Johnny Cutt's new single, "Better," is a gut-punch confession nested in a folk-country-pop cocoon. When the opening chords first hum through the speakers, you know you're in for something unique. The song gets under your skin, slowly stripping itself down until you've found yourself completely enveloped by its warmth and melancholy.
"Better" is the honesty that hits close to home, a snapshot of love lost and lessons learned. Cutt's voice has that bittersweet ache down, easy as old friends passing a late-night story. His delivery is both soothing and gut-wrenching; so much vulnerability is balanced by a quiet strength that lingers long after the song is over.
The production is similarly considered tender acoustic strums, and supple melodies give way to a backdrop that allows the lyrics to breathe. It's unchallenging yet refined enough to let each note and word stick something for those almost poetic moments, the kind that might blend itself into mellow playlists, comforting to anyone who's ever reminisced about remote romance with bittersweet feelings.
"Better" doesn't beseech attention with operatics. Instead, it embraces simplicity, relying on emotion to carry the weight. Whether you're nursing a new wound or just fondly recalling the one that got away, Johnny Cutt has whipped up a song for you that gets it sometimes; not-so-moving on means not worrying about him, but it's harder to move forward when you can't find it in yourself to wish that guy well.
0 Comments