1) House music producer
2) Autistic teen, Ben Jenkins is a Denver School… Read Full Bio ↴1) House music producer
2) Autistic teen, Ben Jenkins is a Denver School of the Arts graduate on his way to Berklee College of Music. http://benjcollegefund.weebly.com/
3) Ben Jenkins is a young, fledgling songwriter who was recently transplanted to Madison from a small Louisiana town. This six-song EP is Jenkins’ second release and features full band arrangements while his first EP was acoustic.

Jenkins has a knack for arrangement and these are finely crafted pop songs; lighthearted in nature and sounding like the young troubadour that he is, documenting the world as he explores it. Jenkins’ voice is reminiscent of Paul Simon crossed with a bit of Justin Timberlake. He also lists John Mayer as an influence and there is ample evidence of that in his music as well shreds of Blink 182. Although his bio states that Jenkins “has a slight body odor which has been known to attract several types of sea bass and tends to rant on about pointless crap which has led to several restraining orders,” I’m guessing he’s a pretty mild, likeable and maybe even a little nerdy guy.

Something New is very well recorded and mixed, in fact, the sound is huge. It was recorded in Nashville by producer Jake Hartsfield in his home studio. Hartsfield is also a tour manager and ran front-of-house sound on tours with Styx, Heart, REO Speedwagon and the Sick Puppies. The recording group consists of similar young talent from the Nashville vicinity including drummer Caleb Crosby, guitarists Jeb Holmes and Forest Whitehead, bassist Calvin Webster with additional keys by Hartsfield. Jenkins plays acoustic guitar and sings.

The first five tracks are infectious pop songs with similar feels and melodies; a snappy ensemble sound with an acoustic guitar foundation. Ruminations on life and love with exquisitely played instrumentation. All these elements are encapsulated in the hooky opener “It’s Love.” The title track is edgier with the electric guitars out front. “Simple Design” is more restrained with very tasteful guitar flourishes.
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The final track, “Gone,” is the best with a complex, orchestrated arrangement. This one also breaks the three-minute pop song restraints in anthemic fashion. The strings add power and dimension while the electric guitars chime and propel the song forward.

Jenkins’ predilection for crafting impressive pop music is evident and with the requisite amount of good breaks he could travel far. Time will tell how big a part Jenkins’ time in Madison will play out in his career. My money is on an eventual gravitation toward a larger music center, perhaps Nashville. Hopefully, he takes a few from here on his ride.

Invincible
Ben Jenkins Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I've been driving
Mourning our empty.
I cannot seem to turn this car around
The words I'm wasting
Quietly debating, weather I should stay let this heart back down
And If I change my mind
Half A Million times
I know I'll come back around

Something's wrong, Something's missing
The world outside seems to be reminiscing
Our days gone by and have we lost our minds
To think that we could ever be invincible

The shadow around your bed
The halo above your head
It tells us You're just not that into me
I can live in dreams
Where the life will make the lead
Convince myself I'm done here now
And If Your change my mind
Half A Million times
I know You'll come back around
Something's wrong, Something's missing
The world outside seems to be reminiscing
Our days gone by and have we lost our minds
To think that we could ever be invincible

I've come to find
That in due time
I'll come back around and I'll be fine
But till that day
I guess I'll say
I'm not quite over you

Something's wrong, Something's missing
The world outside seems to be reminiscing
Our days gone by and have we lost our minds
To think that we could ever be

Oh
That we could ever be invincible

Overall Meaning

In "Invincible," Ben Jenkins is singing about the aftermath of a breakup. He's driving around, trying to shake off the pain and move on, but he can't seem to escape his memories of the relationship. He's going back and forth in his mind, debating whether he should try to win his ex back or just let go. Despite his efforts to move on, he's haunted by the feeling that something's missing without her. He can't quite come to terms with the fact that their once-great love could be shattered and lost forever.

Line by Line Meaning

I've been driving
I've been living my life

Mourning our empty.
Regretting that our relationship is lacking something important

I cannot seem to turn this car around
I can't seem to bring us back to a better place

The words I'm wasting
The things I say are pointless

Quietly debating, weather I should stay let this heart back down
Thinking in my head if I should let my heart move on or continue trying to make things work

And If I change my mind
And if I have a different perspective later

Half A Million times
Many, many times

I know I'll come back around
I know my point of view will fluctuate

Something's wrong, Something's missing
Something doesn't feel right

The world outside seems to be reminiscing
It seems like everyone else is thinking about the past

Our days gone by and have we lost our minds
We can't seem to let go of the past

To think that we could ever be invincible
To believe that we could never be defeated by anything

The shadow around your bed
The darkness in your life

The halo above your head
The goodness in your life

It tells us You're just not that into me
It shows that you don't feel the same way about me

I can live in dreams
I can imagine a life where things are different

Where the life will make the lead
Where life will take control