Happen To Me

And just like that, with “Happen To Me ”Benee somehow manages to deliver the most serene and even-tempered song about anxiety. It is an accomplishment in itself, even if you disregard the fact that she is one of the most distinctive new voices of alternative rnb and she proves it yet again on this track.

Overall, the message that Benee gets across could not be more straightforward and obvious and you don’t need her explanation to get the point:

I sing about my anxiety, which I’ve only had to deal with in the last few years. I can’t go to a shop by myself without freaking out. I write about my fear of flying, about someone kidnapping me or me burning in fire, all these terrible things that could possibly happen. It’s really silly.

Silly or not, it’s a problem that a lot of people nowadays can relate to. Benee’s vocals invoke all this angst and nervousness she talks about in the most chilling manner possible. That is, with eerily deadpan delivery that makes the subject matter even more unsettling. It’s a really surreal feeling to listen someone talk about plane crashes and arsons in such a way. But that was what she was going for, especially when you account the instrumental background that her voice floats above. It’s some simple, but suitable guitar riffing that sounds like a gentle nod to Jefferson Airplane, accompanied with synth background and sporadic piano here and there.

If you are into alternative rnb-pop with psychedelic shades, then “Happen  To Me” might just be your very own surprise of the week, month, or year.

The downward slope towards anxiety has never had a more fitting rnb soundtrack.