Dylan Taylor Artfully Depicts Unfulfillment & Relationship Drifting In New Video Single ‘Rather Watch Me Burn’

Dylan Taylor is ready to set the world ablaze with her new single, “Rather Watch Me Burn,” along with her upcoming EP, promising new heights for the Nashville indie pop rocker.

For anyone whose New Year’s resolutions center around self-empowerment, or perhaps escaping the limbo of a toxic relationship, “Rather Watch Me Burn” serves as an anthem of both melancholy and triumph.

The track opens with somber subtlety, with a catchy yet heartbreaking riff that gives way to Taylor’s raw vocals as she sings, “I don’t wanna leave, babe / But I don’t wanna stay,” signaling an internal conflict to come. But the melancholy vibe soon gives way to a more folksy upbeat pre-chorus and chorus, as she builds up to the song’s title line: “How you gonna say you love me when you’d rather watch me burn?” It makes for a resonating first minute, as Taylor’s emotion and dynamic vocals carry through the rest of the track. 

In addition to both writing and performing her new single, Taylor also directed the accompanying music video.

Starring dancers Chmira Dayvon and Jessica NeShay (who also starred in Taylor’s previous video for “All American Anxiety”) as well as Taylor herself, this video captures the sense of limbo one feels when trapped in an unfulfilling relationship. The warm home begins to feel cramped as Dayvon and Neshay take over with their movement, conveying the song’s frustration.

Taylor’s own appearance demonstrates the triumph of expressing one’s pent-up emotions through expressions and subtle body language alone as she rattles off the line, “Gotta be a way out / Gotta be a reason / Gotta be an answer / Gotta be a why / For the cloud around my heart that could save us from goodbye.” The new single follows her December 2023 single, “Hard to Love a Heartbreaker.”

Born in Atlanta and raised in Nashville from age eleven, Taylor fuses together a delightful amalgam of genres and authentic lyrics, both independently and with her band Hippie Speedball, which has been releasing music since 2020.

Taylor’s strong, tender voice carries the emotion of her lyrics in a way that’s satisfying and powerful, leaving much to look forward to with the release of her EP in the coming months.