Starting out feeling a bit like a whimsical lullaby, Hell Bent gradually becomes warped and wastes away into what is, essentially, a self-reflective existential crisis.
A song about “who we’re taught to be and who we inevitably become” – in the words of the artist – it examines expectation, resistance, adaptation, ambition, and acceptance – for right or wrong.
The main vocal hook goes “I’m so hell bent at getting what I want / even at the expense of everyone I love” – the words acting as a confession – it feels almost dirty for us to listen in, or to be bearing witness to. The emotion here is expertly invoked and is incredibly moving.
Musically, it’s a quietly bubbling song with a relatively minimal and restrained arrangement that recalls the work of acts like Bon Iver and Better Oblivion Community Centre. It certainly develops over its four minutes – with an eventual gentle release of the built-up tension at around nine tenths of the way through – but it never allows itself to get overblown.
Hell Bent is the fourth single from Prothero’s forthcoming album Unhappy To Be Here. And, as it’s a bit of a masterwork, we’ll be very interested to hear what the rest of the record sounds like.
Written by Kinda Grizzly
