Canberra’s Ben Rankin released “Save Your Tears” on December 5th as the lead single from his fifth studio album In Memoriam, coming out February 27th, 2026. The 21-year-old singer-songwriter has been carving out space for himself by mixing rock and metal influences with pop sensibilities from artists like Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi. His 2025 EP This Is More Than Enough ran that gamut from high-energy metal to heartfelt ballads, while his 2023 acoustic EP See You On the Other Side leaned into the emotional side of his writing. Rankin records everything DIY in his home studio, and “Save Your Tears” pulls from bands like Asking Alexandria, The Devil Wears Prada, and Architects.
The track deals with manipulation and societal pressure, pushing back against people who’ve tried to tell him how to think or feel. It’s about reclaiming individuality, which tracks with the heavier sound he’s going for.
The intro here is very fresh, in my opinion. It starts out almost like a trip-hop song with a heavy, slow beat, and as the riff creeps in, it slowly builds up to become a fully fledged metal rhythm section. This modern style of production isn’t just apparent in the intro, as the verses also include intermissions with the drums playing only rapid hi-hat patterns that resemble Disco or dance music. But make no mistake, these interesting composition techniques don’t undermine the song’s heaviness one bit. The breakdown here is especially nasty, and the drop back to the riff is executed in a way that will make the metal deities proud.
Rankin’s been working on mental health themes across his catalogue, and “Save Your Tears” fits that pattern while adding a sharper edge. For someone recording everything alone in his home studio, the production holds up well. The song doesn’t try to replicate the bands he’s pulling from but uses them as a starting point to do something a bit different. With In Memoriam dropping in February, it’ll be interesting to see where he takes this sound across a full album.
