Adam Rubenstein Shared Music Video For “Don’t Mean Much (feat. Vernon Reid)”

Adam Rubenstein has shared the music video for “Don’t Mean Much (feat. Vernon Reid)” from his new album Firebreak, out now via Spartan Records! The video features a cameo from the legendary Living Colour guitarist, who lends a sublime solo to the track.

“‘Don’t Mean Much’ is largely about finding true human connection in an otherwise virtual universe,” shares Adam Rubenstein. “I wanted the song to close with a frenetic sort of jam, so enlisted my friend Vernon Reid (Living Colour) to take the reigns. I look up to Vernon immensely and I was honestly flattered he agreed to play on this.”  The video comes ahead of a pair of East Coast shows, including Adam Rubenstein’s return to his old stomping grounds in New York City on October 19th. Upcoming dates below.

Firebreak marks the first new solo effort from Adam Rubenstein in a decade, following 2016’s Nightly Waves. Aside from Reid, many other friends and collaborators lend their talent to the new album; including Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional, and former Into Another vocalist Richie Beirkenhead among others. “As it turns out,” wrote Magnet Magazine of “Choosing Sides”, which features Carrabba, “the pairing of two foundational emo heavyweights from different decades feels pretty effortless, with Carrabba’s unmistakable tenor nicely offsetting Adam Rubenstein’s weathered delivery.”

Adam Rubenstein has spent decades building a life in music that rarely sits still. From his early work in Midwest hardcore pioneers Split Lip to the long arc of Chamberlain, his voice has been shaped by movement, reinvention, and a refusal to stay pinned to one version of himself for too long. While Chamberlain carried the weight of Adam Rubenstein’s rock and roll output (the band’s 2019 album Red Weather was its first in 21 years), his solo work quietly accumulated in the background.

Songs stacked up over years spent writing, composing, and raising a family. The idea of making another solo record lingered, but never quite broke through until a sudden move from New York City to Cincinnati forced a reset. What began as a reluctant departure turned into something else entirely. A new environment, a new pace, and just enough distance from the life he had known for two decades created the environment to finally confront the body of work he had been carrying.

At its core, Firebreak is about change and the uneasy process of learning how to live inside it. Fatherhood, relocation, creative identity, the gloomy state of the world, the passage of time and Adam Rubenstein’s renewed connection to his cousin, late Bar-Kays keyboardist Ronnie Caldwell, all surface in different forms, but the throughline is clear. These songs were not written in a single burst of inspiration. They were lived with, carefully molded, and eventually released

Upcoming Tour Dates:

OCTOBER
17 – Boonton, NJ @ Hidden Tracks
19 – New York, NY @ The Mercury Lounge