Twenty years is a long time for a song to sit unheard. Last Relapse wrote “Throw Away the Key” back in 2006, and it’s been waiting ever since. This Friday, October 23, it finally gets its release.
The Atlanta indie rockers have one of our favorite comeback stories going. They ran hard from 2006 to 2012, played more than 200 shows, and put out the cult favorite Machine before life scattered them for thirteen years. They reunited last fall, dropped the single “Everyone Dances Outside of Their Bodies” plus a five song EP in November, and they’ve been building back ever since. A song from those earliest days finally seeing daylight fits them perfectly.
The track lands right in that sweet spot between indie rock and pop. It’s got a laid back vibe, but the guitar keeps building layers and textures around it, and the vocals are filled with emotion. You can hear it here:
Listen: https://share.amuse.io/track/last-relapse-throw-away-the-key
And here’s the part we love: David Holding, who wrote it, was sixteen years old. In his own words:
“Throw Away the Key” was the first song I wrote completely on my own, in 2006 when I was 16. I had just been kicked out of the band I was singing in because they wanted to move toward screaming with no clean vocals. I didn’t really play guitar yet, so I taught myself enough to start writing my own music. This was the first song that came out of that, so the guitar part is tied to the very beginning of learning how to write songs. The lyrics came from what I was going through with my girlfriend at the time.
The lead guitar came from one of his best friends growing up, Adam Freeman, who joined Last Relapse in 2009 and never left:
The lead guitar work was done by one of my best friends growing up Adam Freeman, he joined Last Relapse in 2009 and is still our lead guitarist to this day. He can move his fingers super fast all while keeping it melodic and tasteful.
As for what’s next, David told us:
We’re continuing to finish and release music that started in our earlier years, alongside the modern band. We’re also working toward getting back onstage in Atlanta, which is our immediate live focus. Hopefully west coast dates one day!
We’d love to see that west coast day come. “Throw Away the Key” is out now, check it out.
And follow the band so you don’t miss what’s next:
- Website: https://thelastrelapse.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelastrelapseatl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lastrelapse
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lastrelapse
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2jTyQRPGIbqTgW9EUixoO0
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lastrelapse
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