EXCLUSIVE: Escape Route – Transitions EP Stream & Track-By-Track

If there is a better way to kick off your weekend than by discovering a great new band, I haven’t found it.

Last week, New York’s Escape Route contacted UTG in hopes of gaining some exposure for their upcoming EP. The group included the single “A Place For You” as a teaser of their sound and to be honest, we could not reply fast enough. Taking cues from the basement-spun honesty and vibrant energy other New York acts like Pentimento and I Can See Mountains deliver, Escape Route infuses a strong dose of 100% pure rock and roll into their sound to create something which sways more towards alternative than anything else. Today we’re excited to not only have a complete stream of the group’s debut EP, but also a track-by-track rundown from the group themselves.

So what are you waiting for? Click past the jump and discover Escape Route!

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“A Place For You”

This song started off as a riff that we kind of tossed around at practice for a little while. We knew we wanted a fade in of some sort to start the cd off so we figured this was the perfect opportunity. We wanted this track to be a really heavy hitting start to the EP. Most people might say this song has the most influences from our previous hardcore/metal bands we all played in before Escape Route. A lot of the lyrics on this EP have to do with growing up and having to get through really tough times emotionally that no one really prepares you for when you’re a kid. This song is about being together with someone for awhile, and then finding small things are pulling you apart from each other slowly. The lyrics mostly stem from feelings of built up frustration and feeling like the person you thought you knew is now changing into someone you don’t know anymore.

“Sleepwalk Saturdays”

When we wrote this song everything sort of just came together. We didn’t go back and do many rewrites since most of it came out right to us the first time around. We wanted Sleepwalk Saturdays to have a strong dynamic between hard-hitting big guitar chords and some quirkier guitar tones that created a different type of mood than our other songs. We also went in and added shakers and tambourines to give the song more character than just straight up guitars, bass, drums and vocals. The lyrics are about feeling like you’re stuck in the same routine everyday, wondering if anything you’re doing is going to amount to something one day. It’s based on a time when we had all finished school and we’re trying to deal with the new stresses of adult life. Sometimes it’s hard to feel motivated about your life and this song is about trying to examine that within ourselves.

Chasing Horizons

We weren’t quite sure how to approach this song at first. We had never tried writing a song based around an acoustic guitar and vocal before so at first the song was pretty empty sounding. We slowly started writing lead guitars and finally got the song to where we thought it needed to be. Our producers Mike Watts and Steve Haigler had a very big part in making this song and mix sound huge. Sitting down with them and working on violin and other string parts was an amazing experience. The lyrics are about true friendship and really appreciating all of the moments that go by so quickly. It’s a look back on all of the mixed emotions and insecurities we all feel when growing up, and how important it is keeping your friends close by. They are the ones who are going to help you get through rough times and give you a boost when you need it.

“One More For The Road”

This was the first song we had written for the EP. It got tweaked and rewritten a few different ways before we were all happy with it. We know we wanted the first verse to be very calm and the rest of the song to pick up and be a more power chord driven song. After throwing around a bunch of different ideas we came up with an instrumental we all loved. The vocals and lyrics weren’t written until after most of the instrument arrangements were tracked in the studio. The lyrics are more straight forward and tell more of a story in this song. When you meet someone on the road and you try to keep things going after you leave it can get pretty tough. This song tells the story of all the complications and emotions that can come along with that.

“Distress Signals”

We wrote this one around the same time as One More For The Road. We definitely did a few rewrites of the bridge until we felt it was right. Most of this song came together pretty smoothly. We wanted the chorus to be very punchy and almost broken up in a sense and have the verses be more calm and pulled back. We made sure the mood of the instrument arrangements lined up with the emotional content of the vocals. The lyrics are about watching a close friend going through depression and then feeling the same thing coming over yourself. It’s about the dark cloud that seems like it’s following you everywhere and you no longer have control over yourself or your emotions. Hopefully anyone who has been through tough times like this can relate to the song and know they’re not the only one who has been through it before and there’s definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. We wanted to make sure this EP came in with a bang and went out with a bang so we all agreed Distress Signals would be a good way to close things out.

Want even MORE Escape Route? Check out their recently released video for “A Place For You” below:

James Shotwell
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