“Rebel Child,” the brand-new single/music video from XOLEX, aka Alexis Curran, blends elements of pop, country, and rock into a deliciously nostalgic song about her relationship with her father. It’s a moving, gorgeous song.
XOLEX shares, “‘Rebel Child’ is based on my father and my relationship with him. I felt completely misunderstood and needed to explain myself through my music. Like father like daughter, we both have had a wild side that pushed limits. He always said I was too much like him and it may be a blessing and also a curse, but this song brought us closer together.”
Raised in Chariton, Iowa, XOLEX started writing songs early on. As she got older, she expressed her ‘wild side’ in a variety of ways: “There wasn’t much to do so my friends and I would do the craziest stuff like floating down a dirty river or go ‘wheeling’ and ‘mudding’ which was basically just us four-wheeling and driving big trucks around in the mud on a rainy day. Looking back, it’s so funny to me.”
During the pandemic, she resolved to enhance her songwriting gift, and spent beaucoup time in the studio, playing around with various sounds, followed by ditching a recording contract that was unfavorable.
Citing influences such as Miley Cyrus, Adele, Jelly Roll, and Chris Stapleton, XOLEX has created her own unique sound, a sound at once compelling and brimming with swagger as well as evocative lyrics and an alluringly visceral voice.
Opening on a graceful, wistful piano, “Rebel Child” flows into a gently undulating melody topped by XOLEX’s jewel-toned vocals, simultaneously tender and dripping with deep emotions. It’s one of those voices that ebbs and rises on nuanced surfaces, imbuing the lyrics with the pensive mood of reminiscence.
“Grandma prayed on a rosary / To save your soul when you had me / ‘Cause she knows what it’s like to raise a child / Of a rebel child”
The video, directed by AJ The Visionary, depicts a montage of images of XOLEX growing up, from childish innocence to an unruly risk-taker, looking for the thrill of life, to daughter and father achieving a deeper connection.
Akin to a country-laced gospel hymn, soft yet powerful, with “Rebel Child,” XOLEX looks back on the cradle of her rebelliousness.
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