Cuffed Up - “Finer Things”

SXSW 2024 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 2

Pairs Well With…X Ambassadors, Kings of Leon, Frightened Rabbit

Judging from the early singles, Cuffed Up are ready to go even bigger on their latest record All You Got, anthemic, hook-laden rock songs crushing with grunge-pop ease. A little bluesy, a little new wave, Cuffed Up avoid being straight-ahead pop while staying catchy throughout. Each riff on these early songs from feel like they are already in the pantheon of rock and roll greats, humming and buzzing with the confidence of a band playing arenas on a nightly basis. Their dual vocals do the same - these songs sound like radio hits from back when radio hits mattered. Cuffed Up’s gig from Hotel Vegas at this year’s SXSW will be chance to hear much of the rest of All You Got before its release in April and to see a band on their way to crushing festival stages in the near future. (Kevin McStravick)

2022 Review: Cuffed Up continued to show their anthemic ambitions with sophomore EP Asymmetry in 2021, linking melancholy rock with post-punk intensity across four fully-formed tracks. Balancing catchy and sad, Cuffed Up’s music is equally dense and accessible, taking indie rock sounds and bursting those seams, handled complex patterns in the well-worn hands of the Los Angeles based band. Adding rhythmic intensity and arpeggiated licks to the melancholy backbone of Cuffed Up’s songwriting creates a heady and fulfilling sound tightly controlled from this exhilarating, emerging band.