Song of the Day: Benee - "Beach Boy" (2022)
Welcome to my first ever Song of the Day post on Substack! This article series, a continuation of a ritual post I used to do on Facebook, will be among the most frequent ones I do. The first reason being that it is by far the easiest to “mass produce,” given it’s just focusing on one song with a brief blurb about why I love it.
Another reason I will do it so much is that I have - literally - thousands upon thousands of favorite bands and artists, and thus even more individual songs to individually celebrate. While my relationships with specific artists and songs are often deeply personal, I communicate my enthusiasm for them with a universal mindset. I don’t care how obscure or forgotten a tune is…once I fall in love with it, I will spend my life ensuring it’s heard by as many people as possible!
I spent a decent amount of time deliberating over what my first song would be, and had some prime candidates. I’ve decided to kick things off with a breezy recent favorite that has been in heavy rotation for me as of late: “Beach Boy” by New Zealand-born Gen Z troubadour Benee.
Despite blowing up with perhaps the song of 2020 quarantine time, the Tik Tok-aided smash “Supalonely,” Benee (real name Stella Rose Bennett) is often overshadowed by her far more famous contemporary Billie Eilish. If anything, the two could ideally be viewed in tandem as the vanguard of a distinct movement of spooky Gen Z goth pop maestros. (Also, the fact that they’re that much younger than me and far more talented than me really makes me feel both old and sad.)
Don’t get me wrong: Billie Eilish is phenomenally talented, and I respect her even more for her downright scary perfection in capturing early aughts boy band aesthetics for Turning Red. That being said, I honestly prefer Benee’s more self-deprecating persona. Her lyrics are often fun, yet achingly sad and sweet, often stemming from a deeply personal place that creates an emotional space you didn’t realize you needed. To boot, her songs are pop masterpieces, each one rife with hooks and production nuance that only avail themselves with repeated listenings.
That very persona is flawlessly manifest in this, the leadoff track from her 2022 EP Lychee. It doesn’t quite bely its title, with a bouncing beat and appropriate lyrics about a brief summer fling. Yet it’s delivered with a distinct air of melancholy, as if there’s both a true love and an immediate acknowledgment that this beachside romance won’t last long.
It’s still a summer jam, to be sure…just one that feels more like it’s more about summer, and its love, going by fast. Bonus points for the music video, which wisely doesn’t take place on the beach at all, but instead Benee’s attic. Because of course.
You can expect to see plenty of posts for Benee tunes in this series over time, the most obvious being a deeply personal ode to “Supalonely.” For now, enjoy this playful yet heart-wrenchingly sweet number…for a day, and many more.