Spotlight: Like Going Down Sideways by Cut Worms

Sometimes I hear a song that makes me want to cry and smile at the same time. Sounds do that to me far, far more often than people do. The tears aren’t sad tears; they come from a feeling of connection. Connection to the song, to being alive, to the artist, to anything. The same way certain guitar tones make a snare drum rattle more than others, some songs resonate with me internally, and inexplicably. It’s never a conscious decision– “I have now chosen to be moved by this song.” No, it just happens. And it happened the first time I heard “Like Going Down Sideways” by Cut Worms.

 

 

Structurally, “Like Going Down Sideways” is folk-rock packaged like a piece of classical music. It’s a journey with little musical twists and turns. After each movement, the guitar meanders for a bar or two, to mark the transition. No percussion is present on the entire track. These techniques make “Like Going Down Sideways” feel amorphous, and are more akin to Beethoven than Bob Dylan. Dynamic peaks, which showcase Cut Worms’ ability to yell-sing, drop into valleys where his guitar quietly plucks at heartstrings. Fitting, for a song about self-sabotage and rebirth. Our narrator tells his current love “I’m not gonna tell you where I’ve been / Some people never let their true love in” after he gives into the temptation of another woman. In his infidelity, the narrator frees himself as the relationship crumbles. The song ends: “my life was over / my life was new.” Not a happy ending, but an honest one.

Suppose you’re going through your grandfather’s things and you stumble on rare pressing of a little-known Byrds single. Perfect condition, but the recording quality is low. That is the aura that “Like Going Down Sideways” has. Muffled and slightly detuned bass supports a jangly finger-plucked guitar. Yellowed and dusty, this track is a relic. You could drown in hastily made hip hop beats labeled “lo-fi” because the producer throws some light distortion on a jazz sample. Cut Worms does no such thing. Rather than trying to sound vintage, he captures the sound authentically. It’s not a breath of fresh air; it’s a breath of stale, refreshing air.

Sources: Genius.com lyrics. Cut Worms Bandcamp.