Minneapolis songwriter John Deering brings us an emotionally riveting release with his latest single "Gotta Get Away," out June 27th, 2025. Deering is no stranger to building narratives of the heart, and here, in this truly heartfelt track, the Nashville resident takes it up a notch, marrying soft tune with just the right amount of bit.
"Gotta Get Away" isn't just a song, but a moment of resilience, love, and loss amid war. After seeing a news clip about Ukrainian families running from their homes, Deering pictured the tender moments between a father and his daughter as she prepares to flee. He remains to fight, clinging to the promise of a reunion one day. The result is a gut-wrenching but weirdly uplifting song that speaks to the universal desire for connection in moments of chaos. Keeping things diy as ever, Deering wrote and recorded most of the track in his basement, a space he describes as his creative sanctuary, ensuring an authentic quality remains present in the production. The song also features the rhythmic throb of Peter Anderson's Run Westy Run drums, recorded at Minneapolis' influential Flowers Studio, which lends an extraordinary yet palpable urgency to the track. Help from Ryan Smith affords Soul Asylum an extra layer of polish without ever sanding down the emotional grit.
"Gotta Get Away" is an introspective crossroads of indie exploration and lush soundscapes. There's an evident influence from innovative artists such as Billie Eilish and Nine Inch Nails, but Deering is a voice, both figuratively and literally, of his own. There, he employs some understated vocal manipulation and gloomy textures that approximate the internal struggle of a parent pulled between duty and love.