Bensie lights it up on his brand new EP, "fremdschämen"
Review by Austin Sher
An all new EP coming from Bensie titled fremdschämen was just released this week on August 16th, 2020. What an interesting concept record! Read along with us as dissect our thoughts on the track, as well as provide a bit of background on the artist himself.
Originally born Benjamin Siegmund in Shreveport, Louisiana, Bensie is an LGBT R&B and Pop artist currently based in Los Angeles. He grew up performing in the Louisiana All-State choir, school plays, and various athletics. After turning down the opportunity to play collegiate football and eventually dropping out of college, he moved to Los Angeles in 2017 to pursue his music career. He met producer Evan Gregory and after only one session together, Bensie released his first single “All Good.” in January 2019. The release caught the attention of Universal Production Music and led to a sync deal through Elias Music. After releasing the fan-favorite “The Pick Me Up Freestyle” and collaborating on Landon Knox’s “Bloom”, he released his debut album “Chaos” later that year with streaming totals now eclipsing 400k.
Now you may be wondering to yourself, where exactly does the EP name come from? Fremdschämen is a German term which describes the process of being vicariously embarrassed by someone else. The title serves as a double entendre for both embarrassment of a past relationship and also shame for one’s past self and their decisions. This EP features 2 different sounds but both songs examine a past riddled with emotional pain and a desire to break free from trauma. “I’m So Tired !” is a Blink 182 inspired cry for independence and a loud acknowledgement of unhealed wounds. Bensie channels teenage angst and repressed memories of being gay and biracial in a small conservative town. “Seven Grand” is an end of summer R&B bop written directly to a demanding lover, asking to take it easy on their love during a night out drinking. Seven Grand is a whiskey bar in Downtown Los Angeles known for dancing, live jazz music, billiards, and weekly whiskey tastings.
Now that we’ve familiarized ourselves with the background of Bensie and learned a fun fact about the origins of the EP name, it’s time to break down our thoughts. First impressions were immediately, this seems like the type of EP that is going to be best with repeated listens to really uncover the subtleties, but also something that we’d truly enjoy dancing to. Bensie was 100% correct when he mentioned that both songs are a bit different in style. While we didn’t quite grasp the Blink 182 inspiration on “I’m So Tired!”, the heart and soul of the band were absolutely present.
Normally on a record, an artist tries to go for uniformity in terms of sound and atmosphere, however we truly enjoyed and appreciated that Bensie showed his dynamic range not only on vocal capability, but sound as well. You’ll notice parts of the songs are auto-tuned, but to the point where it doesn’t overstay its welcome and almost acts as an additional instrument being played. As far as instrumentation goes, we’re big fans of the crunch guitar sound, so when that popped up here and there, our ears perked up. Obviously the standout of both songs were Bensie’s vocal range and high notes, seriously impressive if we do say so.
While this was our first foray into the music of Bensie, it surely will not be our last! We seriously encourage you to listen when you get the chance, you won’t be disappointed. For everything Bensie and to listen to fremdschämen, please check out the following links below.
Listen to fremdschämen
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