Benin City - Fires In The Park

With so much new spoken word and hip hop on the scene at the moment it can sometimes be difficult to find something a little different, Benin City achieve this far better than ninety per cent of other acts at the moment with their debut album, Fires in the Park, a masterful piece of work from one of the finest writers working right now, Josh Idehen.

If you’ve read this blog before you’ll be aware of my love and passion for lesser known hip hop and spoken word artists, my adoration of Sage Francis and Scroobius Pip being particular recurring features over the past couple of months, Benin City will be my new obsession after hearing this sublime piece of work.

Opening with People Will Say, the track begins calmly with an instrumental piece making way for Idehen’s powerful vocal piece, an exuberant flurry of his ideas and inner thoughts performed with expert timing and grace throughout a particularly strong opener.

Next up is Faithless, seamlessly blended into from the opener. Already a fan favourite after its release the track screams attitude from the start mark with Idehen proclaiming “two fingers in the air”. Seemingly a track the band is singing in dedication to the people who said they couldn't make it.

Moving on we’re onto Wha Gwan, the song which actually say’s the album’s title in the lyrics within the lyrics, I've never known why but it always excites me when I hear it. This is a gorgeous sounding track with masterful flow and musicality exhibited by the band throughout, one of my highlights of the album.

Pencils follows with slower pace to the track preceding it with a far more urban tone, in essence this track portrays the swagger Idehen has a lead man, he’s got the confidence which still explaining to the listener that he’s no different to you, he’s not a mega rich Kanye West type which is refreshing to hear.

Beat heavy Winning Streak is up next, the band show that they’re on their way up and the confidence they have in what they’re doing and the dedication they have to getting to the top. This is a master class track and a shining moment on the album.

“No chilling ‘til we get top billing” Benin City – Winning Streak

Next up is a short reprisal track just taunting you ‘til you reach another stand out moment the album offers, Baby. The longest track on the album by quite a large margin this is the bands most artist moments, it’s a thing of true beauty showing off Idehen and the rest of the bands genius, a truly remarkable piece. The entire track is reaching levels then dropping down to nothing more than a spoken word piece, instrumental break points adding more and more gravity to the words Idehen uses.

This is London part 2 follows, opening with a spoken word piece by London poet Deanna Rodger; a sort of bitter sweet love letter to the capital city, dreams of hitting the big time while working within it and the sheer sprawling nature of the place and feeling ultimately insignificant while being there yet knowing without you it is nothing. Idehen blasts in just after the midway point offering his views, a love hate relationship that is all too identifiable to the city’s occupants.

A far more personal track follows, My Love examines how a person can interpret and use their own love, and it can be an amazing thing or something that can be used to the advantage of the person offering it to someone. The powerful instrumental piece which follows is perfectly matched to the lyricism, the whole song seems to be leading to the finally which reaches a tasteful climax.

The next track really shows off Idehen’s rapping skill, his flow throughout D.A.M’s opening should be praised as one of the best performances of the year. As ever the music compliments the vocals impeccably and producing something that builds onto the sheer quality we've seen throughout the entire album.

Only the Beginning sounds almost retrospective of the rest of the record while still sounding like they’re only just showing the tip of their creativity. A dark tone to previous tracks the song is a haunting piece showing another extreme of the bands potential.

Winning Streak gets a reprisal with an instrumental piece hyping the listening for the final track, So You Say. Closing this astounding album was never going to an easy feat but this track is a great way to go out. The instrumental and vocal harmony is as present as it’s been throughout the rest of the album with a cheery sound and repetitive lyrical style they end in style.

Overall this has to be one of the most enjoyable albums I've listened to all year; track to track the album folds into each other with such finesse it’s a pleasure to hear. With the passion shown by all aspects of this album show that the music produced from them in the future is going to be something very special, for now we've got what is very high in my favourite releases so far this year.

