I genuinely cannot express the amount of writer-based joy I felt when Husk sang Love in a Bottle because that was his Poison. That was his high-energy I'm-in-control-and-doing-what-I-want anthem on the surface. He declares, swears up and down that all he needs is booze and gambling, but of course dispersed within all that is imagery of going under (quicksand, abandon ship, etc) and the underlying message of being completely out of control and miserable. Just like Angel was in Poison, Husk is in his so-called element, and yet it's all an illusion.
It's only in the final few verses, just like in Poison, where we get to hear it from himself, the turmoil that's just breaking the surface.
Love in a bottle, love in a bottle
Can't have love when it comes in a bottle
Home in a bottle, numb in a bottle
I don't need nothin' that's not from a bottle
Another round!
Poison, I'm drownin' in poison
I'm fillin' up my glass but it's always hollow
Full of poison, I'm sick of the poison
Wish I had somethin' to live for tomorrow
It even has a similar pattern of rehashing the theme ("poison" and "bottle" respectively) to illustrate the breaking down of that same idealized view that they have, or are forced to have, of their lifestyles. They both end in a different kind of hopelessness.
And then Husk getting to that point, that low, leads right into Losin' Streak being an answer to Loser, Baby. The first song comes after an emotionally volatile succession of events between Charlie bursting in on Valentino's set and, later that night, getting into the argument with Husk, only to then spill his guts to him after being sabotaged from self-destructing. It's all about acknowledging and accepting who you are where you are at, specifically, Angel at this point since Husk led and started the song for him. It's where they realize they have more in common than they believed, and it's where that bond first forms.
Now, we have Husk at his lowest in a long while, actively relapsing, and Angel is the one reaching out this time. The first song (Loser, Baby) is all about liberating yourself by embracing those fucked-up parts of yourself. Whereas this song, I believe, is about acknowledging that this cycle of chasing after highs and falling back on their respective habits and addictions is the reason that they keep losing.
How Angel trails off at the end, intentionally breaking the "losing streak" by not finishing the lyric, is a way of illustrating that perhaps they are both at the point where they can finally break that streak. They've both had their breaking points, their lowest lows, and thwarted self-destruction.
Another way that the lyric could be read as is "'Til you break, you're losing" meaning that they had to get there mutually, they both had to break, really break and face their brokenness instead of continuing to run from it in their respective poisons. Or at least that Angel, perhaps, realizes this, finally, and is trying to get Husk to as well in the same way that Husk helped him come to terms with some things before.
God, I just love seeing the parallels and the reciprocity. I really love what they're doing with them.
