Benton refines his sound on an immaculate new single, "Heartbeat"
There’s a confidence running through Heartbeat, the latest single from Charlotte-based artist Benton, and it’s the sound of an artist fully in sync with his own rhythm. After years of refining his sound and absorbing a wide range of influences, Benton delivers a track that feels meticulously sculpted. From beginning to end it glows with emotion and an atmosphere that literally sucks you in to the world that he’s created.
Benton’s background as a drummer is more than a footnote here. Rhythm isn’t just present, it’s foundational. Heartbeat moves with a pulse that anchors the song even as it blooms outward into shimmering textures. A thick electronic bassline provides the backbone, locking in with crisp, precise beats that snap into place with an 80s-esque New Wave confidence. Sleek synths glide and flicker, arpeggios sparkling like distant city lights seen through a windshield at night. The production is immaculate and when you listen, we urge you sincerely to enjoy it with a nice pair of headphones to really experience those subtleties floating in the background.
Sonically, the track nods to some his influences like The War on Drugs or the grooviness of Talking Heads, but it never feels derivative for even a moment. Instead, Heartbeat sounds like the moment those inspirations finally coalesce into something unmistakably Benton’s own. The song grows patiently, adding weight and dimension as it goes, each new layer deepening the emotional pull. The result is hypnotic and kaleidoscopic, dare we say even psychedelic at times. That production fully comes into play but it’s the onslaught of instrumentation coming from all directions that hits you in a way that’s almost difficult to explain.
On the vocal end, Benton is the calm center of the storm. His delivery cuts through the mix, floating in the middle of the instrumentation that suits the song’s theme perfectly. There’s vulnerability in his voice, like an openness that mirrors the lyrical focus on connection. As Benton himself describes it, Heartbeat captures the moment when love becomes a safe place, when vulnerability transforms into something grounding and life-affirming. There’s a fair chance you’ll be “distracted” by the instrumental, but another urge is to actually connect the dots in the words that he’s saying.
While Benton’s earlier releases surely explored more of a broad sound we suppose, this track feels like a statement of clear articulation of who he is as an artist right now. With a full album slated for cassette release later this year and a new radio show on the horizon, Heartbeat doesn’t just stand on its own, it signals a new era. It caught our ears immediately and we know it’s going to have the same effect on you.
So please, click those links below to listen in, to follow along, and of course to stay tuned for more in the works and on the way!
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