At the end of May 2025, up and coming UK alternative rock band Detroit Run released their debut EP ‘Defiance Part One’. The material showed great promise, and even if some of the band’s riffs slipped into an obvious formula when played as a whole, the EP’s five tracks played brilliantly when approached on an individual basis.

‘Tightrope’ is a number that seemed to be (arguably) the most guilty of taking a formulaic approach in terms of the Detroit Run sound when heard as part of the parent release, but on its own merits, it works really well as a stand-alone digital single. The synthesized sounds (used effectively as the song’s intro) signify that something huge is about to present itself, and as the band crash through a speed driven alternative rock riff, Gary White’s guitars sound very confident. This isn’t all about bombast, though; a pop infused verse makes great use of a strong marriage between techy keyboard sounds and emotive vocals, with Tom Haywood applying tones that invite comparisons to Linkin Park. At this point, it’s likely that if you’re attracted to the Detroit Run sound, you’ll be absolutely sold on this track. However, there’s better to come when the band slows down to inject a melodic hardcore breakdown, very much introducing the chunkier end of Detroit Run’s sound and influences, and this is used very effectively to create a strong bridge between the track’s synth pop and thrashier elements. By the time you’ve also heard the rather simple hook a few times, it becomes clear that this has the potential to become one of the band’s signature numbers.

It’s definitely a track that deserves a second round of promotion, and whether you’re already a fan or about to discover Detroit Run’s sound for the first time, it’s the kind of single that has the potential to draw you further into the band’s layered sound – which makes it even stranger that it seems to take more of a backseat in relation to the other material on the EP itself.

Check out the new video below.