"Bite Me" - Reneé Rapp

Reneé Rapp has had me wrapped around her finger for the last two years. I was ecstatic when Bite Me (2025) was announced, and despite some controversy related to statements made on the record, I believe it’s her best album yet.  

The Bite Me album cover

“Mad” perfectly captures this energy of the album title. It encapsulates Rapp’s bluntness perfectly. “You could’ve been getting head” is the closing line. The verse lines roll off the tongue, “Slow down, put my finger in your mouth, pull the bitter taste out, baby, you can have me instead”. The pop/rock song builds beautifully and, in my opinion, could’ve contended for song of the summer had it been promoted more heavily upon its release.

“Leave Me Alone”, the lead, could’ve also done this, but it lacks organization. She’s annoyed and controversial in the verses, only to basically spend the whole choruses saying, “I want to have sex”. I also don’t love “At Least I’m Hot”, particularly because her girlfriend Towa Bird’s speaking part doesn’t work. She sounds bored.

The love songs are the highlights of the album. “Shy” is my favorite. The line, “Don’t handle me with care when you’re pulling my hair/baby, ruin my life” scratches an itch in my brain. It’s so youthful. I also adore “Kiss It Kiss It”, especially, “I think we almost made a baby/I mean, we can’t, but we came so close”.

Rapp chronicles repressing desire for a relationship. “Good Girl” is addictive. She carefree scream sings, “About to call it a night, I promise, I was!” “I Can’t Have You Around Me Anymore” addresses similar topics from a different lens. I think she could’ve done more with it. She says some touchy things on the topic of cheating, and while I support singer/songwriters guiltily admitting things, they must cleverly approach the battle to maintain likability. Reneé evidently doesn’t care as much about likability, which is both part of why she stands out among other artists and part of why she isn’t more successful. I love this song, believe me, but it gives me a pause.

She addresses the ex she cheated on in two songs. “You’d Like That Wouldn’t You” is an incredible coming-of-age style closer, but it lacks an explanation as to why she’s so vengeful. “I Think I Like You Better When You’re Gone” provides a better explanation with an R&B sound more suitable to Rapp’s voice.

The context provided to her cheating is that she was used, but songs with more thorough explanations feel like an afterthought. In the piano ballad “Sometimes” she sings, “I need you more than just physical”. However, it doesn’t sound like it’s about the same situation. She also discusses platonic betrayal in “That’s So Funny”, “That’s so funny, baby, that you could play it all back and skip every part where I loved you”. I can’t ask Reneé to write dishonestly, but I wish she leaned more in this song’s sadder direction on the rest of the album. The songs are all great individually, but better cohesion could’ve made a tighter story.

Reneé started the Bite Me Tour last week and will be continuing through March 2026. And this is me begging her to please add a Nashville date! I’m so excited for whatever she does next.