The Despair Collective – “Electric Rebellion”
The Despair Collective – “Electric Rebellion” – Single Review
Alright…I can hear some stuff in this that I dig.
Don’t go getting ahead of yourselves though…I’m not saying the whole thing.
“The song began as a what if,” says the official press release that comes along with the new single from The Despair Collective, before going on to say that “what if” is “what if Lady Gaga joined Rammstein?” I’ll admit, even though I definitely wouldn’t be considered to be the world’s biggest fan of either of those names, I’d still be intrigued by that question…and in my head, I can definitely hear the potential in a combination like that. Is that what “Electric Rebellion” is? I’ll give’em points for getting fairly close.
Hear me out though for a second…here’s MY “what if.” What if The Despair Collective embraced the early 80s style of vibe that keeps on creepin’ into the background of their material/sound, and like…well – I’m just saying that after listening to “Electric Rebellion” I really wanted to hear this particular lineup do an updated cover of “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Jefferson Starship. I feel like their version would be amazing, wouldn’t it? Or maybe a revamp of Scandal’s “The Warrior” featuring Patty Smyth? I’d be into that too…just sayin.’
Anyhow. The Despair Collective. What can I say, friends? We’ve had some ups, some downs, and we’ve enjoyed some of the space in the middle of those benchmarks along the way since I started listening to their music back in 2021, haven’t we? “The Despair Collective’s latest offering stands out as a cybernetic manifesto.” I’ll tell you this much, their press release for “Electric Rebellion” has got me feeling like I need to up my game in the writing department…whomever wrote that up did an excellent job. So look…do I feel like singer Carolina Padron makes for a quality stand-in for Lady Gaga in the goals they had for this song? I mean, she’s one hell of a singer…I don’t know that anyone out there aside from Gaga is ever gonna be Gaga, but Carolina does indeed get a remarkable performance from herself into this tune. Do I feel like the music could be a Rammstein track? I mean, it’s one seriously badass jam…I don’t know that anyone out there can Rammstein like Rammstein does, but I guess you could say this is commendably close enough in that regard.
Personally I’m hearing more Nine Inch Nails in the verses, and then Rammstein in the chorus when they dial back the synths to let the guitars take over. Dana Fogle has designed a powerfully dynamic tapestry of sound that’s built to deliver, and from there, it’s really about what Carolina and guitarist Mike Longo want to add to it. I’ll be real with ya, and say that if this were cut to its instrumental roots, I think this would be a massively deadly cut…you can hear how the bedrock of this foundation is undeniably bulletproof. The verses of “Electric Rebellion” are without question the strongest part of this song, mainly because that low-end rumble and groove is such a gripping hook – it’s the music itself that creates the gravitational pull towards listening to The Despair Collective’s new single, almost despite the solid performance that Carolina puts in. That natural allure of the verses is powerful stuff…I know a lot of that is generated by Dana, but there’s likely a layer in there from Longo as well…I’m not entirely sure on that, but I’d assume there is in that same way that Garbage uses layers to combine their synths and guitars together. The switch into the pre-chorus is effective, no doubt about that…the energy comes up, and they create tangible excitement that I can fully support. Where “Electric Rebellion” is drifting a little bit wide of the mark is in the main hooks of the chorus itself, which pretty much pale in comparison to the strengths of the rest. Sometimes that happens – it doesn’t have to be a bad thing – it’s just not what listeners typically expect, especially after such a strong build towards the chorus, you feel me? Like the whole structure seems to be driving towards blowing your freakin’ mind in the main hooks, but in my opinion, they didn’t quite get to the magnitude that was somewhat implied. You’ve got the verses, which are stellar and a perfect pairing between the music & vocals…then you’ve got the pre-chorus, where Carolina goes straight to an eleven-out-of-ten performance to raise the stakes all across the board…and a chorus that’s…a little bit average. I’m not saying it doesn’t fit…it does…it’s just not a part that maintains the roll they were just on, and by dialing it back at that point in the song, it takes away some of the power in the punch of “Electric Rebellion.” Plus…and this is just odd semantics and all…but like…is Carolina singing “Electric Rebeeellion” instead of “rebellion” as we know it to sound as a word? That’d be an interesting choice to make, especially in the title of the song/main hooks…but I’ll admit, it’s a choice you’ll notice and there can be value in that. Maybe I’m getting it wrong…maybe it’s an entirely different word…if it is, I’ll add an ‘editor’s note’ to correct myself in the future…but I honestly think I’m hearing that right, aren’t I? In any event, I think their main question…the “what if” that got us here to begin with, is already fairly resolved by Shirley Manson in Garbage from my own perspective, which in many ways, becomes the most comparable band to what The Despair Collective has got goin’ on here with their latest single – and that’s great! In my opinion, that’s keeping about the greatest company you can keep…the sentiment expressed in “Electric Rebellion” is similar to the lyricism that you’d find in a Garbage tune, and the way they structure the dynamics of their song are very comparable as well. I’d say take the win The Despair Collective…and start calling Garbage to book that opening spot on tour.
I can’t say enough about the performance of the band in the pre-chorus of this tune…that’s definitely the moment you hear this whole thing come together to display the full power of their combined talent. Did they push it a step too far by adding more to it, to get that short chorus in there afterwards? In my opinion…they probably did. It’s nothing so detrimental that it would have you turning this song off if you were enjoying it to begin with, but it’s really hard to argue that the extra step does much to further what they already had going on. Performance/production-wise, they’re all aces here. My only advice to The Despair Collective is to keep an ear on the real strengths of their material from start to finish, and to do the best they can to ensure they don’t end up in a valley right where you’d expect to find them peaking. This single is a step in the right direction though…they’ve got some great things goin’ on in “Electric Rebellion.”
Find out more about The Despair Collective at their main site at: https://thedespaircollective.com
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