Photo credit: Roberto M. Badillo | @spinstyle
Brand new Florida-based pop-punk band cut the cord. fronted by Dylan Samaniego, shares about his debut single “10th Avenue North” off of upcoming debut EP blush. out October 23rd.
blush. and “10th Avenue North” is built around heavy guitars, killer hooks, and emotionally unfiltered lyrics. The band dives into vulnerability tackling themes of codependency, identity, anger, addiction, nostalgia, self-worth, and the difficult process of rebuilding yourself after giving too much away.
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Indy Review: cut the cord. is a very new band, a little less than a month old, with your first Instagram post being on August 5th. Could you give me a little bit of history about how the band first formed and what inspired it? When was cut the cord. first formed, who are the members, and why did you start cut the cord.?
DS: Yeah it’s very funny seeing the band in its infancy because it’s been a behind the scenes project for so long. I was in a band for a number of years down here in South Florida and when that came to an end, I found myself at a crossroads of questioning whether or not I could still do this. So I was completely off grid for over a year and then I decided to name the band to myself as just a way of getting the ball rolling. It was on a trip to Chicago in January of 2025 to see a favorite band of mine that I made the Instagram name change, so that’s when I count the official start of the band. I am the only official member of the band, with live help being hired for shows (I have trust issues!)
I started cut the cord. because I felt that I had something to say in music for myself. I believe this band is my best way of tackling my mental health/trauma and I feel that it’s a very healthy expression of my creativity. Plus, I have never had a desire to work any other field in my life, so naturally I picked up where the first band left off.
Indy Review: I heard that your band name, cut the cord., was inspired by a meditation exercise during one of the lowest points in your life. During this exercise, the phrase “cut the cord” became more than words, it became a decision to separate from the people, habits, and thought patterns that stood between who you were and who you wanted to become. Is the intro song on the EP “(ctc.)”, where your therapist is featured, the exercise you used to “cut the cord”?
DS: Yes that is all true, but no that is not the exercise itself. I would love to find the exact exercise and save it to show people for later. “(ctc.)” is a completely original work cowritten by myself and my therapist Jess.
Indy Review: Your debut EP blush. explores themes of codependency, identity, anger, addiction, nostalgia, self-worth, and the difficult process of rebuilding yourself after giving too much away. Was it hard at first to sit down and write these? Did writing and singing about these topics help you process all of these emotions?
DS: I noticed recently that I write a lot at my lowest mental states. So expressing these feelings isn’t all that difficult for me because usually I’m in a “what do I really have to lose by confronting this?” mindset. But I will say that writing them is easier than sharing them, to be known is very very hard for me. Which, maybe I’m in the wrong industry… all jokes aside, yes I feel that I processed all this with much more ease with the help of the music.
Indy Review: The track “blush.” is the heaviest song on the EP, with lyrics “another drink hits your lips, I think I know the deal / you’ll shut down and refuse to say how you feel”, “now your fucked up on the ground”, and “so here we go for the hundredth time”. If you are comfortable with answering, was this song inspired by a relationship you had with someone who was an alcoholic? If so, how did you cope with this? And how did it end?
DS: Yeah it’s so interesting because I wrote this song about a relationship from 2022, and my girlfriend at the time had an issue with communication and preferred to party than to talk deeply about our feelings. It was probably not as dramatic as the song made it seem and I was just writing from a place of hurt and projection. And then this past year I got myself into a relationship with a REAL alcoholic and I realized there’s levels to this s#!t! So I feel like this song manifested itself in my life which is a really interesting position to be in. So THAT relationship caused me a lot more strife and pain than the one the song was originally written about, but now when I sing the song I picture this more recent ex.
I find that songs can shift meanings in that way depending on the phases of your life. I was coping mostly by living in denial for months at a time, and it ended when I found her hungover in bed with another man. That’ll sober you up pretty quick to reality. (on the note of my comfort with this question, I think that’s also the key to processing/coping: pure unadulterated honesty and transparency and vulnerability).
Indy Review: On your website, as well as Instagram, it states “There’s a new band. / cut the cord. / They’re not very good.”, do you see this nonchalant statement as a punk and grunge vibe, or is this more of a self-deprecating statement referencing your first EP and mental health struggles?
