A Quick Chat with Benny Morrell

‘Better Off Alone’ is such a raw and introspective track, what was the moment or experience that first sparked the idea for this song?
I wanted to create the song in the world as I experienced it at the time. I remember sitting in an apartment and wishing I could say what was actually going through my head. And I felt bad for it because what can seem like someone didn’t care was actually the tip of the iceberg to a lot of thoughts. I think that’s common as a lived experience so it’s a comment on that.

The song feels like a conversation with yourself. Was it written during a particularly isolating time, or did it come from reflecting on past experiences?
It's funny a lot of the songs I write end up being a conversation with myself. It was a really isolating time and I didn’t think there were many people to talk to. But in songwriting it’s a sense of catharsis where you go in with the emotion and the feeling and then it lends itself to a broader conversation with yourself.

You’ve mentioned that the song explores the struggles introverts face, how do you personally navigate that internal world, especially as a performer and songwriter?
I'm probably the most introverted extrovert there is. I think I avoid it more than anything. I’m in the studio writing songs all day every day, with people for better or worse. And in that you get support and create this world that you can escape to for 8 hours in the day where nothing else exists. I’ve thought recently about this same question. I find it easier to write the song, to perform in front of however many people than to actually have the conversation with what’s going on with me. Maybe I’m hard on myself but it can certainly feel like that.

The production, done by Harry Charles, beautifully balances emotional weight with alt-pop polish. What was the collaboration process like on this track, and how did you land on that sound?
Harry is incredible. I think his alt pop style meshed beautifully with the anthemic world I wanted to create. So what you get in the end is this dystopian sort of melodramatic alt pop world. Pretty sick! We made the song front to back in probably 3 and a half 4 hours, lyrics production everything. We only just met each other that night, I felt like the music and that song writing together was probably the best way of meeting each other.

Lyrically, there’s a push and pull between wanting to open up and feeling like it’s safer to stay guarded. How important is that theme of vulnerability across the rest of your upcoming EP, All That’s Left?
You said it better then I could! I think it was an honest reflection of the situation I was in at the time. You crave the ability to open up but just hope it’s a safe place when that time comes. All That’s Left is going to explore a lot of the love loss and bits of life in between I’ve had on this journey. I wouldn’t say it’s all relationship based, but it is a consistent attempt at exploring themes and trying to understand more about myself and my place in the world in the process.