Today, Low Cut High Tops’ debut album “Eh, Whatever” was finally released. Part of the songs actually date back to late 2014, when out of nowhere his songs appeared on Soundcloud. At the time we got in touch and talked about how he started out and where his inspiration came from. The moral of his story is in his attitude: you have to do it yourself. And he did.
The story of Low Cut High Tops is the classic tale of a young man with music equipment in his bedroom who forms a one-man band. As a teen, David Burns was actually doing hip hop for a long time. After awhile he was disappointed in modern hip hop. “It all has the same formula: 808 kick, fast hi-hats and one synth line. Hip Hop use to be this beautiful audio collage of disco, soul and rock but now its just garbage”, he told us. He attended art school, but dropped out which he hasn’t regretted. He can easily sum up 10 reasons to quit art school, as he did for CMJ. So he taught himself to play the guitar and started writing songs. All by himself.
Being a loner, his first songs are about dreaming of having a girlfriend. They’re all happy songs having playful melodies with lots of high-pitched sounds that serve as percussion. At times it sounds like toy instruments having fun. Burns uploaded many on Soundcloud late 2014. At the beginning of 2015 more songs appear. His sound is slowly changing to more rock, even grunge (he is from Seattle after all). From this moment on fans, blogs and music scouts are watching him, much to his annoyance and amusement.
Halfway 2015 the songs disappear and David confirms: they are being held back for an album, and there is a PR campaign waiting! And that includes making videos as well; yet another thing he does himself. The first one is for the single “Red Lipstick“, in which he’s dancing, smoking cigarettes with his friends, and is pulling funny faces. Fortunately, Burns hasn’t lost his inner child, despite shit getting serious! Through his videos we get to know him a little bit better. He’s a naughty devious grunge rebel, but one with sufficient sarcasm and self-mockery! He likes sniffing panties, drinking and making smoke circles. The boyish pleasure he displays is that of an outsider who is finally allowed to play in the grunge garden of the adults. His DIY grunge rock sound created a big buzz, which we feel is completely justified.
And now his album is here! It consists of older and newer songs, ranging from naive, cheerful pop songs (“Let’s Pretend That We’re Married”) to more cynical, darker grunge ones, with lyrics about determinedly pursuing someone (“I’m Coming Onto You”) and disappointment within a relationship (“Lonely And Cold”). The song that forms the musical bridge between the naive and cynical is his new single “Let’s Runaway”. Even the video featuring a clown makes this evident. There are two sides noticeable, the dark one when the clown is using drugs, and the cheerful one when he dances to the chorus.
The full range of emotions and sounds makes the album a bold portrayal of a vulnerable youngster struggling with love in all aspects. But Burns should be confident with his DIY attitude, because it brought him here, delivering this teen angst grunge document. All by himself: a dumb ol’ kid that won’t grow up.
Low Cut High Tops is signed to Kobalt Publishing. You can buy his music at iTunes, Amazon and Google Play, or stream at Spotify.
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