Donald Benjamin’s song I Choose The Whiskey is a deeply confessional, self-reflective expression of sadness, regret, and opting for the easier, more numbing way of escaping certain situations or feelings. The music is beautifully emotional, the singer’s lyrics captivate in the way that only authentic and honest storytelling can, and his voice has the precisely powerful qualities that guarantee to charm and captivate.
Musically speaking, the song is a solid country ballad that soaks you in organic instrumentation and makes for a professionally structured, gradually evolving composition. The acoustic guitar sound holds a smooth contrast with the snippets of electric guitar that flicker in and out of the mix. This, combined with the raw and skilful performance on the drums, makes for a minimal yet powerful soundscape. It is undoubtedly the artist’s voice though that drives the essence of the song, it’s message, it’s passion, it’s revealing and unquestionably open lyricism.
Donald Benjamin presents audiences with a warmth and realness that will be long remembered after listening. The upfront realness of the performance and the instrumentation also indicates that a live show is likely to be every bit as mesmerising and wonderful as the recording – in fact, most probably, a whole lot more-so. The song doesn’t try to be anything it’s not, and in being what it is, and saying what it says, this idea of who the artist is and how the music came to be is portrayed in a greatly appealing way. Despite the professional and satisfying structure and production, it all comes through as a song that needed to be written, a topic that needed to be expressed, rather than something that simply intended to impress. This heartfelt depth is the very thing that leads listeners to connect so intensely with certain music, and it works beautifully here.
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