Communication is the precarious and unsteady glue holding together every relationship. It binds us together, but its breakdown inevitably pushes us apart. The latest single, ‘Cut Me Off’, from London-based multi instrumentalist Oscar Browne confronts this truth in its stark and lonely reality.
“I know you think I don’t care” Browne opens, leaving the listener feeling as if they have been propelled into the centre of a weighty and emotional conversation. As Browne muses on his loneliness, “alone against it all” the music swells, with intricate guitar accompanied by classic folk instruments such as violin, trumpet and flute. Crucially, however, the music never overpowers the lyrics, they always remain central. As a result, the listener’s full attention is on Browne’s words as he heartbreakingly reveals “I hope you realise I didn’t want it to end, just something else to begin.’
The track’s inspiration comes from “when someone close to you begins to accuse you of lying and suddenly cuts you out, without giving you any chance to defend/explain yourself” Browne explains, and so “the lyrics are all the things I wanted to say but were never heard.” Within the song Browne finds the opportunity to communicate what he never managed to, providing it with an overwhelming sense of melancholic catharsis.
The production of the track, courtesy of Ali Chant, elevates it from a simple folk song to an in depth dive into Browne’s psyche. ‘Cut Me Off’ is vulnerable, frustrated and fearful in equal measure, with truth seeping through the space between the melodic guitar and aching vocals.
Photo by Inigo Blake
We caught up with Oscar Browne in Issue Forty of So Young. Pick up a copy here.
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