A (bitter)sweet implosion set to moving pop balladry, Peter Raffoul’s “cigarette holes” is a radiant breakup song immersed in stirring emotion, intimate longing, and the unrelenting pangs of a still-broken heart.
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Stream: “cigarette holes” – Peter Raffoul
I’m not gettin’ any better without you…
Time really does heal most, if not all, wounds: When it comes to breakups, the aching in our hearts eventually fades and the void in our daily lives lessens. The person we couldn’t live without? Turns out we’re still alive and breathing without them. And that sense of loss, so ever-present and all-consuming at first, slowly finds itself replaced as life stubbornly and unapologetically trudges onward. We replace the old with the new, and so the saying goes, we move on – out of need, if not by choice.
“Time heals.” Sure, it may be true, but what a terrible way to soothe a broken heart; what a horrible phrase to calm a grieving soul. When you’re in the moment and reeling from loss, it doesn’t matter that you’ll feel better in time: How you’ll be in a month, a year, in five years, is irrelevant to who you are and what you’re feeling right now. Heartache heals at its own pace, as singer/songwriter Peter Raffoul so vividly expresses in his recently-released sophomore single. A (bitter)sweet implosion set to moving pop balladry, “cigarette holes” is a radiant breakup song immersed in stirring emotion, longing, and a still-broken heart.
Bottom of the steps
Bottle on my chest
All my friends are gone
Here I go again
Broken and bent
Barely moving on
I’m self destructing I know that it’s hopeless
But I’m hoping that you come around
Ya I’m acting stupid and its probably useless
But at least you’ll see me falling down
Independently released January 14, 2022, “cigarette holes” follows last year’s “Fucked Up Together” as the second single of Peter Raffoul’s emerging career. An alternative singer/songwriter hailing from Leamington, Ontario – and the brother of Interscope Records-signed Billy Raffoul – Peter Raffoul makes music that breathes with passion and pain all at once. His first single is a tender upheaval in itself – a simple, no-holds-barred ballad featuring poignant, gentle piano chords and the artist’s stunning vocals. It proved a memorable introduction to Raffoul’s strength as a singer and songwriter – two talents that shine all the more bright in “cigarette holes,” which finds a fuller soundscape immersing the ears as Raffoul once again envelops himself in lament and longing.
Somber lyrics in the verse lead up to an irresistibly catchy chorus where Raffoul admits – as much to himself, as to his ex – that he’s still in the thick of things: Nursing an open wound that doesn’t appear to be closing up any time soon:
Cigarette holes in my sweater
I’m not gettin any better without you
Cigarette holes in my sweater
I’m not gettin any better without you
“I’m so excited to be sharing “cigarette holes” with the world,” the artist tells Atwood Magazine. “I really wanted to make an uptempo song for this record [my debut], but didn’t want the subject matter to feel forced. Writing this song with Ian Scott and Mark Jackson made that happen effortlessly. We talked about real life experiences and told stories about those nights that get the best of you, and before we knew it the song was written.”
Strike a match for the past
Pour on the gas
Let the ashes loose
But I keep going back
To the blood on the tracks
Don’t know what else to do
So I’m self loathing on a burnt out sofa
Hoping that you’ll notice how I’ve changed
It feels so twisted thinking that you’d listen
When we both know you should walk away
Raffoul paints vivid imagery of self-induced (or imposed) isolation, indulgence, self-loathing, presenting himself as the pained protagonist embroiled in his own tragedy. “It feels so twisted thinking that you’d listen, when we both know you should walk away.” His lines sting, hitting home where it hurts the most.
But “cigarette holes” isn’t a devastation; in fact, that chorus can almost feel anthemic at times. Raffoul isn’t getting any better, and he’s also not holding anything back in sharing his truest, deepest, and darkest feelings. “cigarette holes” may come from a place of pain, but listening to it, we feel a sense of release and letting go.
Cigarette holes in my sweater
I’m not gettin any better without you
Cigarette holes in my sweater
I’m not gettin any better without you
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Stream: “cigarette holes” – Peter Raffoul
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