"Misery of Place" Finds Its Power in the Push and Pull of Identity

With "Misery of Place", Reeya Banerjee delivers a smart, swaggering slice of 90s-inspired power pop that doesn’t just ask big questions. It dares you to ask them of yourself.

The song, which serves as the emotional and philosophical anchor of her upcoming album entitled "This Place", examines the blurry line between the external world and the internal one, questioning how geography can seep into our sense of self. And, whether escape is even possible.

From the first fuzzed-out guitar chord, "Misery of Place" plants its flag firmly in a sonic world that feels both nostalgic and emotionally current.

Listen in here:

https://open.spotify.com/track/4JxnS7aFb7U7Q4F6NMlAyx

There are shades of Veruca Salt, Matthew Sweet, even early Weezer but Banerjee's voice is bold, sly and unflinchingly self-aware. She keeps the song from veering into pastiche.

Instead, it pulses forwards. Her lyrics dart between sarcasm and sincerity, echoing the restless monologue of someone who’s been asking the same question for years and still hasn’t landed on a clean answer: Is it me, or is it this place?

The origins of the song are rooted in a haunting phrase that Banerjee first heard in high school: “Are you experiencing misery of place, or profound, lifelong misery of self?”

It’s a pretty brutal question. One that might have wounded at 17, but now serves as fuel. In Banerjee’s hands it becomes a lens through which to explore identity, growth and the psychological residue of the cities and spaces we have called home.

Banerjee explores a space where confusion, reflection and a cheeky defiance can co-exist.

Producer Luke Folger and engineer James Rubino have crafted a sound that works to support this tension beautifully. The guitars crunch and shimmer, the drums keep a tight punchy momentum and the mix leaves room for Banerjee’s vocals to lead with clarity and edge.

It is Banerjee's storytelling approach that is one of the song's biggest strengths. Rather than lean into abstract musings, she populates the song with characters, whether sketched from memory or imagination, who echo her own questions and offer the listener multiple lenses through which to view the central dilemma. This nod to Bruce Springsteen's narrative style gives it emotional depth without veering into melodrama.

The video for "Misery of Place" is a vivid, hand-drawn journey through inner monologue and memory, created by visual literacy expert and artist Kelly Kingman-Joslyn of Kingman Ink. Mixing imagery, text, and abstraction, the video captures the emotional dance between "misery of place" and "misery of self," adding an imaginative new layer to the song’s narrative.

"I wanted the video for "Misery of Place" to feel like flipping through someone’s subconscious — a swirl of memories, doubts, hopes, and jokes scribbled in the margins. Kelly Kingman-Joslyn’s hand-drawn style felt like the perfect way to bring that to life, and working with a fellow Beacon artist made the whole project feel even more personal."

"Misery of Place" then is a statement of intent. It sets the tone for an album that promises to explore what it means to inhabit a place and to be inhabited by it, in turn.

By pairing a very real kind of existential angst with a sound that invites head bobbing and maybe even singalong, Banerjee shows that serious questions don't always require solemn answers.

About Reeya Banerjee

Reeya Banerjee is a songwriter and storyteller based in Whippany, NJ.

Blending 90s power pop with lyrical depth, her music explores themes of identity, memory and mental health through a sharp narrative lens. A Pushcart Prize nominee and staff writer for Story Screen Presents, she brings a literary sensibility to hook-driven and emotionally resonant songs.

Her upcoming album "This Place" maps the emotional landscapes of the cities she’s lived in, tracing the intersections between geography and selfhood.