Album Review
Benson Boone’s music is a bit of a bottle rocket. Opening with slow guitar strums and subtle rhythms, the songs start quiet and subdued. Then Boone’s voice gushes, the score crescendos, and lyrics once gently floating are now erupting, giving full voice to his emotions.
Boone’s musical style is emblematic of his early career arc. In the span of four years, Boone jokingly filled in for a friend during a high school talent show, auditioned for American Idoldropped out of the competition, gathered a massive following on TikTok, and opened Taylor Swift’s concert in London.
His rapid ascension led to his debut album, Fireworks and Rollerbladeswhich is grounded in two musical styles.
At first listen, it is a collection of pop rock songs about navigating love, self-esteem, and insecurities that feel symptomatic of coming of age in modern times.
Yet it is also an album born out of contemporary Christian music and its corresponding lifestyle. Boone comes from a Mormon family in Washington state, where he and his four sisters spent their childhoods backpacking and road tripping through the mountains.
The premise of Boone’s music is that he’s an approachable, comforting guy ready to start a relationship. But underneath the surface lurks something more tragic. Across the album, we hear moments when Boone’s scars are uncovered, the fireworks ignite, and the despair of his broken heart leaks its way into the light.
POSITIVE CONTENT
Boone’s Mormon background is pretty apparent, as he fills the album with references to God. At times, he trusts God with his relationships and their outcomes. Boone’s most popular song, “Beautiful Things,” contains lyrics such as “I thank God every day/for the girl he sent my way.” He also has realistic expectations in singing, “But I know the things He gives, He can take away.”
Throughout the album’s 15-song tracklist, Boone searches for what can really provide satisfaction and, at times, salvation. On “Slow It Down,” Boone sings, “While your world is spinning out…Let me pull you out/Let me hold you now/Let me slow it down,” confirming his commitment to his partner.
“Forever And a Day” reveals a Boone doubling down on his commitments by singing, “I’m yours forever and a day/I knew that I loved you.”
“Friend” features Boone realizing that he’s struggling and lonely and deciding to do something about it. He sings, “I could use someone to help me pick up the pieces that remain … And I need a friend, yeah I need a friend/when the world starts cavin’ in.”
CONTENT CONCERNS
At other times, Boone’s discussion of God and his relationships can also show the cracks in his faith when things don’t go his way. On “In the Stars,” he sings, “It’s like I’ve buried my faith with you/I’m screaming at a God I don’t know if I believe in/Cause I don’t know what else I can do.”
Later on in “My Greatest Fear,” he continues this theme, singing, “And if there’s a God I don’t know where he been/We used to talk but we haven’t spoken since early May.”
Boone uses slight euphemisms throughout the album to soften some otherwise concerning developments in his relationships. For example, “Hello Love” describes a relationship on its last legs as Boone casually sings, “When you look at me with those empty eyes/I could pass away/I could bleed and die.”
“Beautiful Things” implies that Boone’s family knows and is OK with his girlfriend spending the night at their house. Moreover, receiving his family’s approval for his girlfriend to sleep in bed with him is a green light for Boone to take their relationship to the next level.
Elsewhere on the album, Boone references “getting stoned” and “getting high” to dull the pain of relationships that have run their course. Another song contains mild references to cheating as a viable option for revenge in Boone’s relationships.
The track “Drunk In My Mind” contains an increasingly concerning metaphor between Boone’s latest love and getting drunk on wine. He sings, “After I tasted your wine/You had me drunk in my mind.”
ALBUM SUMMARY
Debut albums are typically clear indicators of a musician’s strengths and weaknesses. Fireworks and Rollerblades is no different, and its primary strength is its revelation of what matters most to Boone.
The authenticity of Boone’s lyrics and style is admirable. His unapologetic passion in his relationships certainly produces fireworks in emotional terms.
However, it’s the rollerblades that are an enduring image. At one moment, a rollerblader is smoothly gliding, as the album’s cover art athletically displays. But anyone who’s bladed knows that the moment you lose focus and hit a crack in the cement, everything comes crashing down.
Boone does his best to navigate the highs and lows of young adult relationships. Throughout the album, his reflections are often contradictory; he’s both graceful and clumsy, apologetic and stubborn, loving and hateful, and–most concerning–simultaneously believes in and doubts God. While this is an authentic portrayal of real life, these contradictions also should prompt a listener to question if Boone’s messages lead to lasting fulfillment.
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