Clara Benin wears her heart on her sleeve in ‘Befriending My Tears (And Then Some)’
Confronting difficult emotions is never a straightforward process. Everyone has his or her own ways of working through it. For me, it’s through cooking, and these days, running.
Messy feelings, invited or not, begin to detangle when you make peace with having them. The goal isn’t to confront them head-on to pacify them, but to understand that these are what make us human, and we must try to be comfortable with their existence.
On Befriending My Tears (And Then Some), Clara Benin captures this exact process. Listening to the extended version of the original album, what comes out is having a bigger sense of agency. It makes room to face emotions without shame or rush—as though crying can be multiplied in its therapeutic sense.
The indie singer-songwriter reminds us that healing doesn’t come from avoiding feelings, but from sitting with them.
I remember listening to it for the first time while traveling abroad. I was walking aimlessly during the winter, and while I had tucked away difficult emotions for that trip, they rose to the surface, wanting to be seen. Her music turns into a reminder that healing doesn’t come from avoiding feelings, but from sitting with them.
In an online interview with Young STAR, Clara reflects on her recent “Befriending My Tears” tour and her journey in creating the deluxe version of the album.
“I just felt like I wasn’t ready to close that chapter yet,” she shares. The emotional highs of performing the album live and the sense that she had more to add to the conversation became her sign to extend it. “So we decided to continue it by creating a deluxe edition.”
Right after her tour, Clara went back to songwriting, with her words forming a familiar pattern. “The songs that have been coming out of me were still in theme with ‘Befriending My Tears’ and I wanted to release these songs under it.” This came in the form of new tracks, All I Do Is Cry and Hiding in the Bathroom.
Listening to these new songs, it’s clear that Clara does not shy away from wearing her heart on her sleeve, in large part because she knows there’s healing from doing so.
She recounts how performing live strengthened her connection with her listeners, “Performing my songs live is always such a magical experience because these are songs that I wrote all by myself in my room, especially very late at night when I feel vulnerable and lonely. It’s a crazy feeling, and I’m so happy that I got to record some of those moments and include them in the deluxe version.”
The extended version also gave Clara the chance to explore and experiment on the post-production side, collaborating with sought-after producers in the local indie and electronic music scenes, including The Ringmaster. To her, being hands-on made the music more honest and authentic. “I’ve learned to be intentional about recording progression—every little technical detail contributes to the emotion of the song,” she says.
This is especially true in Momentary, one of the live recordings from the extended version. It captures the nonlinearity of processing emotions and its momentary nature. There are soothing synths and backup vocals, and a music progression that speaks of pain that hangs around and—without us fully realizing it—bleeds through into our everyday life.
There’s no doubt that the album, much more the extended version, has become a space for Clara’s growth. Reflecting on the process, she says, “Every time I write a song, I feel like I get to know myself more. I get to learn something new about myself and something new about the world around me.”
Choosing to befriend your tears may not always be the first instinct. Our emotions can be intense and heart-wrenching. But on Clara’s newest album, every tear is an emotion waiting to be acknowledged. After all, our emotions, no matter how hard we try to repress them, will find a way to spill over.
To new listeners, Clara is hopeful. “I hope that they take their time to listen to each song. Close their eyes, listen to it with headphones, read the lyrics, and really dissect the songs. I hope that they feel seen in them.”
Befriending My Tears permits vulnerability and being known. Confronting your emotions becomes more of a social activity. Bathrooms serve as temporary havens, your memories become your drink of the night, and your emotions turn into ever-present companions, regardless of which one shows up.
There is no pressure to immediately move forward, but just be. It’s a shift in perspective—and then some.
***
Listen to Befriending My Tears (And Then Some) by Clara Benin on all major streaming platforms via Sony Music Entertainment.