DS: I think a little of both. I think there’s a way to approach a band even as a business where you are serious about the product and desired outcome while also being humble and able to laugh at yourself. And I feel like modern punk itself is depreciating in a way. And at the same time, yes, no matter what someone or many people even tell me, I will probably ALWAYS have a chip on my shoulder and feel that my band isn’t good enough. For what? Who knows. But the good news is that insecurity will also always keep me pushing to write my next best song, because I’m nothing if not a guy needing to constantly prove himself. I’m sure Jess is reading this somewhere waiting for me to schedule my next session…
Indy Review: “10th Avenue North” tackles the bitterness of change in places you once knew, alcoholism, longing, and betrayal, where you stated you “wrote the song about how even when a place changes aesthetically, the feelings someone can leave you with at that place seemingly always stick around. Being reminded of someone you wish you could forget every time you’re innocently out on a drive.” How were you able to get over this longing of a past love and how the places you once were are now different? And does it help that the places look and feel different, or does it make this longing worse?
DS: Honestly, this girl that these songs are about was the same one I needed to “cut the cord” from in the first place. So I will definitely give credit to that meditation, it had a much bigger impact on my life than I think I gave it credit for originally. I think the aesthetic change actually helps because it reinforced in my brain: that chapter is over. The Earth keeps spinning, time moves on, 10th Avenue North will keep adding new corporate restaurants and expensive housing where trees and dirt once stood. So really, is it actually the same street? Am I even the same person that dated that girl, and is she even who I remembered? I’ve never had such profound thoughts come from a street in my life lol.
Indy Review: The music video takes place in many different locations around West Palm Beach. Were these places in the music video, such as Trashe Vintage and The Rock Irish Pub places you actually visited with the person you were singing about? If so, do the places now hold a different meaning after filming this video with your band?
DS: The town is actually more specifically Lake Worth Beach, which is this little poorer subset of West Palm. That’s where she lived and where we often stayed and hung out. We actually only ate at one restaurant in the video and the other locations in the video were actually places I found and went to while being sad about the relationship ending. One of them is just my favorite taco spot in the world. Thankfully, a completely different ex showed me that spot afterwards so I can at least delegate my sadness and longing to different people! (since filming the music video, one of the stores was flooded and I believe permanently shut down, so Rest in Peace to that store, I hope the owner is okay).
Indy Review: Who are some bands and artists that inspire cut the cord.?
DS: blink-182 was the reason I picked up a guitar in the first place. In my adolescence, joining them on the list would be the obvious picks of anyone my age that was in around the alt/emo/scene/goth scene which would be Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Paramore, and Panic! At The Disco. As I got closer to my twenties, the new wave of that scene completely took me over. So now my biggest writing inspirations are The Story So Far and Microwave, as well as bands like Citizen, Hot Mulligan, and Knuckle Puck (who I was in Chicago to see when I named the band!)
I also have really expanded my music taste in the years since first starting to write music, so now I’m also in little ways influenced by artists like The 1975, Noah Kahan, Adrienne Lenker, The Marias, and BROCKHAMPTON. And it definitely can’t be understated how heavier music played into my youth and then adulthood, so I also have to shout out Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, and Deftones for that.
Indy Review: Are there any last thoughts you would like everyone to know about “10th Avenue North” and blush.?
DS: I appreciate all the love that 10th ave has already received, it really does mean the world to me as someone who was struggling to keep this going. I would say the biggest thing is we are JUST getting started. I am incredibly proud of these songs and I hope whether you relate to the topics at hand or just enjoy the music, people can connect with these songs on a deep level and stick around.
Indy Review: What does the future hold for cut the cord.?
DS: I would like to have another project out next year and I’m looking to tour as soon as possible. I think this is chapter one, and it’s truly nowhere but up from here. I wanna be an advocate for men in as healthy and vulnerable a way as I can. I wanna make lifelong fans of the music. I wanna make a mark and be undeniable. And I wanna do all of this while being painfully authentic and myself. I hope to do so with grace and ease.
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Take a listen to “10th Avenue North” in our A Single Sit-Down Playlist! And listen to the full EP, blush, on October 23rd.
