Live Review: BENEE's debut EP is a rare, vulnerable insight into the modern millennial + East Coast tour dates

Back in February, we caught up with our fav lil New Zealand bean BENEE while she was here for her debut headline shows. Since then, it's been all guns blazing for the wunderkind, taking her live show to the northern hemisphere to places like Amsterdam, London, Berlin, New York City and Los Angeles, AND she released her debut EP, FIRE ON MARZZ.

The six-track EP hones in on her indie-tinged, sun-drenched, feel-good sound captured so fervently on previous singles 'Soaked', - which came in at #58 in last year's triple j Hottest 100 - 'Evil Spider' and 'Want Me Back'.

FIRE ON MARZZ traverses through the mad imaginative mind of BENEE. Kicking off with smash hit 'Soaked', we're thrown into what we know and love from her, but it's really just the tip of the iceberg. Her most recent single 'Glitter' is up next, showing off her vocal chops through careful lyricism. A guitar strums in the instrumental breaks with heavy reverb, giving off slacker-rock vibes.

'Wishful Thinking' pairs throaty guitars with a walloping bassline, giving us synths and lots of 'em. The chorus is arguably the most catchy on the record, her voice floating lazily atop the psychedelic sounds. That's not to say that the track itself is lazy, but when she's singing lyrics like "lying around daydreaming", the track's style perfectly encompasses the words she's singing about.

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A lone guitar takes us into the 'Afterlife', BENEE's voice leading us into what is a “diss track to the bitch who killed me in my dream”. 'Afterlife' beautifully captures the dreamy, imaginative nature of her approach to this record, highlighting its surreal, yet blissed out sheen.

She creeps up behind us on 'Evil Spider', detailing that gut-wrenching feeling of wanting someone you can't have. And finally, she leaves us to reflect on the record with 'Want Me Back', the most personal of the bunch. Written post-break up sometime in late 2018, there's a mature vulnerability emanating from this one that leaves it the perfect note to end on.

There are so many complexities to BENEE as an artist. Although she's only young, that's not to discredit her skills as a songwriter and musician. FIRE ON MARZZ is a millennial dream showing: vulnerability in the face of heartbreak, turning her daydreams into creative realities and not giving a fuck about whether you like it or not, because this is her world, she's just opening the door for us.

Catch BENEE back in Australia this November for her east coast headline tour and sold-out appearances as Spilt Milk. Details below.

BENEE FIRE ON MARZZ TOUR

Friday, November 22

Woolly Mammoth

Brisbane, QLD

Tickets

Saturday, November 23

Canberra, ACT

SOLD OUT

Thursday, November 28

Oxford Art Factory

Sydney, NSW