Breaking Up is Hard to Do: "Cut Me Loose" by The Escapades Single Review
It’s been a hot minute since I talked about our boys The Escapades. Actually, it’s been about a year since Rhapsody in Reverie got an exclusive review of their last single “Stay,” and since then, I’ve been waiting with bated breath for more - as readers of my reviews probably know by now. I am absolutely thrilled to say that my days of waiting are over.
What I love about this band is that they seem to get better with each new song they release. What I love about this song specifically is that it is so playful, so cheekily defiant, it may be my new Summer anthem. “Cut Me Loose” is about the not-exactly-healthy on-again-off-again relationship between two people who probably (definitely) shouldn’t be together. It isn’t really a cheerful subject; and yet, the sound of this song - like “Kleptomaniac” and “Stay” - makes me want to jump up and dance my cares away.
Parts of this song even had me chuckling. I mean, when you open the song by saying you and your significant other are “around the bend ‘til the end, it’s just you and me/I’ve seen your face before and you don’t look very pleased,” it’s clearly a red flag that you’ve driven each other crazy and nobody’s happy. Immediately following this up with an almost mumble of “I’m starting to think so” - a statement that seems so playfully obvious you can’t help but laugh? Iconic. The second verse begins with a more palpable sense of the push-and-pull between nostalgia for better times and the reality of how bad things have become, switching from “I think I miss you there” to “What a pretty face! I can’t bear it anymore...I can’t…”
It’s pretty telling that your relationship is on death’s door when you can turn on a dime from wistfully remembering how sweet it was to hold someone for the first time to almost immediately wanting to just “call it a day, yeah?” What an incredible break-up line. I think I’d be more than a little amused if somebody ever tried to break up with me in the same tone that somebody who’s having a bad time at a bar would use in order to get home and be by themselves as soon as possible. The cut and dry tone of the lyrics make it waver between being absurdly business-like and emotionally drained. Breaking up is hard to do. It’s even harder when you’re a little addicted to being with somebody who you know isn’t good for you, but is nevertheless attached to sweeter memories. It really is like a constant cutting and retying of a noose, and you’re never sure if it’s just keeping you on a leash or a threat to your life that you constantly escape from, over and over again.
How else do you temper these complex albeit unfortunate feelings? You turn your chaotic relationship into an absolute jam, that’s what you do. This song is the most musically complex, fun, and Clash-esque song they’ve released to date. The loud, energetic guitar solo kicks us off to a rollicking good time, pumped full of power chords and a drum beat that gets my heart pumping, filling me with an overwhelming urge to jump and flip my hair about. I can only imagine how fun this song is to hear live, especially once the clapping section begins, right before a key change. Vocally, this song is also probably my new favorite. It’s crisp, clear, and perfectly suited for the song. This whole track can basically be summed up as “pure rock and roll,” but a rock and roll of yesteryear, one of bucking spirit and a delicious recklessness, (even though everything on this track is beautifully produced and calculated).
I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of listening to this absolute jam, and I hope that - should you find yourself in need of an “it’s complicated” song - you look no further than “Cut Me Loose.”
Photo Courtesy of The Escapades