Songs for an endless summer #4

Hello dear reader! If youuuuuu can believe it… it’s a Tuesday once again. Earlier today I was in a slump of a mood, feeling rather inaccessible to the world and all I could do was scroll on my phone in bed. It wasn’t until I got a call from my thoughtful partner who suggest I take care of myself and write another post. So consider this as a subtle nudge reminding you to do the things you want and take care of yourself however you choose. Kindness is an indispensable currency we need to use in droves. Intros aside, here’s another entry in the Songs for an endless summer.

Something you must know about me is that I am a big fan of Benny Sings. I have been for 8 years now. Special shoutout to a Frank Ocean’s Blonded Radio for putting me on with “All We Do For Love,” the sensual pop sound was so satisfying on my first listen. Fast forward with Benny as my top artist on Spotify numerous times, he releases the soul-lifting Music (2021), an album characterized by typical buttery-smooth production and a notable amount of featured artists. Benny has collaborated with dozens of artists in his time, but on his own projects it hasn’t racked up to five until now!

Nonetheless, “Sunny Afternoon” is a song I come back to for it’s downtrodden sophistication. It’s a song about being tidy in one’s life and wishing your partner would be the same because you can lost without them. Imagine you have a perfect late autumn date planned for your partner. A small activity in which y’all would get coffee and a cute pastry at slightly-not-as-popular café by the park so you can have something warm to hold while you watch the yellow leaves blow in the wind. However, your partner is late. They are in an existential freefall with no clear sign of stability, thus not able to make it the calendar-marked 2pm date. You and you partner are on polar ends of functionality but the idea of love keeps you going wanting to stay together. This is the hypothetical scenario I’d like for you to project as you listen to “Sunny Afternoon.”

Because the song is pretty short, here are the lyrics to give a canvas to project the above scenario:

I love October
Here where the rhythm don't stop
You know love is right around the corner
Night vision, colors fading in me
All I know is getting things in order

[Chorus]
It's a sunny afternoon, but I need you here
I'm nothing without you
It's a sunny afternoon, but I'm freezing here
I'll be coming back real soon

You are soft spoken
I can't believe it's all gone
You know love is right there where you make it
Just know that you've got a friend in me
So come on, it's time to celebrate it

[Chorus]

It's so special
And I don't wanna make a fuss
You'll have to leave
It's better for the both of us

[Fading]
Sunny afternoon, baby girl
Sunny afternoon, baby girl
And what am I to do?
Sunny afternoon, ooh-la
It's a sunny afternoon, my baby girl

It’d be hard to say if Benny calls himself a great songwriter, he’s certainly a good one. But his lyrics leave large gaps between already ambiguous details, so the onus lies on the music to connect the dots. Rapturous piano chords, played by PJ Morton, sound fragmented as if the keys are on the verge of crying. The disarming bass, played by Brian Cockerham, supports the piano with a box of tissues. A simple hihat-snare, played by Edward Clark, keep the track on a steady course as to not distract from what transition into string-sectioned set piece. Arranged by frequent collaborator Adam Bar-Pereg, the strings swell upward like a cherry on top just after the song’s concluding lines: “It’s better for the both of us.”

If the lyrics are the words of the story, the instrumentation is the book in which you read it. This is one of the uncommon instances of judging a book by it’s cover because it reveals so much about its contents. Perhaps I wouldn’t even know how to think through this song if not for how it sounds.

A lot of these songs are sadder than what you might expect from a “summer” playlist series. I’m realizing there is a trajectory towards gloomy pop, or love songs with unhappy endings. So I’ll be intentional to pick a song that rounds out the dourness of the songs thus far. I hope you at least get curious to listen to more of Benny Sings, his music is incredibly cheerful and remind me that having passion can actually keep you alive. His album isn’t titled Music for nothing.

Cheers.