Big Red Machine is a side project for both members — The National's Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon — but its next album makes deep use of the pair's formidable Rolodexes. How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? drops Aug. 27, and its latest single features none other than frequent Dessner and Vernon collaborator Taylor Swift. This is no mere cameo, either: It could just easily function as a standout track on either of Swift's 2020 blockbusters (folklore and evermore), both of which were co-produced by Dessner.
Here, Swift — as she so often does — stares down a relationship that's become more toxic and labor-intensive than she'd been led to expect. "Is it insensitive for me to say, 'Get your s*** together so I can love you'?" Lyrically and in structure, "Renegade" sounds considerably more like Taylor Swift (feat. Big Red Machine) than Big Red Machine (feat. Taylor Swift), not that fans of any of the artists involved are likely to complain.
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