Dark pop meets full-throttle catharsis in “Headlong”, the latest single from London-based project Where We Sleep — the musical vision of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Beth Rettig.
Released ahead of her forthcoming second album The Arsonist (due early 2026), Headlong is a visceral blast of sleek chaos: throbbing beats, searing guitars and Rettig’s commanding vocal presence pulling you straight into the storm. Think Garbage meets Nine Inch Nails, with flashes of PJ Harvey and Depeche Mode pulsing beneath the surface.
The track was entirely performed, recorded and produced by Rettig herself — vocals, bass, synths, drum programming — with guitars from Mark Wallbridge and final mix/master by Guy Fixsen (My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush). The result is cinematic and immersive: a head-rush of dark electronica and industrial shimmer, wrapped around a soaring pop core.
“The song is about escape from an absolutely chaotic black hole,” Rettig explains. “It’s about that moment of realisation — when you know you need to extricate yourself from a situation and take back control.”
Lyrically, Headlong spirals through inner turmoil and hard-won clarity — “the chaos is coming from you…” — riding high on a rhythm that feels like a midnight car chase through neon streets. It’s seductive, rousing, and restless, the kind of track that blurs the line between vulnerability and power.
Visually, the video mirrors that energy: a kinetic, shadow-lit rush that captures Rettig’s vision of transformation and escape, equal parts menace and liberation.
Having first come to prominence as part of Blindness (with Debbie Smith of Curve / Echobelly), Rettig’s Where We Sleep project has become her true creative home — a place to experiment freely and craft emotionally charged dark pop with bite. Her debut album The Scars They Leave earned praise from LOUD Women, The VPME, Fresh on the Net and The Big Takeover, while live shows alongside Desperate Journalist and the Miki Berenyi Trio have showcased her commanding presence on stage.
With Headlong, Rettig pushes further into her own cinematic universe — one where heartbreak meets defiance, and the chaos becomes the fuel for escape.
Where She Sleeps socials- Facebook/Instagram
Written by Hayley Foster da Silva
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