By Cynthia Gross
This Alchemical Records article is read by the author to provide a multimedia experience for our audience while increasing the accessibility of our content to persons with hearing loss, low vision, dyslexia, physical or motor disabilities, or are on the autism spectrum.
With his latest single, “Someone Needs You, Pt. II,” D.C.-based post-hardcore artist Ben Senses provides a resolve for themes of disappointment, loneliness, and grief raised in the companion track. With its emotional and heartfelt delivery, Pt. II reminds listeners that remnants, fragments, and best-laid plans still have the potential to be repurposed into a thing of beauty.
“Someone out there loves you/And that’s your someone to become,” Ben Senses sings. “This year, I thought I could be someone.”
He explains Pt. I of the song was inspired by prolonged isolation during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period in which he lost his job and fell on hard times. Pt. I serves as “the musical expression of someone overwhelmed by loneliness, trying to convince themselves, ‘someone needs you.’”
Fast forward to “Someone Needs You, Pt. II,” and we find Ben Senses in a better place – not necessarily because of a considerable change of circumstances, but rather, a new perspective.
The most important takeaway from the song comes in the form of a challenge. Instead of waiting for someone else to change your situation and affirm your value, Ben Senses encourages audiences to find the strength buried deep inside to become the best version of themselves – not for anyone else, but for you.
Delicately handled and powerfully executed, his message is a call to harnessing one’s self-worth and remembering that although we may not be in complete control of the cards we’re dealt in life, each new day provides an opportunity for a fresh start. The song resonates in its aching honesty and is all the more moving coming from an individual who writes from the pages of one of the most difficult chapters of his life.
“I reflected on the year lost in silent agony and came to the resolution – a more optimistic one than I’m used to – that there is ‘someone out there who I need and who needs me,’” explains Ben Senses. “And this year, I will become that person.”
The stripped-down style of the song, featuring only acoustic guitar and vocals, is especially fitting. The exposed nature of the composition mirrors the barrenness that’s all too familiar when we encounter periods in which gaps exist between where we are and where we planned to be.
“Someone Needs You, Pt. II” is the final track on Where I Stand Now, the third live acoustic EP from Ben Senses. Fans of Dashboard Confessional and Into It. Over It. will feel at home with Ben Senses’ introspective, soul-baring, and ultimately, inspiring music.
The shift in the closing lines of the song – “This year I thought I could be someone/I will be someone” – reinforces the idea of being the change you want to see and committing to never give up in the process.
“In sum, what I wanted to get across with the song is telling that person on the other side of the headphones with one voice, one guitar, and no uncertainty, ‘Hey, I know where you’re at. You’re someone. I’ve been there. I learned that I’m someone, too.’”
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Cynthia Gross is a freelance writer and award-winning spiritual pop artist based in Maryland. With more than a decade of experience as an executive ghostwriter, she understands the power of each individual’s voice to create positive, meaningful change.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
