Singer/songwriter Rebecca Barron is back with her second single of 2024, I Don’t Belong. The Bradford artist wowed this reviewer earlier this year with her melancholy and anthemic piece Black Heart. Her latest piece is a more rock-driven piece with emotive themes.
Rebecca’s singles have delved into many areas of rock music with the punky Kiss Me Goodbye and the goth rock Black Heart. I Don’t Belong blurs the lines between both sounds with the hard rock guitars picking up where she left off and the language reminiscent of her 2023 track. Rebecca continues to present her versatility of vocal stylings but there are certainly some elements that feel different.
The vocal delivery is deeper than previous tracks and more grounded, even in the chorus. It has a classic rock feel to it without reaching any vocal height that artists from the same sound (Halestorm) have previously achieved. The overall production of the track feels like it is lacking in comparison to Black Heart. The direction and writing of the track is completely different, but everything from the guitars, drums and vocals feels so empty.
I don’t know who Rebecca got to produce and mix the track, but the guitars sound like messy overdriven nothingness. There is no identity to the guitar, rather it’s just a background of sound that feels like a wall the song cannot get through. I don’t know if this choice in guitar tone and mixing is what affected the vocal levels as well, but even they feel drowned out. The lead guitar notes that were so haunting in Black Heart struggle to bleed through into the verse and they feel like they’re falling away from our ears.
The lyrics are emotive like her Kiss Me Goodbye single and hit harder in the bridge as Rebecca’s vocals become more varied and outgoing. You feel for Rebecca’s character in this piece who is fighting for themselves. This character is moving away from an abusive person and stands up against the gaslighting. I don’t belong doesn’t feel like the character doesn’t belong more so the person they’re speaking to is the outcast and needs to leave.
The bridge is certainly the major highlight in I Don’t Belong. The vocals come more to life and the soloing adds some diversity to the sound, but even the latter part of the solo feels as though it can’t break from the rhythm’s noise levels. The introductory vocals feel like we’re about to get a continuation from Black Heart, but that is instantly pushed aside when the verse begins. It’s a raw track that’s for sure in its attitudes and sound and has the workings of a potentially intriguing piece of hard rock.
I Don’t Belong has the structure and workings of what a powerful modern rock track should be, it’s just that the production sounds so lacking. Hopefully, we see a return to the quality of Rebecca’s previous recordings as she is a great and versatile artist who is full of potential.
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