Review: Ben Barnes Dazzles With His Debut Album ‘Where The Light Gets In’

After introducing the world to his unique and heartfelt music with the EP Songs For You in 2021, Ben Barnes has released his first full album!

These 12 tracks take listeners on a beautiful and emotional journey. With his velvety voice, Barnes explores all the stages of a relationship while bringing a level of sentiment that will leave fans smiling with tears streaming down their face.

Long-time fans have heard Barnes use his singing voice in films like Jackie and Ryan, but it wasn’t until 2020 that the actor started to openly share his passion for music. During the pandemic, Barnes began playing covers of songs on his social media and in doing so grew the confidence to explore creating his own music. With Songs For You, he laid his heart bare and garnered a whole new fan base.

Now, he is furthering his talent with his debut album! The title, Where The Light Gets In, comes from a place rooted in hope. Barnes explained in the trailer for the album that it was inspired by, “the perspective earned through lived experience.” When looking at the cover art you can see another muse for the actor seems to be Kintsugi. This is the Japanese art of mending something broken using gold and making the repair a beautiful part of the object’s history. When viewing the trailer for the album you can’t help but feel like Barnes is telling you that even if it doesn’t feel like it right now, you are going to be alright, “the cracks are where the light gets in.”

Now that you are emotionally prepared let’s get started discussing these songs!

“Beloved”

Barnes begins the album with the famous quote from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations: “I loved her against reason, against promise…” The song quickly moves into his signature style of soulful pop. Showcasing his ability to write a simple lyric in a way that touches the listener’s heart, Barnes plays with the words “be loved” and “beloved.”

Barnes decided to take us to therapy in the “Beloved” music video. Showing how hard it is in our society to open up, let go, and allow ourselves to be loved by others. Accompanied in the music video by Camilla Belle, the song conveys that when we love others we often try to make ourselves into what we believe others want us to be. In the end, if we just let go and allow people to see our true selves the right ones will be there and we will be beloved. Barnes will always produce a song and video that is so heartfelt and lets the listener know they aren’t alone in the things they feel and experience.

“Where The Light Gets In”

When I saw this song title I assumed it would be a somber song, but I was happily surprised when the drumbeat began. In true Ben Barnes fashion he brought a smile to my face. Where The Light Gets In is a type of celebration. Despite how life knocks us around and leaves us with heartbreak and scars, we can heal, learn, and grow. Yes, it hurts, but Barnes reminds us we are not alone in experiencing this. The ones closest to us may leave us broken at times like the lyrics, “I’m kind of feeling I’m not enough.” We can decide not to let these experiences define us and turn them into a beautiful part of our journey. Choosing to end the song with laughter was a magnificent choice. After the rain clouds clear the sunshine always returns and that is what this ending felt like. Hope renewed.

“Ritual”

Barnes has spoken about how this album represents the different stages of a relationship. My interpretation is that Ritual is the beginning stage of attraction, asking someone to take that leap with you. That first step out on faith is the hardest and surrendering yourself to something new is fully encompassed in this song. You can feel the longing in these lyrics, to be something more than just a habit. We tend as humans to just go through the motions when we get comfortable, but this speaks to the desire for the act of loving each other to be deeper than that. One of my favorite moments in this song is when the choir kicks in! This song shows how much Barnes has grown since his first EP. Listening to him take this song from the calm beginning to the bombastic chorus was thrilling and I will definitely be blasting this one in the car.

“Nevermind”

At first listen you might think that this song is about the experience of lost love, or missing something you aren’t sure you ever really had. While we can all relate to instances when we didn’t try for something or someone we truly wanted or loved out of fear or insecurities, Nevermind speaks to experiencing anxiety as well. Barnes took to his social media to expand on how the song speaks to dealing with anxious thoughts and feelings that many of us deal with. Often these feelings take over our minds and we try to escape through meditation, fantasies, or physical acts like running. Running away was the inspiration for the Nevermind music video. Throughout the video viewers watch the ups and downs of a relationship. No matter how much we may try we cannot outrun our issues and we eventually will have to stop and face them. With lyrics like, “Out of my mind, stuck in my head” and “The stars aligned, I got left behind” it feels like Barnes is somehow a mind reader. This beautiful song with its melancholy vibe shows that so many of the experiences we feel alone in are often shared by countless others. It is abundantly clear that this song is very personal to Barnes.

