Singled Out: Buttercup's I Can't

Buttercup just released their new album 'Grand Marais'. To celebrate, we asked Joe Reyes to tell us about one of the songs and he selected, "I Can't". Here is the story:

The song "I Can't" is a fearless study of perseverance in the face of overwhelming grief. Both the composer, Erik Sanden, and I had our fathers die within a year of each other, and this song addresses these events head-on. The very first line is like a thesis: "I know we're all dying, just at different speeds." There is no sugar-coating to this song.

The song is quirky. Though its lyric is heavy, the insistent rhythm in the guitars - reminiscent of the palm-muted guitars of heavy metal bands - implies a catharsis. And the pretty melody offers beauty. The bridge takes a hard left-turn into a carefree, yelping, almost-happy crescendo, but its last line is literally "no more radio," as if the signal is finally fading and the silence of death is near.

I still can't quite believe how big the end gets - furiously propulsive in spite of the fact that we're only using a single guitar and a bass. When we performed it recently in a theater, I felt it in the room and looked over to see Erik crying while smiling and singing. I'm not sure the song would do that for everyone, but it definitely has something special in that final swell.

Early in this song's life, we toyed with a different refrain at the end in which a harmony vocal sang over and over "I can." But, at some point, it reverted back to "I can't." I cannot pinpoint that exact moment, but emotionally this is where the song wants to be, and where it ultimately stays. Maybe that's the point: we can't change facts, but we can change how we deal with them.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the album here

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