Paola Bennet goes from fear to anger in “In This Body”

Scared and confused, Paola Bennet opens up about her experience with chronic illness in her new release, “In This Body”. The deeply personal journey of feeling like a stranger in your own body and the frustration at people who question your pain pours out in the spacious guitar and haunting vocals.

“I don’t know how to be in this body,” she confesses. The intimate guitar comforts while creating a distant, atmospheric effect not quite filling the sonic space. The vulnerable feeling Paola describes while “fighting a ghost” becomes visceral. In her music video, she depicts herself with a  bag over her head. She can’t recognize herself.

As the sharp edge of her tone peeks in, the haunting ballad approaches a simmer. The music video slowly shifts from black and white to color, mirroring the shifting emotion. The guitar picks up bite and the synths become more aggressive.

By minute 3, it’s at a boil. The fear catalyzing into cathartic anger as the drums kick into high gear and the music video rapidly cutting between scenes induces our own anxiety. The voyeuristic confrontation of the Bag (herself) with the Bag (her other, unrecognizable self) bursts through the quiet. And we’re left alone dealing with Paola Bennet’s personal honesty and what it means for us.

Watch “In This Body” below.

Ben McCoy

Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he’s not writing for his supper, he’s eating it at some of NYC’s most interesting restaurants.