A new musician enters the indie arena, armed with his long-awaited debut single – a rebellious, punk-infused indie-rock record packed with unashamed expressions of selfishness, recklessness and a desire to be wholly unaccountable for one’s actions.

The moniker of Northeast-based Matt Dean, Bad Blood is aiming to make his mark in the alternative-rock world with ‘A Birthmark On My Hip’. The track follows his pledge to take a career in music seriously – a decision that already seems wise.

Drawing on the influences of Alt-J, 21 Pilots, Lana Del Ray, Nirvana and Paul Simon, Dean is keen to write and record songs that are not easily “pigeonholed under one genre.” The Whitley Bay artist looks to create music-moods that tell a story – through murky soundscapes and carefully selected lyric content, his music coerces the listener into becoming the lead character of each track.

‘A Birthmark On My Hip’ does not dissent from this philosophy. “It always starts with a story,” Dean says. “This song was written to reflect those feelings of being selfish, reckless from time to time. Being able to go through life without taking responsibility for your actions; the protagonist has chosen to forego relationships, community and belonging, taking ‘looking after number one’ to the extreme.”

The proud Geordie explains how he takes a sentiment and turns it into something purposeful: “What am I asking the listener to consider? The lyrics inform the mood of the music, the chord-progression and instrumentation used in the song.” Despite his career still budding, Bad Blood seems to have mastered the art of making music that deals in dilemmas – presenting dark predicaments that leave listeners with no choice but to carry out a little introspection.

‘A Birthmark On My Hip’ is smattered with catchy indie elements, syncopated driving guitar riffs and crashing drums. Its anthemic chorus gives an Arctic Monkeys-like feel (but more grungy, heard in its melancholy lyric delivery). There’s certainly a few punk undercurrents to the track; cries of ‘let me teach you all about my wicked way’ speak to the numb, distant, apathetic feelings that are “carefree about any consequences.”

“This song is for when you just want to shout f*ck this, storm out and do something dumb. Life can be quite repetitive and tame for the most part, so I think we all desire to act with total freedom from time to time.”

Despite an impressive debut release, Bad Blood remains humble about his creative process. “Song-writing baffles me but in a really good way – sometimes I'm literally blown away by the endless possibilities it provides, not just for me personally but for all artists across all genres.” He cites this single as a welcome reinforcement of what he already knew: “This was pretty much the first full track I ever wrote so it served as proof to me that I could piece all the component parts together and come out with something at the other end. Personal proof that I can make positive steps towards my aspirations.”

‘A Birthmark On My Hip’ is a well-conceived inaugural offering from a musician looking to write compelling, predicament-posing songs that ask listeners ‘how would you feel if…?’, ‘what would you do if?’. Bad Blood’s debut single is available now on all major platforms.