It’s easier to hold onto pain than it is to let go because of how it has shaped you. That metaphorical chip on your shoulder only grows larger over time until you decide to brush it aside. “Let Go,” the debut single by Australian indie rock duo East Point, is about dispatching pain and learning to move forward.
Inspired by the floods that affected lead singer Ward Hancock’s home region of southeastern Queensland, “Let Go” is about adjusting your mindset in the wake of tough times. You can either be swept away by the raging torrent of doubt or you can weather the proverbial storm. Altogether, Hancock sings with all the resolute confidence of someone who is coming to grips with a stark reality.
At first, the melody plays it coy with a solitary, weeping guitar, followed up by drummer Rowan Dally’s creeping, pitter patter percussion. All of this leads up to a nimble melody that slinks upon you. Eventually, a fit of fiery chords and furious drums erupt onto the scene to uphold a rallying cry that’s born out of boiled over tension.
Throughout “Let Go,” Hancock relays the line “I’m proud of what I’ve survived” before admitting that he’s “still learning to just when to let go.” All of these refrains are preamble to his salute to the townspeople of Lismore, whose hardships he recounts. Asking “what do you do when your life is gone,” he answers back with “time and time, the people of Lismore show, you’ve got to carry on!” Channeling their strength to endure, Hancock exclaims from the rooftops “if they can do it, so can I.”
In the end, you will be left, as Hancock put it, “singing through the night till dawn, a sweet, familiar song.” That aforementioned song may as well be “Let Go.” East Point have come out of the box with an anthem to be sung with pride for making it through the hard times and a reminder to face the next storm without fear.
Written by Travis Boyer
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