Lazarus Benson – “Burn Down”
Lazarus Benson – “Burn Down” – Single Review
I’ll admit, I was a little bit skeptical.
When I received the new single from Lazarus Benson, which came along with notes that mentioned how a lot had changed in “sound and more,” my first thought was like…how? I’ve been listening to this guy’s music since about 2021…and there has been little deviation from the original blueprint. Then I checked out the write-up that came along with the YouTube video, which goes on to explain that “’Burn Down’ is a song about betrayal, karma, and the moment where everything falls apart” – and of course, I was even less convinced about the potential changes to come, because these are all incredibly similar themes to what we’ve heard in LB’s catalog from day one. It’s been about a year and a half since we last had his music on these pages of ours, but he knows this ain’t my first rodeo too, right? So believe me, just in looking at the details that came along with Benson’s new single “Burn Down” before I pushed play, I had to wonder what could have really changed…like…at all. That’s not to say I think he even NEEDED to change to begin with – that’s all him – I might have felt like there have been ups/downs in the course of his catalog over time, but that’s the same as it usually is with any artist or band out there. Personally, it doesn’t make a whole ton of sense to me that Lazarus would change his style or sound all that much, because he clearly plays the kind of music he enjoys listening to. Did I think he was gonna start making Opera music all of a sudden? Of course not. We are who we are, we like what we like, and that’s really all there is to it. Can we get better in what we create, or sharpen our craft? Absolutely. So I assumed those would be the kind of changes we’d find…because Lazarus is always gonna be Lazarus, you feel me?
What I hear in “Burn Down” isn’t the kind of stylistic change that most people would notice. It’s not a change in the formula or the recipe or the approach to songwriting either…whatever you might like to call it. Is it a more mature level of performance, production, and tightening of the screws overall? Sure! I’d support that assessment. As naturally gifted as Benson has pretty much always proven to be with his production skills, it was probably a wise idea to get a few more sets of ears on “Burn Down” to help assist in smoothing things out a little more – so you’ll see that Alex Asch & Dirk Dugan co-produced, co-mixed, and co-mastered this new single. In that respect, the results are there without a doubt…and I’d probably argue that, even though the difference in style is slight at best from where he started out to where he’s at here now and even some of his most dedicated fans could possibly miss that in his sonic evolution, if you’re paying attention, it’s enough of a difference to make his music more relevant. Think of it like this…the whole Rap/Rock combo skewed heavier towards the Rock side of its balance when it was first unleashed into the world…then the Rap side eventually took more of a starring role. Where it currently stands as a genre, you’ll find that the Rap element now leans more towards a Hip-Hop vibe, and the Rock element shifted closer to what we know as Indie/Emo now…and to me, that’s the kind of difference you really hear in a single like “Burn Down.” So it’s not really so much a matter of making these monumental changes that would make an artist like Lazarus Benson sound way different than the guy you already know, so much as it’s about staying on top of where the direction for the genre itself is going and how listeners have been responding to those changes. However slight those of us on the outside of it all may perceive them to be, those that have been doing what they do from day one would tell you they’re huge…neither side of that argument is really wrong about that, but one side – the creator’s side – obviously has a lot more invested in everything that’s happening. On the listening side of the scenario, we’re simply hearing things continue to move in a logical progression with where the whole genre is going at the same time. It’s much easier to swim with the tide, than swim against it.
But yeah…like I said…the screws have been tightened from just about every part of the mechanics in a track like “Burn Down” compared to a lot of what we’ve heard from Lazarus to-date…I think that’s fair to say. The metering of the vocals is bang-on, and you can hear the guy is in full control of this cut from the music to the microphone from start to finish. Whether that’s additional time being taken to rehearse & prepare, or something else that Benson has tweaked in his process, I don’t know – but I do know solid results when I hear’em…and I don’t think anyone out there would be able to argue against the fact that he’s pretty much created a bulletproof track here when it comes to the performance and production.
As for the songwriting itself…I ain’t feeling all that inclined to be hating on it. Again, thematically and conceptually, we know Benson’s gonna Benson…so when the subjects of lies and pain and betrayal and deception and all that kinda stuff comes up, that’s very much expected to be found in his music. He owns that, and he’s never made too much of an effort to stray from the themes he chooses to write about overall…or at the very least, not that I’ve personally heard. Gotta give the people what they want though, right? Or again, at least be making the kind of music you’d want to listen to yourself like Lazarus does…that’s vitally important too. Lyrically, I appreciate that it’s cohesive as an idea, and that’s positive. Where it’s problematic is that he’s still searching for a real breakthrough there that’ll help him stand out from anything else that’s out there. Cohesive is great! But at the same time, you wanna explore things in ways others haven’t before, and admittedly, “Burn Down” is still retreading over very well-worn lyrical terrain that we’ve all heard in some way before. Where I did feel like you hear the tangible growth in his songwriting on “Burn Down” is that the main hooks, found throughout the verses and the choruses, are likely going to hold up a little stronger over time than many of the tracks we’ve heard from this dude in the past along the way. Is “Burn Down” going to prove to be among his most memorable cuts? That’s harder for me to say – I never tend to have singles for too long before I’m writing about them, so time will really tell the full story on the longevity of “Burn Down” of course…but I would certainly vouch for it being a step in the right direction and a much more balanced track in terms of the strengths of its hooks.
Essentially, it’s still the Lazarus Benson you know, just a wiser, more mature and comprehensive version of that I’d say. He’s still got room to evolve his craft further…but from what I can hear here, he’s making consistent efforts to do exactly that. Time always tells the full story folks…so stay tuned. I get the sense that “Burn Down” is just the beginning of a big year for Benson, and that he ain’t nearly done with 2025.
Find out more about Lazarus Benson from his official website at: http://lazarusbenson.com
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