an excuse for us to have a good friend group,” Landa says. “We just really want to have a good time, and we want people to have a good time coming to our shows or listening to our songs.”
Made Up comes on the heels of a busy two years for Strutman Lane that has sent them touring up and down the Eastern Seaboard—playing everywhere from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and even in Tennessee.
In between tours, the band also released two singles this year—both of which will appear on the upcoming EP: “Know What I Know,” released in February, and “Made Up,” which came out in July. “It’s just nonstop,” Landa says. “That’s really the vibe.”
Bassist Evan Williamson agrees that Strutman Lane has been busy, but they continue to make time to hang out outside of playing. After performances and studio sessions, the band has started a wholesome tradition of grabbing milkshakes together at the Silver Diner in Rockville. “My milkshake consumption has gone up like 11 hundred percent since joining the band,” Williamson says.
Strutman Lane’s third EP, Made Up, will be released on Nov. 13. They open for New York band Juice at 7 p.m. on Dec. 5 at the Atlantis. theatlantis.com. $32.50.
