Known best as the frontman of Scottish arty punks the Country Teasers, Ben Wallers has been expanding his smart and avant-garde deconstruction of punk music as The Rebel. With these songs, there is a distinct focus on the state of being on the outside looking in. This is not music burdened by the hustle and bustle; rather, it's measured and critical and feels rooted outside city pressure.
The songs are characterized musically by drum machine and synth stabs with loose-handed guitar, that is to say desolate and questioning. On the b-side, "Why Must I Pay" carries a biting critique; all macrostructures, not just punk or music, come into a disassembling, blinding spotlight - healthcare, monetary systems, humankind's "gains." Leave preconceived notions at the door and take notes.