Benton Turns Emotional Chaos Into a Neon-Lit Dance Floor on 'Animals'

Electronic artist Benton isn’t here to trauma-dump for streams or deliver some perfectly manicured “aesthetic” sadness. Animals, his new EP, is messy in the most human way, a kaleidoscope of breakdowns, breakthroughs, synth pulses, and the weird little moments in between where you’re laughing through the pain because… what else are you supposed to do?

If his last single “On My Own” cracked the door open, Animals kicks it off the hinges. This is Benton at his most exposed yet most free, building worlds out of shimmering synths, retro-pop grit, and the kind of melodic honesty that hits you right in the unspoken thoughts.

Benton blends the spirit of The War on Drugs, Talking Heads, and Her’s but filters it through a distinctly modern lens, emotionally aware, self-deprecating, and fully willing to dance through the disaster.

Across the EP, Benton unpacks the heavy stuff: love, identity, loneliness, emotional freeze-response, all the ways adulthood feels like one long “what the hell am I doing?” montage. But here’s the twist: he refuses to let the darkness win.

Instead, Animals embraces the reality that sometimes healing looks like staring out a window, questioning your life choices… and sometimes it’s dancing your face off at 2 a.m. to forget them. The synths shimmer, the beats hit hard, and the melodies feel like a warm hand on your shoulder saying, “Same, dude. Same.”

There’s sarcasm, sincerity, and a ton of self-awareness. It’s indie pop for people who know life is complicated but don’t want to drown in the seriousness of it all. This EP doesn’t come from nowhere. Benton wrote much of Animals while navigating the emotional weight of his father’s cancer battle, a reality that shakes your sense of time, priority, and meaning.

Instead of spiraling inward, Benton channels it outward, turning fear and confusion into something cathartic, communal, and weirdly hopeful. These songs feel like internal conversations set to retro synths, moments where you’re trying to keep your heart open even when your mind is in full-blown storm mode.

“It’s about how so much happens in life, good, bad, whatever, and everyone is just trying their best to get through,” Benton shares. “And searching for real connection through the haze and the storm in our own minds.” You feel that. Every track walks the line between vulnerability and release.

At its core, Animals is a reminder that you’re allowed to laugh while falling apart. You’re allowed to dance while grieving. You’re allowed to be a flawed, confused, overstimulated human being in a world that keeps pretending everyone else has it figured out. “I want people to be able to laugh and dance and know they aren’t alone,” Benton says. “You don’t have to be some perfect version of yourself. Enjoy the journey we are on.”

That’s the energy this EP radiates: messy joy. Imperfect healing. Real connection.

Aside from being a skilled producer (running Moon-Runner Studios in Charlotte), a film and TV set designer, and a documentary scorer, Benton has the kind of artistic perspective that doesn’t chase trends; he builds from truth.

If you’ve ever felt lost, lonely, hopeful, exhausted, or hilariously confused by life… this EP is for you. Animals is indie-electronic therapy disguised as a dance record, proof that sometimes the best way to process the hard stuff is to sit with your feelings and shake it off.

Benton turned his chaos into art. All you have to do is hit play.

“Animals” balances heavy emotional themes with bright, dance-driven production. How do you personally decide when to sit in the pain versus flipping it into something you can move your body to? I’m not sure if it's so either for me. I think sitting in the emotion sometimes looks like a somber melody, but also looks like rhythmic synths and drums. Everything I do starts with rhythm. I think because my musical journey started with drums. It’s just how I process, with movement. 

Your dad’s cancer battle clearly shaped the emotional core of this EP. What was the hardest truth you had to face while writing these songs, and did any track force you to confront something you’d been avoiding? I have a really good relationship with my dad, like a real friendship. He and my mom have always been such supporters of me. I think the hardest truth was realizing this is something he’s going to deal with the rest of his life and coming to terms, a lot earlier than I thought I would, of his mortality, I guess. He’s in a really good place now. Beating it as much as can happen. The track “Storm” is really about the mental battle of it all. I think I had really been avoiding exactly how it was affecting me. It absolutely made me confront that and helped me process, like Oh, this is having a huge impact on me, and I need to work through it.

There’s a self-aware sarcasm running through your lyrics, even in the most vulnerable moments. Where does that blend of humor and hurt come from in your writing process?

I think the sarcasm just comes from the way I view the world and the way I think. I feel like laughter is truly healing and that we should not take ourselves so seriously. It’s probably some sort of coping mechanism. I like my writing to be conversational, so it’s just my tone, I guess. And I like it. 

You’ve worked across music, film, production, and set design. How do those different creative lanes influence the worldbuilding and visual identity behind Animals?

I think in everything I’m creating, I’m building a world with it. If I’m writing a song, I’m picturing a scene with it. Is the character in the song driving, in an office, or walking through the streets like Blade Runner? Does the emotion of the song feel a certain way? It’s how my brain works. I guess I have an active imagination. With this project, it's just a combination of everything I love. Synths, drums, guitars, 80’s Sci-fi. Haha, and luckily, we can pull it all together to make it look pretty cool. My wife is a photographer/ production designer, so I always have someone to bounce stuff around with, too.

You said you want listeners to know they’re “not alone” and don’t need to be perfect. What’s a moment from your own life recently where you had to take that advice yourself? I think I sometimes have these secret rules to live by. Maybe we all do. Like you just have to meet these milestones or need to be in a certain place in life by a certain age, or you’re not doing the same things that people your age are doing. I’m 34 now, why am I still doing music? But then I’m like, life is not perfect. Who even set these rules? Everyone is in control of their own destiny, and I can do whatever I want. And a million people have these thoughts every day.  I’d say that’s a battle every few weeks. Haha, then I'll go write a song that expresses what I’m feeling and play it at a show. Also, there’s like no way on planet earth that I could ever not be doing music, so I don’t even know why I would think that. Haha