Conceived shortly after talking to a friend about his battle with alcohol addiction, Scott Pryor’s single ‘Breakaway’ – his first single release of 2024 – offers a new take on what it means to be there for someone as they wrestle with their darkest demons. 

Scott Pryor gives a new take on what addiction means for the individual and the people they surround themselves with in his new single, ‘Breakaway.’ The single comes from his upcoming debut album, set to be released later this year. 

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A former wrestling champ, U.S. Marine, Trial Lawyer, and world traveler, Scott Pryor’s CV is a hell of a lot longer than most. But he’ll be most familiar to members of the public because of his work in the film industry. Scott is a writer, director and producer, as well as an actor. He has released three multi-award-winning feature films: The List, Blackbear, and Tulsa. These works have delved into the struggles of the individual spirit against adversity. 

In some ways, Scott’s film career has paved the way for him to become a music star. Inspired by the likes of U2 and Foo Fighters, and having worked with vocal coach/producer “Mama Jan” Smith (Rob Thomas, Usher, Justin Bieber), and Jesse Owen Astin, musician/producer (Demi Lovato, Juliet Simms, Billy Ray Cyrus), and his vocal coach and co-songwriter Heidi Huelskoetter, Scott’s upcoming debut album is filled with songs which take a look at how the human spirit copes when it is faced with near-insurmountable difficulties.

The 12-track album includes songs about the loss of his child, his disillusionment with the entertainment world after spending years working within it, and songs about love and heartbreak. 

‘Breakaway’ deals with the human spirit uniquely. The song is catchy yet moody, hopeful yet devastating. It is about addiction, but as Scott Pryor himself makes clear, it’s also a song about friendship and confronting the part of yourself that falls into addictive behavior. 

Speaking about ‘Breakaway,’ Scott emphasized: “This song is about addiction. A friend of mine called me up and admitted that he had been struggling with alcohol addiction for many years, and he never told anybody. He was serious about kicking this habit. I went home that night and wrote Break Away.” 

The song itself is lyrically complex and clear-sighted in its treatment of the touchy subject of addiction. Scott said that he wanted ‘Breakaway’ to be about “talking to the person who is struggling with the addiction. It’s a tug-of-war. It’s a story and a conversation in the song simultaneously between the addiction and the person addicted.”

Like all of Scott’s songs, ‘Breakaway’ is underpinned by its fiery alternative-rock sound, with pummelling guitar hooks and gravelly vocals. He has found his signature sound – and it is glorious. 

‘Breakaway’ is out now on all streaming platforms.              

(Photo Credit: Mil Cannon; Stylist: Shaye Strager)

SPIN Magazine newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.

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