Ben was among my first followers when I joined Twitter in 2009 (THE first, if I remember correctly.). I remember seeing this long(ish)brown-haired fellow with a guitar…of course, I instantly followed when I saw he was in the arts, and I can’t remember if he inboxed me, but I remember a link to his latest song was involved and he asked me to give it a listen. Little did I know, he was on television the previous year, but I didn’t watch the programme about showcasing up-and-coming talent. It was now some defunct channel on Sky under the music package (Entertainment package?), which introduced me to plenty of up-and-coming talent like Chip, who was then known as Chipmunk and was still a teenager. The channel in question was either called Muzik or FlashTV. The show Ben would have been on was filmed weekly from the Old Oak in North-West London. After hearing the song in question, I became a follower of his music as I was very impressed with his melancholic vocals, guitar playing, and songwriting ability. Unfortunately, he has flown under the mainstream radar because he isn’t known as much as someone like Ed Sheeran. Ben is more on the same commercial level as Ed’s mate, Passenger.
However, Ben is highly talented. It seems unfair that he has largely gone by in the commercial market.
Unlike Ed, Ben likes to stay with familiarity, which has probably seen him less prominent. However, the RichmondSongwriter’s debut album “Every Kingdom” in 2011 did have platinum sales.
Ben is about to get more adventurous as this record is more like swimming with sharks outside a protected cage rather than having the security of being inside one. The album reminded me of the late John Martyn’s work with its roots in soft Jazz. Aaron Dressner,who plays the guitar for the National, has encouraged Ben to take a leaf out of their book. Indeed, the National is known for loops and many guitar effects, which can be heard on this record. So, it was the correct decision to get Aaron on board to push Ben artistically.
Of course, Ben hasn’t strayed that far from his subject matters of conscious stories either of his own life or what he has heard during conversations, from individuals, places he has been, or simply by watching television or reading, and of course,based upon his imagination. The stories range from a conversation with a friend who found a dead body in a suitcase floating down the Thames, the death of a sailor and Anna Sorokin, the Russian fraudster. So, a lot has stayed the same regarding the type of songs he writes and the lyrics.As you can see, Ben is still on heavy and gloomy subjects.
Despite new ideas dreamed up with Aaron, Ben does go back to what he knows with “What a Day”, which draws familiarity with tracks off “Every Kingdom”, his debut record. Even though Ben has taken a new direction, he has managed to make the simplicity of his songs come to life on this album, which shows on “Metaphysical Cantations” or “Sage that She was Burning”. “Buzzard” is quite intriguing. By far the shortest track on the record, weighing in at just 56 seconds. I like how Aaron and Ben have got the guitar to ape what the bird sounds like. Could it have been longer? I can’t see why it couldn’t have been at least another minute or so.
“Follies Fixture” is my favourite track and surprised me with its soft Jazz and melancholic lyrics. Like I said earlier, most of the album had a John Martyn feel,and I noticed this track opens the record. I may have said “Buzzard” closes the album, but on the deluxe version, there are edited versions of “What a Day” and “Sorry Kid”. I want Ben to pick up the electric and release his inner rock star on his next album. I hope that by working with Aaron and conjuring up original ideas to make the songs stand out more sonically, Ben can get the recognition in the mainstream, which he deserves because he is more than easily a match for the other acoustic-wielding songwriters and musicians.
Song recommendations: “Follies Fixture”, “Sorry Kid”, “What a Day”
Here is my track-by-track review of her 9th studio album and her second album release of the current year:
Willow:
This isn’t just the opening track of the album, but it is also the leading single. This is Taylor returning to her roots when she was gigging constantly across America to get herself noticed within the industry by basing herself on country music. It’s a bizarre choice as a single, as it hasn’t any of those typical pop traits to chart that high. It is pure country with its delicately plucked acoustic guitar. Her vocal delivery synchronises with the subject of being in love with someone, and you’re trying to make them feel the same way. Taylor expresses this by how we would feel in those moments. From feeling high and excited to feeling low and being unable to breathe from the panic that they don’t love you. There are also some deep lyrics within, so listen carefully.
