Benedict Cork is one of the most promising singer-songwriters in the UK at the moment and just put out his debut album on May 10th. Notes On A Hopeless Romance is a record about queer love and all the ups and downs that come with a love story. Ben takes the listener on a beautiful ride through the emotions that come with falling in and out of love and gives the audience the possibility to heal a part of us as well.
Starting strong with the track ‘Sanctuary’, the beautiful melody that reminds one of a gospel choir. The raw emotion in vocals and lyrics immediately captures the listener’s attention. Singing about the other person being his safe place and wanting to be the same for them is something truly beautiful and honest. What makes it unique is the collection of uplifting and reassuring voice memos at the end, that just make you feel good.
With the next track ‘Nice Guy’, which was the third single for the album, Ben takes a step out of his comfort zone of piano-based ballads and treats the listener to an upbeat song that resembles an 80’s pop song. In the song, he offers the other person peace of mind and explains how he could “be the man of your dreams” and treat the other person better than their exes before because he has “always been the nice guy”.
‘The Good In You’ takes on an electronic edge with a piano melody. It is a beautiful anthem-like song that just makes you feel like you too can see the good in people. The lyrics “All of this time I’ve been running away from you. You gave me the space, time for healing these wounds,” give the listeners the idea that “choosing the good” in the other person is Ben’s way of healing after taking time for himself.
The next track, which is also the second single on the album, called ‘Reasons I Loved You (I Can’t Think Of One)’ starts with a beautiful choir performance and goes on to a more upbeat piano melody. It becomes clear that the singer is over the ex: “When I think of the reasons I want you, I can’t even think of one,” which is always a good sign of healing properly.
‘Soulmates’ talks about losing someone that you thought would be your person. „For me, it’s for life, for you just a moment in time.“ are just some of the lyrics and you can hear the raw emotion in every line – combined with insanely good vocals this song is the perfect way to have a good cry over your heartbreak. This song also has a beautiful piano version that you can listen to here.
With ‘Beauty Queen’ we get another heart wrenching but beautiful piano ballad. Listening to this will truly make you feel like you are watching a Broadway performance. The lyrics “It’s 3 am I’m hanging out with the voices in my mind,” give a little insight into Ben’s feelings. As he goes on to sing “strangers on the internet tell me just how beautiful I am – the curtain falls and I’m still fucking lonely,” which is something a lot of people in today’s world can probably relate to.
The next track ‘God Damn’ changes the mood within a second and gives off main character vibes. It is pretty upbeat and Ben sings about being more of a man than the other person no matter how hard they try to break him down – which is pretty relatable as well.
Another ballad called ‘Until We Fuck It Up’ brings back the emotional side of the album. The piano-based melody combined with beautifully strong vocals will have you tearing up from the raw emotions in no time. Singing “Take a little bit more from me, take the air I breathe from my lungs,” later followed by “It won’t mean a thing when you’re gone,” gives the audience a moment to think about how this song feels kind of like the realisation that maybe the other person isn’t /the/ person after all.
‘Into The Arms Of Another Love’ changes the mood again and talks about the other person falling in love with someone else while Ben sees it happening. The lyrics “You can say forever ’til it goes up in flames, so I took your pretty heartburn, gave it to a new love,” leaves us to believe he’s over that other person and is using that newfound energy to create beautiful new songs but still keeping that person in mind, continuing with lyrics like “Does it hurt to be a ghost my dying muse?”
With ‘I Know He’ll Be Gone In A Little While’ he finishes the album on a pretty chill note. The dreamy guitar part and the calm beat are the perfect way to end the album. Singing about not wanting to get hung up on promises again after going through people leaving before, with lyrics as “but I let the promise die cause I know you’ll be gone in a little while,” and adding little voice memos – the song is a special way to make the album a full circle moment after having similar voice memos in the first song too.
From beginning to end Benedict Cork takes the listeners on a healing journey through his emotions and feelings. It is a beautiful album that will leave you feeling more content and a little lighter once you’ve listened to it. If you want to hear these songs live, go check out his site and get your tickets for the album tour in the UK, Netherlands and Germany this month.
Written by: Lara Thissen
Edited by: Ilse Muis
