Photo by Mikaela Grogan
“Prozac,” released today, is the latest single from the 20-year-old up-and-coming Danish artist Rebebe. With a hypnotic voice wielded masterfully and an intoxicating instrumental, Rebebe manages to create a new sort of musical drug.
The single comes about a month after her first official release, “DVDs,” and it keeps the same momentum lyrically. It’s a sharp, biting song that’s decidedly worthy of its name for exploring the sort of impasse that people inevitably come to when in “a relationship based on mutual exploitation.”
The song is in the context of a less-than-ideal relationship. Each party involved only stays because they’ve “both got a taste for pain” despite being aware of the impending end of the relationship. Additionally, the relationship that takes place in a hostile environment as in the backdrop of it is “all kinds of devastating TV.” It is a sad state of affairs, and even more depressing is that the only thing they have to hold on to is their “Prozac relation.”
Despite the song’s contents, as it’s sung over an upbeat instrumental, it is easy to derive a lot of euphoria from it. It’s something you can sing along to and dance to with friends. Still, once you get the complete picture, it’s not euphoria you get but a minute dose of serotonin from the knowledge that the song could have been a real tear-jerker, but it is not.
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Few artists understand and convey the spirit of youth and despair in the way Rebebe does with “Prozac.” It’s intoxicating, addictive, and, most of all, relatable. With a unique sound like that, it feels safe that a new alt-pop queen will be making her way into playlists worldwide.
Rebebe’s debut EP drops on October 28th, but until then, you can listen to “Prozac” here: