“If a tree falls in the forest, won’t it always make a sound?” Annika Bennett, Los Angeles singer-songwriter, writes in her new single, “A Tree Falls.”
Bennett’s music often explores the complexities of emotional paralysis and limerence, driven by a deep-seated fear of inadequacy, shifting relationship dynamics, and the haunting possibility that her emotions might remain unheard, even when expressed. These themes are vividly present in her 2022 EP ROOM (DEMOS), featuring songs such as “say it to your face” and “so much more than me.”
While “A Tree Falls” revisits familiar themes, it marks a transition—a farewell to the tangled frustrations of unspoken love and adolescent turmoil. Bennett uses George Berkeley’s famous philosophical theory as her framework: If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? Can something real, yet unperceived, exist; or something real, yet inaudible, be heard? In other words, if no one perceives one's experience, does it truly occur?
Bennett asserts that it does: “There’s places in the ocean where nobody’s ever been / There’s species in the jungle hiding from the scientists / If they die undiscovered it don’t mean they don’t exist.”
Amidst hushed acoustic guitar picking and tear-provoking harmonies, coupled with her tonally pleasing, stripped-back vocals, it is clear that Bennett has embraced a newfound confidence and emotional maturity in her writing. Not only does she find peace in self-sufficiency, she also accepts her love as independent from the subject’s acknowledgment or reciprocation: “And I’ll still love you even if you never know.”
Bennett's distinct perspective and metaphorical precision infuse her music with a rare authenticity. Her unrestrained, diaristic lyricism creates an intimate and profoundly real connection with her listeners, blending nuanced complexity with raw relatability, and revealing her artistic genius.
Although “A Tree Falls” mentions the legendary John Mayer in the writing credits, Bennett has yet to receive her flowers from the mainstream. Yet, just as a tree falling in an uninhabited forest still makes a sound, Bennett’s work resonates deeply, proving that its artistic value and importance persist, even without widespread recognition.
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