With every release, Sean Bryant’s songwriting only grows more expansive. Even his simplest songs take unexpected detours and reveal complicated truths. He never shies away from the so-called big themes, tackling death and mortality, pride and shame, fulfillment and loss with gut-wrenching openness. With “Breakup Song,” his latest single as Big Brutus, the subject is love. Or more to the point, it’s a song about how love can be used as an excuse to suffer heartache and endure abuse.
Opening with a soft flutter of guitar, the song builds like a quiet storm. There are no flashes of lightning or thunderous eruptions, just a steady amassing of darkened clouds. “I make a good doormat / Get in from the rain over me,” Bryant croons at the onset, setting a tone of bitter discontent. The gentle acoustic and lulling harmonies are beautiful, sure, but there’s no getting past the sadness that drapes over the track like a heavy curtain.
But then something changes. A guitar solo cracks through the song’s silvery surface. Shuffling drums gather steam and quicken their pace. A spattering of horns suddenly emerges, pushing back against the gathering gloom. It’s not a triumphant moment per se, but the surge of color and energy is enough to shift the dynamics—and possibly the meaning—behind the song. Breaking up is hard to do, but sometimes it’s the only way out of the storm.
Listen below.
“Breakup Song” is available now via Bandcamp and Spotify.
More Info
Bandcamp: bigbrutusband.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @bigbrutusband
Instagram: @bigbrutusband
SoundCloud: @bigbrutusband
Twitter: @bigbrutusband