Babyshambles - Sequel to the Prequel

A little under six years ago Babyshambles released their second studio album “Shotter’s Nation” to favourable reviews, over these past six years we've had Pete Doherty’s imprisonment, a solo album, a few gigs and other members side projects. Earlier the Shambles blasted back onto the scene announcing a UK tour and a new album, they’re back with Stereophonics drummer Jamie Morrison replacing Adam Ficek who left the band to continue with his solo project “Roses Kings Castles”.

The album opens with a great lead guitar piece from Mick Whitnall and Doherty almost shouting in his lyrics to Fireman, a great track to start the album on showing they’re on top form from the get go. Following is Nothing Comes To Nothing, the single preceding the album is a classic Babyshambles track, a cheery sound through the band’s instrumentals with subtle but heart-breaking lyricism from Mr Doherty.  New pair follows this, starting off with a charming acoustic sound the track has a certain Albion feel to it and strangely a Blur feel to it, this could be down to producer Stephen Street’s input which is plain to see throughout the track. Following up is Farmers Daughter, a track which was also released prior to the album, the song features a stunning instrumental introduction which is followed by Pete’s amazingly personal lyrics, it may have just been wishful thinking but I heard little nods to previous work throughout. Fall From Grace could not be a more aptly titled song by the band, everyone has heard about Pete’s long fought battle with addiction. The song displays a love hate relationship with the music industry and fame in general, with the line “we don’t need to go into what you think you know”, clearly stating his well-publicised problems. This is my personal favourite track from the album and my favourite from Doherty for quite a while, it’s got a message and a fantastic sound that I've missed.

The album moves on to Maybelline, opening with a rocky sound reminiscent of their work on Shotter’s Nation. The song to me sounds like Pete pouring his heart out about the broken relationship between himself and Carl Barat, his former Libertines band mate. Sequel to the Prequel is next up, the title track begins distorted leading into a jolly and upbeat vocal and instrumental piece, with its old fashioned sound and the addition of piano the track shines amongst the others. The next track is a slight lull for me, Dr. No is one of the more forgettable songs on the album, while it gets catchy as it progresses it still feels a little weak in comparison to the others. Penguins is another high point of the album, it’s an emotional cry, a calm sound with short bursts throughout the song. The song’s story is clear, the woman Pete is singing to is clearing taken by someone else and he’s having a hard time dealing with it leading to outbursts. Despite being released prior to the album Picture Me in a Hospital is another weak point of the album, it’s an upbeat track about Pete being hospitalized, the message seemingly that as soon as someone is ill all their previous sins are forgiven. Seven Shades is the penultimate track of the album, to me it’s like a fight between Doherty and his own psyche, it’s another great moment of the album, it’s upbeat with a message only Doherty could deliver. The final track of the album, Minefield is an angry and angst ridden song, soulful and beautiful throughout and a fantastic way to draw the album to a close. With a kind of sprawling sound the song makes the Babyshambles memories pour back giving it a massively classic feel.

The album as a whole works amazingly, each track blends into the next with grace and sophistication making an amazing listener experience. If this was to be the end of Babyshambles, which I pray it’s not they couldn't have left us with a better legacy.

Itch - The Manifesto Part 1

Lets begin by stating the obvious, it doesn't all sound like The King Blues, it’s not as good as the first two King Blues albums but it is still Itch. The King Blues may no longer be a band but this carries the same message as the band carried from the beginning, however diluted it may have become by the end.

Back to the EP, Itch has clearly gone all out to show his anger in the track ‘London is Burning’, he shouts over a fairly aggressive almost dubstep backing. It sounds like he’s given up on his cause, he know longer feels anything can be done about the corruption of the country. It’s a little repetitive throughout and is the weakest track on the EP in my opinion, it was the first track previewed ahead of the EP’s release and almost completely put me off, however it has grown on my over time, it’s the ‘We Are Fucking Angry’ track, angry for the cause but comes across as angry to be angry.

