Eddie Benjamin’s “MANIAC” Is a Beautifully Unhinged Meltdow

Eddie Benjamin has never been one to play it safe. The Bondi Beach-born, L.A.-hardened multi-instrumentalist has spent the last few years bending the rules of pop, jazz, and soul—first as the quiet genius behind the boards for artists like Shawn Mendes and WILLOW, and now, finally, as the main character in his own sonic drama. With MANIAC, out now via Epic Records, the first single from his long-awaited debut album, Benjamin crashes headfirst into 2025, delivering a feverish, piano-pounding anthem that feels like a car spinning out on black ice—reckless, emotional, and utterly gripping.

The song is a storm of contradictions: grand but intimate, chaotic yet precise. “You treat me like a maniac, how do you lose that love so fast?” Benjamin wails, his voice teetering between heartbreak and obsession. He builds MANIAC from the ground up, layering peals of guitar, thick bass runs, and percussive keys—all played by him—until the whole thing teeters on the edge of madness. It's pop balladry on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and it’s glorious.

The accompanying video, directed by Mitch deQuilettes, doubles down on the song’s unsettling intensity. It starts with Benjamin at a grand piano in a dimly lit room, delivering an impassioned performance, but the real chaos brews behind him. As a lone dancer thrashes and convulses, the visuals morph from raw to downright terrifying, a haunting reflection of love turned toxic.

“Losing someone was the start of the story and my first attempt at dealing with my exploding emotions,” Eddie says of his new single. “As a listener, I want to hear what the fuck is happening in someone’s life. Creating sonic stories is so secondhand for me, so when I looked at what I was going through, I had the skill set to express it without any smoke and mirrors.”

Watch the music video:

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Photo credit: Luke Dickey