Beauty School Dropout Bring Awareness To Mental Health And The Human Condition Through New Single “dying to be you”
Reigning from Los Angeles, California, Beauty School Dropout has been making incredible waves within the alternative rock and pop-punk scene. Consisting of Cole Hutzler, (vocalist) Bardo (producer/guitarist), and Brent Burdett (bassist), BSD Started out their career on tiktok through covers and mashups of songs and found their way under the radar of pop punk royalty Mark Hoppus and Pete Wentz. However, most music listeners associate these fellas with other up and coming rock artists such as Royal and The Serpents and JXDN.
Ahead of tonight’s performance at Madison Square Garden supporting Blink-182, the rock trio have shared their explosive new single “dying to be you,” available to stream now on all DSPs worldwide via Verswire. The high-energy track, released in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month, marks the prolific band’s second release of the year following their alt-dance anthem “FREAK” (feat. jxdn).
Though their previous track with jxdn takes a dance-pop turn, their newest track “dying to be you” takes them back to their original sound similar to their 2021 EP “BOYS DO CRY” as well as its ethos. “dying to be you” was written about the band’s struggle with mental health and the constant desire to be someone else. The battle for autonomy, whether it be an intrinsic or extrinsic battle, is a hard one nonetheless and this struggle was presented in its most pure and raw form through this track.
BSD highlights the most extreme cases of the struggle, however, brings light to the raw and authentic human experience. We get wrapped up in trying to change ourselves to please others or alleviate some dysphoria, and we often forget to take care of our physical bodies and mental health. This can be heard through lyrics such as:
“I’ve been killing myself
Dying to be you
I’ve been holding my breath
Until my face turns blue.
I got blisters on my fingers
And a callus on my heart.”
Instrumentally, there is a lot of genre-bending to be recognized. Though it is clear that this track all together is a rock song there are hints of electronic and hip-hop-esque drum tracks later on in the track, however not enough to dismiss the hard guitar riffs between each chorus.
It is also important to highlight Colie’s vocal range in this song and how impactful it is to the emotional aspect of the track. Beginning the track in a lower pitch and slowly reaching a higher pitch as he goes into the chorus, almost as if he is trying to put up a facade of being unbothered but transitions into pleading. Once we reach the end of the chorus we get a raspy yell that feels slightly strained that really brings out the yearning that’s being conveyed.
Punkaganda Press has had eyes on this band for a few years now, and can proudly say we are impressed with how much they have grown. We can’t wait to see what incredible milestone they will hit next.