The next track is ‘Spooky Kids’, thus far the only track to have an actual music video and not just a lyric video. Again it’s a fairly repetitive track, Itch is angry still about the state of things, he’s in support of the youth of Britain. It’s intended as the stand out track on the EP, it’s the one that’s clearly being pushed as a potential single, it’s not my track but again it’s a very strong effort.

The next track is ‘True’, in which Itch attacks movies and what they have told him about how the world works. This track goes along as a slower, more traditional King Blues track with a very confusing burst of ‘London Is Burning’. It’s one of the stronger tracks of the EP based around the vocals which aren't overly angry for the sake of it. It’s a change from the angry two tracks from the album, other than the very confusing burst of ‘London is Burning’.

And now on to the the final and in my opinion best track from the EP. It’s a return to the roots of the original King Blues stuff, punky, ska-y and completely restored my faith in Johnny ‘Itch’ Fox. Featuring Tim Armstrong of Operation Ivy and Rancid only added to the quality of the track. No unnecessary anger, shouting or heavy banging backing tracks, it sounds like The King Blues, it’s obviously ridiculous to think that everything done will sound like The King Blues but he shouldn't lose every aspect that gained him his fans to begin with. 

Overall I rate this EP highly, it shows Itch is willing to take risks but still show his old self, it shows he still hasn't given up on his cause and finally it shows that he can still make quality music, after the final King Blues album I had lost some faith in Itch’s ability to make music to the brilliance that was ‘Under The Fog’, while this still doesn’t touch that it’s heading in the right direction.

Dan Le Sac - Space Between The Words

I'm not one to go out and buy a physical release of an album, I hate shopping, I hate shop keepers and I hate having to carry anything. Petty reasons I know but I just don’t have the patience to do it, this being said there will occasionally an album will come along that piques my interest, in these very rare cases I’ll make a point of going out to get a CD, it adds something to the experience when you’ve actually got something you can hold. Dan Le Sac’s album Space Between the Words was one of these albums, so I set out to find a copy, a decision I now see was a challenge as it took me three days to find one in central London, however when I found one I can safely say I was not disappointed in the slightest. From this album I've been introduced to several new artists, in particular Josh Idehen and his current project Benin City, and Sarah Williams White, both of which have now had heavy rotation on my iPod. Ahead of the release of the new Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip album I've spent a lot of time revisiting previous albums from them both, this album particularly stood out.

The albums opening track, Long Night of Life was a perfect beginning to the album, the gentle clapping to start with leads into a beautiful vocal piece from folk artist Merz, who features again on Zephyr later on in the album. The track leads into one of four particularly high points of a brilliant album, Play Along. Featuring South London R&B artist Sarah Williams White the track has fantastic vocals from a real up and coming talent working perfectly with the beats and the electronic additions, perfectly displaying both the talent of the vocalist and the producer. 

Memorials featuring anti-folk artist Emmy the Great follows, since listening to this album I've gained a great interest in her as a solo artist, the song has a haunting quality to it, and her lingering voice gives the track atmosphere while working perfectly alongside Dan Le Sac’s production.

The album now enters into a Le Sac solo piece, more aggressive than anything heard until this point it perfectly breaks the theme the album has gained so far and leads perfectly into Tuning, the best track on the album in my opinion. Featuring Benin City rapper and spoken word artist Josh Idehen the track is essentially Idehen talking about everything and absolutely nothing over the beat. Since listening to this track I've spent endless hours listening to spoken pieces by Idehen on YouTube and buying ‘Fires in the Park’ by Benin City.  

The next track is the first of two featuring Strange Famous rapper and activist B. Dolan, Good Time Gang War, another of the four tracks I was particularly impressed with. This is followed by the second solo piece by Le Sac, Hold Yourself Lightly.

