“I’m a performer, Got myself cornered, Put on my armor, Just like my mother and father”
All-around badass artist Rebecca Black is about to leave jaws on the floor with her new album Let Her Burn. You’ve known her name for over a decade. However, we haven’t really known who she is or what she’s truly capable of until now. This album holds an incredible amount of emotion and vulnerability that lets us inside her mind and soul.
Let Her Burn unites Black’s listeners while giving us insight into her own pain by poetically capturing heartbreak and love. The 10-track album takes you through a journey of grief and expression that many of us have a hard time vocalizing. All while setting the lyrics to an electronic sound that makes those difficult words easy to digest and fun to listen to.
“Erase You” sets the tone with a beautifully haunting and electric sound. She takes you into the kind of pain that’s hard to avoid. She sings, “Lock it away, Down with the others, I keep my safe, Deep underwater, All my mistakes, I keep them covered, I can’t erase you, I’ll let you play the villain, So I can sleep at night, I need to kill these feelings, So I can move on with my life.” Right out of the gate, you’re locked in with simple lyrics that are tragically nostalgic. You’ll get wrapped up in a love that is lost but you can’t run away from it. The feelings only go deeper from there.
In the very next track, the sound intensifies and gets your heart rate up with the pounding sound. “Destroy Me” will get you up out of your seat as every beat hits you in the chest. Black matches the energy in her lyrics: “Watch me while I crash and burn again and again, Go ahead destroy me, destroy me, Feeling pretty cute until I ran into you, Chewed me up and spit me out like gum on your shoe, And if you’re free and you’ve got nothing better to do, Go ahead destroy me, destroy me.” It leaves you wondering, “Why in the hell do we do that to ourselves?” But we all do it. We all let someone consume us so much we lose ourselves. And if you don’t—please let us in on your secret.
In “Crumbs” Black sings about an unconventional heartbreak. It’s the kind of pain some love to feel; that love that you’ll let thrash you around because that person can do no wrong in your eyes. In the chorus she sings, “You can make a mess, And I’ll pick up the crumbs, And there’s nothing you could do to make me love you less, At your worst you’re still my best, In my body out of my head, In my ribs and under my chest,” and you can feel the addiction to another person pouring out of your headphones. It’ll leave you just as addicted to replaying this track.
The closing track “Performer” is just as relatable as the rest of the album—and there’s an irony to it, too. It gets into putting up a mask in front of someone you love. Black sings, “I’m a performer, Got myself cornered, Put on my armor, Just like my mother and father, Multiple versions, Of the same person, All of them hurting, Don’t think the performance is working, Every time I try to, Be more vulnerable, It’s like I hit a wall.” Up until this point, she has given us ten tracks of pure vulnerability. There’s a beauty to it. And then the final song really makes you realize that you just went through a journey of growth and processing with Black. “Performer” feels intimate and freeing. Her sound slows down here and has a sad sweetness to it, while still maintaining a solid beat. It’s a balance she captures well.
Let Her Burn lets you see Black on another level. She’s showcased her talent for years, but this album is raw and captivating. Her voice is crystal clear, her lyrics are honest and straightforward, and she lays everything over a beat and sound that makes you need to move. It has us excited for what’s next for Rebecca Black.
Stream it, Buy it, Skip it?: Buy this album and maybe listen to it alone the first time. You’re going to want to get your feels out.
