Alec Benjamin, These Two Windows | Album Review 💿

Alec Benjamin delivers an enjoyable, honest, and well-rounded debut album with These Two Windows, running a succinct 10 tracks/28 minutes.

It’s been a long time coming but the moment has finally arrived. Alec Benjamin is releasing his official debut album, These Two Windows.  Sure, Benjamin released Narrated for You in 2018, but that was a mixtape.  These Two Windows arrived May 29, 2020.  With a number of singles issued ahead of These Two Windows, listeners had a great idea what to expect.  The results are definitely favorable for Mr. Benjamin.

“Mind is a Prison”

✓ “Mind is a Prison” commences These Two Windows in compelling fashion. Blessed with a distinct tone, Alec Benjamin delivers gorgeous vocals, singing with both ease and expression. “Sometimes, I think too much, yeah, I get so caught up / I’m always stuck in my head.”  Ah, as awesome as his vocal performance is, the theme is where his ‘bread is buttered’ on “Mind is a Prison.” As the title suggests, Alec captures the power of the mind, in all its dangerousness.  Basically, he paints a picture lyrically about how it’s difficult to escape his own thoughts, much like prison.  He nails it on the chorus, setting up the mental imprisonment perfectly:

“Then I tied up my linen with five strips of ribbon I found
Scaled the side of the building, I ran to the hills ‘til they found me
And they put me back in my cell, all by myself
Alone with my thoughts again
Guess my mind is a prison and I’m never gonna get out.”

Of course, if you backtrack, Benjamin does pretty swell on the verses setting up mental anguish. He cleverly sings, on the first verse, “I don’t live in California, I’ll inform you, that’s not where I reside / I’m just a tenant, paying rent inside this body and I.” On the second verse, he specifically addresses his state of mind, singing, “I’m a prisoner, a visitor inside my brain.”

“I got all these demons hiding underneath / Nobody can see them, nobody but me, and you’re the reason…” Even though the excerpt from the chorus suggests an incredibly depressed record, “Demons” isn’t particularly sad in sound.  The record features a quick tempo, subtle, yet potent vocals, and ultimately, very little ‘heaviness.’ The chorus continues, “The only thing that keeps me from diving off the deep end / Because I’ve got all these demons, demons, demons, mmm.”  On the verses, Benjamin is thankful for the person who was there for him in each and every way. “You were there to take away the pain that I felt,” he sings on the first, adding on the second, “You forgave me, and you gave me hope.”  The big mystery is WHO Alec is referencing as his savior of sorts.  Interestingly, Alec states this isn’t his favorite song on the album, and asserts, “It frequently bothers me that I  don’t know how I feel about it”.

“Oh My God” 

✓ “Oh My God” continues the sheer excellence that Benjamin has exhibited throughout the 10s into the 20s.  His youthful, boyish voice sounds quite innocent and sweet. His songwriting continues to be mature, authentic, and relatable.  That’s the case on “On My God,” where Alec is also given a superb, balanced music backdrop that complements his voice. On “Oh My God,” he introspects about how he’s forgotten who he was and changed. “I’m running out of oxygen,” he sings on the pre-chorus, continuing, “I’ll never be the same again now.” The centerpiece is the chorus, where he asserts, “Oh, my god, look in the mirror / I was young, nothing to fear once / What have I done; how did I get here? /What have I done?”

OMG! 11 Totally Oh My God Songs | Playlist 🎧

“The Book of You & I” 

Ah, ✓ “The Book of You & I” – another gift, another gem from Alec Benjamin. Benjamin reminisces on a relationship from his past, one that was quite difficult to move beyond.  Poetic throughout the course of the record, he best sums up his feelings when the end came:

“Don’t tell me that it’s over, the book of you and I
Now you’ve scribbled out my name
And you’ve erased my favorite lines
There were so many chapters that we never got to write
Like cereal for dinner and staying up all night…”

Is it a bit schmaltzy? Perhaps, but at the same time, I like the vulnerability that Alec exhibits. There’s a degree of sensitivity that it wouldn’t hurt for male musicians to embrace, particularly considering an overabundance of masculinity. We’ve all experienced heartbreak, and know how much it can affect or lives, even years after it first occurs, so, “The Book of You & I” is spot-on in that regard.

