CHICAGO– On Nov. 13, New Zealand based pop-rock artist BENEE sat down with outlets across the US to talk about her new album, “Ur an Angel Im Just Particles.” I had the honor of attending, and for the hour we covered everything from frontal lobe development to her creative process, the evolution of her sound, and what a typical release day truly looks like. She gave the fans a multitude of answers, going in depth on her artistry and offering a new perspective on her latest release.
Stella Rose Bennett, known globally as BENEE, released her sophomore album Nov. 7, following the 2025 singles “Off the Rails” and “Cinnamon.” Throughout the press conference, BENEE, occasionally interrupted by her cat Steve, described feeling a lot wiser and grounded with this new release, compared to her breakout era with “Supalonely.” With her trademark charisma and easy laughter, she discussed this new album feeling like a frontal lobe development, joking that she’s always been “a bit all over the place” as an artist. With “Ur an Angel Im Just Particles,” she feels she stepped into a whole new world.
BENEE described this album as her most experimental yet the most grounding work she’s done. Both euphoric and emotionally expansive, the project brings the listener through a spectrum of feelings. This is a theme she believes naturally emerged while she wrote this album.
“They all had this throughline, showing this emotional turmoil, and, kind of seeing how moving from New Zealand to LA, how that world changed was so drastic and watching how that changed me.” BENEE said. “And also made me ask all these big questions in life.”
She also compared picking visuals for an album to watching a “movie adaptation for a book,” said BENEE.
This was especially intriguing and proved that BENEE is a force to be reckoned with as an artist. Her willingness to push visual boundaries as well as soundscapes sets her apart in her genre.
With each song off of “Ur an Angel Im Just Particles,” listeners are offered something unique and different. However, she believes “Chainmail” encapsulates the album as a whole.
“Even though its kinda, the theme of it I was kinda in my emo bag, and I wanted it to be a very specific style…in a way it doesn’t really portray the whole vibe of the album but thematically it ties in with the sculptural album that I’ve been using as a motif.” Said BENEE.
“It’s kind of a response to just the world. And feeling like nowadays, it’s a response to the chaos of the world.” Said BENEE. “And feeling like now more than ever, you have to put up with so much now more than ever and what we digest online and what we see, were so desensitized, and having to have this tough exterior and thick skin.”
Hearing such a personable and positive artist share these insights were inspiring, and connected with me deeply.
Similarly, she shared that “Heaven” felt emotionally cathartic to write, and said the album pushed her far outside her typical patterns and her usual sound. BENEE, always evolving with creativity, said she believes artists “absorb everything around us,” and that this project reflects this.
Later into the press conference, I had the chance to ask what a typical release day looks like for her. I was curious as to what she does for herself, or her community, once the highly anticipated album drops.
After much thought, she admitted release days feel strange due to time zone differences. She said that it’s strange receiving texts from her community back in New Zealand and Australia about a day early, and she saw people posting it so much earlier than when it hit the states. This was described as a “two day span release.”
“In the states, I woke up, made a coffee, and I had to get my glam done. For my release party show. So it was kind of just a glam day!” Said BENEE.
But as the conversation grew the artist grew more intimate. Everyone in the press conference assured her feelings on this matter were false.
“It’s always a very weird kind of feeling, releasing music.” Said BENEE. “I think it’s always a little bit weird because I feel so exposed and also I don’t know, I get a kind of weird wave of depression like four days after releasing music im like, is it going to get lost in the source, but yea, there’s really no way to know, so I’m kind of just been chilling this week.”
Speaking with BENEE on her latest album “Ur an Angel I’m Just Particles” made me realise that this album encapsulates her growth as an artist, both creatively and emotionally. Whether she’s experimenting with sonic textures, questioning life’s biggest transitions, or even navigating the vulnerability of release week, BENEE approaches her art with a sincerity that resonates with me and her audiences deeply. And if this album is any indication, she’s only just beginning to tap into the layers of who she can become.
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