Messer, Solo Project of Mitch Grassi of Pentatonix, Releases New Album Cuts

Messer, the solo project of three-time Grammy Award winner Mitch Grassi of renowned a cappella group Pentatonix, released his sophomore album, Cuts. The project is an intimate collection of ethereal, electronic pop tracks that offer a raw exploration of the emotions tied to falling in love – capturing the vulnerability, excitement, and fear that come with it.

These themes are explored on today’s empowering focus track, “Break Open,” which he debuted live on KTLA’s Weekend Morning News segment this past Saturday.

Driven by a pulsing, electro-pop production, “Break Open” showcases Grassi’s expansive vocals as lyrics channel the catharsis and euphoria of self-liberation on the dancefloor. Celebrating release, freedom, and emotional renewal, Grassi explains, “The song is about the cleansing of my negative feelings when I liberate myself and let loose, give in to what my soul really craves.”

Following an unforgettable album release show earlier this week in Los Angeles, Messer will also be performing in Berlin, Germany at Lido on July 30.

Messer is the solo project of Mitch Grassi, the three-time Grammy Award winner known for his work with the iconic a cappella group Pentatonix. With this new namesake, Grassi has forged a bold new identity separate from his acappella roots.

In 2021, Messer released his debut EP Roses, a collection of songs inspired by the sounds of 80s synthpop crafted with his signature modern pop sensibilities. In 2023, he returned with a string of evocative new singles, showcasing a broader spectrum of musical inspirations, and delving deeper into experimental sonic worlds and more intimate storytelling. The standout track is his achingly vulnerable “Halfway,” a hopeful atmospheric ballad that reveals a fragile new humanity to the artist’s persona.

Messer’s new album Cuts is a collection of deeply personal songs that have been a work in progress over the years. “It's essentially the songs from the cutting room floor that I had previously deemed incongruous with who I thought I had to be as an artist,” Grassi says. “But these songs are me at my core, and deserve to be heard. They are very dear to me.”

Throughout the project, Messer explores the raw excitement, vulnerability, and fear that come with falling in love, while also embracing the underlying themes of hope and exhilaration of this unique human experience. “There is also a connecting theme of ‘shadow work,’” Grassi explains, “coming face to face with the darker parts of myself for the first time and how disorienting that can be.”