“But there’s only one of us / That’s tryna keep this fire going / Should I just give up?” Matters of the heart remain firmly planted on Benjamin’s mind on “Match in the Rain.”  Clearly, the relationship is going down the tubes, and as much as Alec would like to fix it, it seems impossible, like “Tryna light a match in the rain.” The metaphor is the perfect means to capture where things are, with him telling the story on the verses, and summing things up on the chorus:

“The clouds are rolling in; I feel you drifting away
And though my intuition tells me that it’s too late,
That in these conditions, tryna bring back the flame is like
Tryna light a match in the rain.”

“Jesus in LA”

“And that is when I knew that it was time to go home / And that is when I realized that I was alone…” Jesus and Los Angeles – two things that don’t seem to go together.  Obviously, that’s not a true statement, but not the first city one associates with ‘The Most High.’ ✓ “Jesus in LA” isn’t really about Jesus but rather a ‘Christ illusion’ of sorts.  The illusion for the Alec Benjamin was finding happiness and success in L.A., which can be paralleled with Jesus.  Ultimately, Los Angeles was not his saving grace but, hey, “Jesus in LA” gave him another gem, so, it’s not all bad.

Throughout, he does a stellar job incorporating religious imagery, beginning with the opening the first verse (“Well, I shook hands with the devil / Down on the south side…”).  The most interesting lyrics hail on the pre-chorus and chorus sections.  On the pre-chorus, he talks to his shrink, who informs him, “‘Son, you’re not special / You won’t find him [Jesus] where you think.’” He continues on the chorus, from the perspective of the shrink who informs him at the end, “…And it’s a crying shame you came all this way / ‘Cause you won’t find Jesus in LA.” Benjamin came to realize he didn’t need L.A. to be his savior – he already had everything he needed with his family and within himself.

11 Secular Songs from 2019 That Reference Jesus or God | Playlist 🎧

“I swear that I’m not a cynic, my glass just has no water in it today.” As a songwriter, that’s definitely a line you listen to and you think, damn, I wish I’d written that.  Of course, Alec Benjamin and Alex Hope nail it on the short but sweet and potent “I’m Not A Cynic.” On this relatable record, Alec perfectly captures that bridge between reality and cynicism.

“Alamo” 

Continuing the excellence of These Two Windows is the ‘historic’ “Alamo.”  When commenting on the eighth track to Apple Music, Alec makes it clear, “I wouldn’t dig too deeply into the historical context of the song, because I’m not necessarily proud of what the United States did during the time.” Fair enough! Even so, it is neat how history is used within the songwriting, not to mention such cool lyrics like “‘Cause my teachers and the media are ghouls in disguise / Abusing their authority to proselytize.” Yeah, you just don’t hear proselytize used that often in pop music – pretty cool.

✓ “Must Have Been the Wind” arrived early during the These Two Windows release cycle.  As usual, on the penultimate track, Alec Benjamin imparts a story.  Yeah, the guy is really good at that.  A heavy record, “Must Have Been the Wind” is about domestic abuse and about the role that a friend of someone who has suffered such abuse has.  “I knew somebody who was in a situation like that and I wanted to help them out,” he tells Apple Music, “But they weren’t ready to talk about it.  That’s a tough situation to be in as a friend…”  While “Must Have Been the Wind” covers a tough subject, it’s another heart-on-the-sleeves, thoughtful song that perfectly fits Benjamin.

“Just Like You” concludes the brief album – wait for it – thoughtfully.  Alec looks up to his father, apologetic about his miscues and poor treatment to his ‘old man’ at times, and how much love and respect that he has for him.  Basically, this is the classic ‘I want to be like my dad’ cut.  The concept may not be new, but like so many dad-emulating songs of the past, this one’s equally effective – ‘feels’ to be had.

Final Thoughts

Question – how does one even pick gems from an album where all 10 songs are worthwhile? Alec Benjamin is incredibly consistent on These Two Windows.  Perhaps he does nothing that absolutely flips the game upside down – it’s not the flashiest album you’ll hear perhaps – but this is an honest, thoughtful, and well-rounded debut album.  Again, as I’ve asked when reviewing singles by Alec over the past few years, how could a major label drop this guy? These Two Windows is definitely worth checking out!

✓ Gems: “Mind is a Prison,” “Oh My God,” “The Book of You & I,” “Jesus in LA” & “Must Have Been the Wind”

Alec Benjamin • These Two Windows • Release: 5.29.20

Photo Credit: Alec Benjamin