Rebelle – Head on Fire (2022)
With a guitar riff that sounds like Jack White gone hardcore and a chorus that suggests an obsession with The Cars’ New Wave synths, Rebelle publicly announces the end of their toxic relationships with their new single ‘Head on Fire’.
Start-and-stop delivery slices sections of the song into pieces like so many pieces of a relationship better left behind. Section one begins with David Taggart’s guitar roaring a warning to those wanting back in his life. Sibling rivalry momentarily suspends as Rylee Taggart chimes in for the chorus in support of her brother with gorgeous atmospheric synth work reminiscent of all the greatest 80s New Wave acts. Bassist Ryan Wiles and drummer Joey Kane drive the song forward: no small feat for a song-switching idea faster than a BMW trying out different lanes on the highway.
It is unclear which of the three men in Rebelle is the vocalist, but the most likely candidate is David Taggart, the songwriter. The vocalist sneers at the relationships he cut off: he is done accommodating them. No more will he change for those who only use or hurt him. All good sneers have an edge, and his is no different. The title of the song is not a description of his feelings, but a threat to those who might come back to parasitically cut into his life. The first time he sings “I’ll set your head on fire”, the vocals decay into dissonance just for a second. This dissonance arrests the listener’s attention and underlines that the vocalist does not idly threaten.
A lesser band would give a listener whiplash combining hardcore guitar riffs, 80s New Wave synths, rock and roll solos, and punk delivery within three minutes and fourteen seconds. Rebelle successfully crafts a song that preserves the neck of the listener and delights them in new ways with every listen.
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