Past relationships and old circumstances are laid to rest on “Burn the Bridge,” Crooked Coast’s throttling new single about embracing the letting-go.
It’s always a little bittersweet to see a local band teetering on the verge of a breakout, ready to go from being “our little secret” to garnering attention on a national scale. Crooked Coast looks poised to be the next artist to put our state on the map, as they’ve already shared stages with Ballyhoo!, Tropidelic, and Bumpin Uglies. This summer, they’ll be playing alongside Metallica and The Strokes at Boston Calling, the city’s annual Memorial Day weekend music event. They have a packed lineup of upcoming shows with gigs planned all the way through September, and their signature event, aptly named Coast-Fest, has already sold out of its early bird tickets for the year. Their upcoming album, Picture This, is set to drop later this year, with the entire thing being mixed by Courtney Ballard, who has worked with 5 Seconds of Summer and The Used.
Based out of Cape Cod, the alternative four-piece band continues to pummel the proverbial gas pedal with their upcoming track, “Burn the Bridge.” The track opens with atmospheric, reverb-heavy strings, then chugs along right into frontman Luke Vose’s charged vocals. By the time the song reaches its explosive chorus, we find ourselves pulled into a whirlwind, not of chaos but of passion. “Burn it to the ground, burn the bridge down,” John McNamara, the Coast’s other vocalist, hurls, detailing years of pent-up frustration coming to a head and spilling over into the melody. It’s a track that shows off the duality of the band quite nicely, as it features soft and expansive moments as well as high-octane ones.
On “Burn the Bridge,” Crooked Coast confidently cement themselves at-home within their signature, label-defying sound: a blend of sweet noise that tosses hip-hop, alternative, pop and even indie together into an always-thrilling ride through tales of angst, grit and gleam.
In preparation for the release of “Burn the Bridge,” the band sat down with Sound of Boston to discuss the impetus behind the single, as well as their upcoming plans. The track will be released and available for streaming on May 20, 2022.
MM: What does this track symbolize to the band?
Crooked Coast: “Burn the Bridge” symbolizes a new beginning for sure. Over the last couple of years, we’ve been lucky enough to really grow as a band and define who we are. During all the shutdowns we just doubled down on ourselves and what we were doing. Really believing we have something special. Crazy opportunities are now materializing. Sometimes you gotta burn the old bridge and build a new one.
MM: What was the songwriting/recording process like for this track? Did it come together pretty naturally, or did it take a while to flesh out?
CC: This track was actually the first one we wrote for the album, but it went through a lot of changes before its final form. We had an entirely different chorus at one point, but something wasn’t clicking, and we kept trying different melodies until one just popped out one day. This final version ended up being a little heavier than the original demo as well.
MM: I know Crooked Coast has been working with Courtney Ballard. Did the band work with Courtney on this track? If so, what do you think Courtney’s influence has been on the track?
CC: So, we were getting ready to do a whole album with Courtney in LA back in 2020. Booked the plane tickets and everything. During the lead-up to that, we were sending him demos and he was encouraging us to write more of the harder-edged stuff.
Like everyone else, our 2020 plans got a little turned around. We wound up recording at our local studio and having him mix the album. He makes the guitars sound gigantic and gives the whole song a ton of depth. We don’t know how he does it! His touch really elevated our sound and he’s always there for advice which is huge.
MM: I agree with your claim that genres don’t make sense nowadays. But if you had to sum up what Crooked Coast is doing in five words or less, what would you say?
CC: Songs everybody can sing loud. When we get on stage the goal is to get everyone on the same wave for 45 or 90 minutes, whatever. That’s the best feeling, just singing your heart out in a room full of other humans. We write songs that soccer arenas could belt out. Nothing too complicated.