We last heard from dynamic alt-rocker Jared Mancuso in January of this year, totally captivated by his early-2000’s inspired track Go On. We’ve been eagerly anticipating his next release, and his new single meets all our expectations (and then some). Break Me is an instant contender for the song of the summer, and is everything we’ve come to love from a Jared Mancuso track – a hooky, riff-centric earworm of a song that’s full of vibrant pop-punk-esque tones, this time with a hearty blend of modern rock feel for good measure.
Heavy, driving drums and an an immediately memorable riff are the focal points of Go On‘s foundation. On display in this work is something Mancuso does very well that a lot of indie musicians struggle with, and that’s truly composing the music. The track layers are well thought out and build with intention and a clear-cut sense of style. Once again, the word “infectious” comes to mind – this music is just effortlessly catchy. The restrained rhythm change in the pre-chorus is a particularly nice touch, breaking up the high level of energy that’s found across this track. And the guitar solo at 2:14 is an explosive peak of powerful percussion and a remarkable showing of serious guitar chops.
The music is decidedly killer but the message, in our opinion, is even better. We’ve heard our fair share of pandemic-inspired music over the past year, and so many musicians have tried to capture the essence of what it has felt like living through this historic event. Mancuso does us one better, and manages to paint an incredibly relatable picture of what it feels like living through the world’s shift back to something more “normal“. While the verses give us scenes of uncertainty and anxiety, the chorus is a rock-solid, thunderous anthem of breaking free of the bizarre chains we’ve all found ourselves inside in the past eighteen months:
“Break me
Don’t ever take me home
It’s been a year so lonely
Kick open the door
Break me
Every single bone
We all been stuck inside
It’s time to get back on the floor“
Break Me is exactly the kind of music we want playing when we get back on the dance floor for the first time in far too long. It’s a perfect blend of energetic production alongside a pensive message that’s going to resonate with – well, pretty much everyone on earth this summer. Break Me premiers on all your favorite streaming platforms on June 4th, 2021, but if you’re lucky enough to be in the Phoenix area, we’d highly recommend keeping an eye out for any upcoming show dates from Jared Mancuso, because we have a feeling this track would only be more impressive when performed live. But no matter how you hear it, this is the kind of electrifying, compelling, truly kick-ass kind of music that will no doubt bring people together via both our shared experiences and our legitimate need to get out dance the last year right out of our minds.
—-
BELOW: Listen to Break Me and connect with his website and social media platforms. Please support Jared Mancuso by visiting him online, and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing his music, or attending a live show! And, as always, thank you for supporting real music!
(Want to have your music reviewed on The Ark of Music? Click HERE.)
Follow, stream, download & connect with JARED MANCUSO online:
