Big Red Machine, Renegade | Track Review 🎵

Big Red Machine – Justin Vernon & Aaron Dessner – have a surefire hit with “Renegade,” featuring and co-written by Taylor Swift.

“Are you really gonna talk about timing in times like these?” Now that’s a compelling lyric for sure. Let’s address the obvious question. Who is 🎙 Big Red Machine?  While the name may not be familiar to everyone, the musicians should be.  BRM features 🎙 Justin Vernon of the 🏆 Grammy-winning collective, 🎙 Bon Iver, and Aaron Dessner, of the 🏆 Grammy-winning collective, 🎙 The National.  That’s some serious award-winning musicianship right there.  The alternative duo returns with their second studio album, 💿 How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? (arrives August 27, 2021).  Maybe more notably, they secure a feature with a big-time, musical force, 🎙 Taylor Swift on single, 🎵 “Renegade”.  While Swift is undoubtedly one of the busiest musicians, given Vernon and Dessner’s collaborations with Swift on 💿  folklore and 💿  evermore, it’s not surprising she returns the favor on “Renegade.”

“I tapped on your window on your darkest night / The shape of you was jagged and weak.” Swift, vocally, does the ‘heavy-lifting’ on “Renegade.” She performs both verses and the bridge.  Vernon joins her on the chorus and portions of the outro.  The biggest selling point of the record is the songwriting (Swift and Dessner), which depicts a man, who’s in a relationship, struggling with his mental health.  His lover, naturally, goes through the emotional trials (“Is it insensitive for me to say, ‘Get your shit together so I can love you?’”), but also feels for him and tries to support him (“There was nowhere for me to stay, but I stayed anyway”). Besides theme and lyrics, Taylor sings this singer/songwriter, folk/indie-pop well, supported by Vernon. As for the production, Dessner ‘puts in work’ as always.

Final Thoughts 💭 

Big Red Machine have a hit on their hands period.  The Taylor Swift-assisted “Renegade” is sensational. Great songwriting, solid production, and a strong vocal performance make this another winner for all parties involved.  This is an awesome way to promote How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?.

🎙 Big Red Machine • 💿  How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? • 🏷  Jagjaguwar • 🗓  8.27.21

[📷 : Jagjaguwar]