Robert Scheffler

"Truce" is the 3rd full length studio album from New York City based singer songwriter Robert Scheffler. Mixed and mastered by Scott Anthony (Beastie Boys, The Feelies) at Storybook Studios in New Jersey. "Truce" is a collection of 11 songs bridging rock, americana and indie folk. It’s also Scheffler’s most musically compelling and lyrically personal work to date. It will be released June 26th, 2025 on all digital download and streaming platforms.

After years of playing music festivals, legendary downtown New York City clubs like Mercury Lounge, Arlene’s Grocery, and The Bitter End and touring locally with his band A Million Pieces, Scheffler’s freelance job as a research editor and writer for a national magazine began taking center stage, turning into a full time career he couldn’t pass up. After a successful tenure in publishing, the time came to move on. Upon leaving his job, his first order of business was to get back to writing and recording. The process, however, was daunting. What more did he have to say? How would he create music without a band?

Sifting through his old CD collection, Scheffler came across a promo disc that was given out at Warren Zevon’s "Life’ll Kill Ya" record release party, which he’d attended years back in the hopes of pitching a magazine article. The article never happened, but he recalled that at the event, Zevon talked about recording tracks at home and bringing them into a studio to fill them out. Inspired by Zevon’s process, new songs began coming together, with Scheffler singing and playing whichever instruments he knew how, guitars, ukulele, keyboards, before calling in favors from friends to add backups.

"Truce" sets out to explore the agreements, unspoken or overt, that shape our bonds to friends, partners and the world at large. The acoustic guitar-driven opening track, “Excuse The Mess”, describes the vulnerability that comes with a new relationship, but also serves as a welcome to the record itself. Electric guitars take over on “Hang On, Skyline”, imagining a impatient soul’s reckless leap of faith.

“Basher” and “All In Good Time” examine 2 sides of the ongoing, and universal, work of coming out, the shedding of false narratives and the simple audacity of honesty. “Carry On Without Me”, “Punch Line”, “We’re All Waiting” and the title track offer distinct reflections on loss, the loss of friends, the loss of hope, and the disillusionment that comes when attachments start to fray.

Scheffler’s sense of humor is on display in the ukulele ballad “I Don’t Love You Like I Should” and “Blue Sky Mess”, a look at the improbable push pull tension at the heart of long term connections. If there’s a musical outlier, it’s the beat forward “Where Do I Know You From?” which captures the mystery that any city dweller has faced at least once, in this case with the tease of a forgotten hookup.

"Truce represents an exciting milestone in the body of work from a songwriter in his prime.

Composer and musician Robert Scheffler has been called a 'songwriter’s writer' and 'unquestionably one of the best performers in the New York area' by local writers. Previous record releases include "Needles" (EP), "Pretty Town" and "Life Of Luxury", featuring tracks produced by Jim Rondinelli (Wilco, Matthew Sweet). His work has appeared on dozens of TV shows and several short film soundtracks. He is honored to be a featured performer with the New York Songwriters Circle and past winner, first place, in the Unisong International Song Contest (Pop/Adult Contemporary Category).