This album shows an impressive assembly of indie artists with amazing talent over its 50 minute run time, Le Sac even gets to sing himself on the albums cover of Rhythm on the Loose’s  1992 house track Break of Dawn, which features HowAboutBeth, which is another highlight of the album. The instrumental solo pieces from Le Sac throughout the album work perfectly to break up tracks and change the tone of the album which is constantly shifting in style, from hip hop and rap to alternative folk. The albums final track is a cover of Arab Strap's Cherubs featuring Pete Hefferan of Pete and the Pirates, it's a slow and refectory sounding song which perfectly brings the album to a close. 

Overall the album is a massive achievement; it’s perfectly produced and performed by a group of people who show extraordinary amounts of passion throughout every track on the album. The whole album has more ideas flying around then the entire top 40 of last year yet never received the credit it should have. Le Sac’s charm shines through on every track, something a lot of producers lose when trying new ideas; it shows his growth as a producer and gives a huge amount of promise to the new Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip album.

Pure Love - Anthems

A lot of people were surprised when they heard Frank Carter’s new project, Pure Love for the first time. Long gone is the hardcore punk roots of his former band Gallows, Frank is now singing about love, and when I say singing, I mean actually singing. Pure Love shows a stark difference in his vocal style, there’s no shouting here and strangely, it works brilliantly. Joining Frank in the line up in Jim Carroll, or Jimmy Love as he is going by here, former Hope Conspiracy and Suicide File member.

Since their debut performance at the NME awards in Bush Hill in 2011 the band seem to have been on a constant tour showcasing their electric stage persona, fantastic crowd interaction and innovative use of the venue they’re using at the time. The last time I saw them was in XOYO in Shoreditch, during the set Frank brought the entire band and instruments into the crowd and continued to play, much to the joy of the audience. Their debut album, released February 2013 is a fantastic example of what makes this band so exciting, catchy lyrics, intricate guitar skills and a certain charm Frank seems to have.

The albums opening track ‘She (Makes the Devil Run through Me)’ is a great place for them to start, opening riff works perfectly to set up the entire album, Franks vocals break and the song is set up. The track is about not wanting to be with someone because you know they’re bad for you, lines like “she is the needle, not the vein in your arm” and “even though I hate being alone, I still wouldn't take you home” really paint the picture the band want you to see.

Next up is ‘The Hits’. This song to me shows how Frank must have felt just before leaving Gallows, how he felt trapped in a genre that had become bigger than him, he wanted to change his style yet he felt as if he was locked in. The song is heavier than the albums opener but still features the same alternate rock sound.

A highlight of the album has to be ‘Anthem’, played during their debut at Bush Hill and bootlegged onto YouTube, the track is almost croonery in its delivery; this song shows exactly what Frank wants people to think of his new band, powerful vocals and guitars working in tandem. The song is based around working yourself for something you want and that working from the bottom to the top is a lot better than just being put at the top.

An unfortunate low point of the album, in my opinion is ‘Heavy Kind Of Chain’, it’s strangely Grease like with the beginning resembling ‘Hallelujah’. I can’t even really understand the meaning of the song, I have a feeling it’s about war or something but past that I'm lost. However lows like this are more than made up for with tracks like ‘Bury My Bones’, their first release. The first line is kind of an introduction to the band and the new Frank, “I'm so sick of singing about hate, it’s never gonna make a change”. The song seems like he thought he was going to fail, which luckily he didn't.

The highest point of the album has to be given to ‘Handsome Devils Club’. The song’s message is clear, they are the handsome devils club, and they will knob anything that is alive and legal, whether the girl is good, bad or ugly, as long as she’s up for it they are too. The song’s main message is that they can do this, however they’d rather find a good girl so they can propose, Frank wasn't lying when he said he’s not singing about hate anymore.

Overall this album is a fantastic place for the band to start, combing catchy lyrics with genuinely amazing and powerful vocals with powerful guitar riffs works perfectly, Frank has matured and so has his music and it can only get better over time.