“Take Me To The Moon”

Barnes brings the soulful groove with this one. As the album takes us through the stages of a relationship, we have reached the physical level, wink wink. In a time when musical artists tend to land on the side of being more crude with their lyrics, Barnes again outshines. Take Me To The Moon is passionate and makes it clear that they don’t want to spend the night alone. I would recommend adding this one to your date night playlist.

“Slow It Down”

This is without doubt the quintessential love song on the album. Slow It Down is plainly asking someone to spend their life with you. This world is so fast-paced that when you find that special person who makes your heart feel whole, you want to slow everything down and spend as much time with them as possible. The song brings a smooth sultry mood while Barnes asks this person to experience all the milestones of life with him. From secrets and baby names to standing at gravesides and passing on together, he wants it all. Yeah, this song brings all the rom-com vibes and I am here for it! The music video, featuring Italia Ricci, looks like it is straight out of the 80s and I get a hint of inspiration from movies like When Harry Met Sally.

“One Minute More Ft. Monica Martin”

Barnes brings on Monica Martin to help express how it feels when a relationship begins to fall apart. One Minute More is a duet that tells both sides of the story when you wish for just a little more time to be happy with someone. Using their talented voices to express the sadness of wanting to postpone the heartache just a moment longer but eventually realizing they need to set one another free. The blend of Barnes and Martin’s exquisite voices almost makes you forget you are listening to a breakup song.

“Three New Hearts”

Three New Hearts continues the journey of a relationship to the breakup. This song radiates pain. The use of the drums and more intense guitar as the song and story build brings the emotions to a whole new level. Listeners can feel how attempting to make a relationship work multiple times and ending with the same result damages someone. The thought that struck me was the idea that after a heartache we try to heal that pain, and the shattered pieces into a new heart. There was one particular line of lyrics that had my jaw-dropping, “I couldn’t love you into loving me.” This is a powerful song and I have to give Barnes props for translating such emotion into this piece of art.

“The In Between”

This song is a soft and sad look at the time when we wish we could forget the love we felt with someone before we lost them. The In Between is that time in our lives when we are in limbo. Heartache has a way of making us wish we could erase those memories that hurt but at the same time hold on to that love. Barnes’s talent with lyrics is the drive of this album but this song in particular is so simple yet deeply moving. The accompanying piano and horns were perfect.

“Stolen Time”

If Three New Hearts is pain then Stolen Time feels like healing. This song is peaceful and expresses the hope of something new after heartache. As we go through life it is the little things like sleepy mornings and sunsets that often end up meaning the most to us. Barnes’s voice just glides through the lyrics so effortlessly I instantly thought of Elton John’s early work when listening to this one. The easiest way to explain this song’s vibe is spending time on a sunny morning sitting in a front porch swing with a loved one.

“Someday”

From the beginning of Someday you can tell this song has a more old-school sound. The lyrics are about how it feels to be left with the ideas of what could be. The question posed to the listener is will we decide to place our hope on someone who continues to make us wait or move on? The use of the music break and voice recording near the end of the track was very unique and made this song stand out among the others. I also love that Barnes uses his higher octave, it brings the chills!

“Far Too Soon”

Bringing Where The Light Gets In to its end is the song Far Too Soon. This is the most simple and no doubt the most moving track on the album. There are no fancy lyrics or bombastic instruments, just Ben Barnes and his piano. It tells us of a couple in love that marry and after living a life together pass on. Hearing the birds chirping and Barnes’s footsteps leading up to the piano makes this one feel like you are in the room with him just listening. As someone who grew up watching grandparents live and love through their lives, it makes it extremely personal. Wrapping up an album about the stages of relationships with a song like this is poetic. Through the ups and downs we all face you always look for the hope, the happy ending.

Where The Light Gets In will be one of those special albums that stays with you days, months, and years after listening. There is a song for everyone to connect to, no matter what stage of life you are currently in. Songs For You was hard to top, but somehow Barnes has matched and exceeded himself. The first time hearing an album is a special experience, but I know after multiple listens, I will still be finding new meanings and favorites to love.

Alongside releasing his debut album Barnes is also currently on his first world tour! If you would like all the information about the tour dates and stops you can find them here. Don’t forget to stream or buy the album for yourself! Barnes has also released some merch to accompany the album.

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