Cuffed Up and Ready to Go

Cuffed Up and Ready to Go: It has been six years since L.A. post-punk band Cuffed Up formed and, in that time, they’ve gone from a simply great band to a next level, should-be huge, alt-rock beast. Vocalist/guitarist Ralph Torrefranca and drummer Joe Liptock were joined by vocalist/guitarist Christina Apostolopoulos in 2022 (no bassist), and they’ve soared in the live arena ever since. This is a riffy, snarly, melodic rock band that recalls the best of Sonic Youth, Phaseshifter-era Redd Kross and even the Arcade Fire.

It may have taken this exact trio a few years to find each other but, now that they have, they say that their main reason for being in a band is to hang out together. That camaraderie is evident in the sound, which has organically evolved.

“I think earlier on in the band, we leaned more into the punk element, and the songs were just faster,” says Liptock. “I think the vibe was a little bit different.”

Cuffed Up recently signed to Hit the North Records and released a couple of singles that showcase their melodic but still hard-hitting energy “-Little Wins” and “Love Is…” Their long-awaited debut album, All You Got, will follow on April 5.

“This album is cool because some of the songs were kind of already in the works,” says Torrefranca. “Some of the other songs were like much newer and written for this

album. So I think, like everything kind of came together in a cohesive way, even though some of the songs came from different iterations of the band. So I think it just kind of like molded

into itself really. And then when Christina joined the band, she helped round out the whole record with us, and even on the existing songs that we were already playing live, there was a missing element. Christina got to put her stamp on it.”

“I play and sing and write songs,” Apostolopoulos adds. “I’ve been playing guitar since I was 7 years old. And I always really loved great songwriting. Lyrics are really important to me. So I’ve listened to a lot of lyric-based music. (With Cuffed Up), I loved playing the music, because I got to tap into this more rock side of myself. I also knew that I really liked the guys and we got along so well, it was so easy. Touring is not always very easy, depending on who you’re with. So it was just easy and fun. I’m so happy to call them my good friends now.”

There’s an organized, targeted chaos element about Cuffed Up. They say that they put the “punk” in “punctual,” which is a great line but it really does make sense here. It’s not about spit and anarchy, but rather precise, deliberate aggression blended with their overt tunesmithery. It’s an intoxicating combo.

“I love that, because I want to play music,” says Apostolopoulos. “I love music and I love making music. And I want to do it in a sustainable way for my whole life. Like, that’s what I want to do for work. So I wanted to be around other people that felt the same way, that weren’t doing things in a way that was unsustainable.”

The new album was self-produced, with Torrefranca learning as he went along, the band investing cash into some plugins and gear so that they could be as DIY as possible.

“You have the power in your hands,” Torrefranca says. “There are no gatekeepers, influences that are there to change anything — it’s coming from your brain. So we wrote the rest of the record, and then in January 2023, I pulled up my first YouTube video about tracking and engineering, and then I decided that I asked the band if they were okay with me producing them. And they’re like, ‘Yeah, let’s, let’s do it.’ It was a self-investment into being able to further ourselves as musicians who could do this on our own. So the true definition of an independent rock band.”

While it’s not a concept album by any means, All You Got (as the title suggests) is riddled with themes of standing firm, of resilience and defiance.

“The title track is the main theme of the whole record,” Torrefranca says. “It’s like, do you give up or double down and put everything you have out on the line? It’s exploiting the

the finalities of what it means to be a human being. We have love songs, but then there are songs about the hardships of having to deal with stuff not going your way and trying to find the little wins in life. Okay, how do we navigate life? How do I feel in these really big tentpole moments and milestones? And how do I keep picking myself up and, and keep chugging along because being an independent band in 2024 is the fucking hardest that it’s ever been, period.”

Yeah, that’s an oft-sung song. People aren’t buying music and the industry, as it exists today, is still figuring out how to navigate that.

“It’s a double-edged sword where people have more control over their career,” Torrefranca says. “But the world is filled with so many artists and gatekeepers. There’s still a very fucking archaic music business. So when you’re fighting against that, and then the economy and gas prices — it’s fucking crazy. When we’re getting paid barely enough to pay for the gas, and then selling vinyl and shirts to make it to the next town, it is tough. I think that’s what the record is an ode to.”

Thankfully the record is ready to drop, and Cuffed Up will spend much of 2024 taking it to the people.

“We have another single coming out called ‘Meet the End,’” Torrefranca says. “The album comes out April 5. And then we’re doing some in-stores around that. Then we have a May West Coast headlining run. We’re doing the Moroccan Lounge in L.A.”

See you there!

Cuffed Up and Ready to Go: Cuffed Up’s All You Got album is out April 5.

Editor’s note: The disclaimer below refers to advertising posts and does not apply to this or any other editorial stories. LA Weekly editorial does not and will not sell content.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.