Champagne Problems:
This piano ballad was written with her boyfriend, who uses the alias William Bowery (Of course, his real name is Joe Alwyn.). Is the subject matter supposed to be about their current relationship? Rather than about a couple in college who share very different views about a night where one wants to break up and the other wants to propose. I don’t know how happy they are, but I can’t see them dropping hints while writing a song together. I also learned that “Champagne Problems” is a phrase (I guess only in America.) that means when an individual’s troubles are genuine but, when put into perspective, are less important than how much others are suffering. Like with “Folklore”, Taylor touches on the very fragile subject of mental health. In this song, the female character mentions her problems with mental health and how the break up of her relationship has further impacted it. I am going to quote some compelling lyrics taken from the male character in this, as he is the one who has been left heartbroken. “Sometimes you just don’t know the answer til someone’s on their knees and asks you; she would have made such a lovely bride, what a shame she’s fucked in the head, they said, but you’ll find the real thing instead”. As you can see, the song is very emotional.
Gold Rush:
Wasn’t this also a song on “Folklore”? I can’t remember, but someone will tell me when they visit my archives this year. Bizarrely, the producer of this track only features once on the record when you consider Jack Antonoff has produced half of her songs over the past three albums. This song is more chart-friendly compared to the previous tracks on the record. This time, the leading character starts falling for someone popular among several others. Unfortunately for the leading female character, the other women chases the man in question. Still, just like the leading female, they are also looking for gold in California, which, when you think about it, makes the title make sense. The leading character becomes jealous and longing to have him, and she decides she can no longer chase him because she has no fight left in her and feels it is futile. Again, some lyrics stood out for me, and they are intense by the lead character. “At dinner parties, I call you out on your contrarian shit, and the coastal town we wandered round had never seen a love as pure as it, and then it fades into the grey of my day-old tea, cause it could never be”.
Tis the Damn Season:
What I found about Taylor’s songwriting is she can tell fables about fictional characters based on actual events or fables about her own life experiences. It is challenging to do the former, as you must design the characters and build the fable around them, but Taylor does this effortlessly. Once again, on this album, she has devised a character from Tupelo, Mississippi, who is leaving her town to achieve her dreams in Hollywood on the big screen. You may be wondering where the Christmas element comes into it. The lead character returns home to enjoy the festivities, where she stumbles across an ex-lover. As one of the lyrics depicts over this electric guitar track, she says how she is breaking her own heart by returning to Los Angeles, where everyone she meets is superficial, including the way she smiles, rather than remaining in Tupelo to get back with her ex-lover and feel loved and happy once more.
Tolerate it:
There appears to be a trend with Taylor and the obsession with the fifth track; the fifth track always seems to be a ballad with a heart-wrenching confession. “Evermore” doesn’t buck the trend. Again, the song is seen from the female perspective. She is sick and tired of devoting her life to her lover, and she is not getting much compassion or any form of emotional connection in return, so she is starting to hate and resent him for that. She has tolerated this behaviour for far too long from him, and now she is ready to confront him. This track perfectly depicts when love fades away from one perspective and turns sour from the other.
No Body, No Crime:
HAIM features on this, but it is based more on the country music scene, from what I recall, rather than the usual rock-based music from HAIM. As you can tell from the title, Taylor, with HAIM doing backing vocals, has gone for a topic about committing a murder. However, it is a double homicide told from different perspectives. The first verse is the narrator’s friend bringing up in a conversation that she thinks her husband is seeing another woman; in the second verse, her friend disappears, and the narrator is sure that the husband killed her and to avenge her friend’s death in the third verse, she kills the husband, but by doing this she compromises the case. Again, this is another powerful fable told by Taylor on this record.
Happiness:
The calibre of this song is quite astonishing when you consider it was the last one to be written in just under a week before the album was due to be released. Most might panic and therefore not put much effort into the last song they are writing just in case they miss the deadline by taking too long, but Taylor has managed to create a good song under that pressure and have it all done and ready to be included on the album. The story is both one of despair and optimism. The individual is going through the agony and six degrees of separation phase of splitting up with their lover, but they show signs of optimism, knowing that happiness will return once this phase has passed. The production complements the lyrics with its slow tempo and melancholic tone. Is the individual Taylor? It shows a mature approach to handling a breakup compared to her as a teenager, where she attacked every ex with venom over wax. If the character is indeed Taylor, then she has shown that as she has got older, she can move on and enjoy the next one to enter her life.
Dorothea:
Remember the track “Tis the Damn Season” earlier on and the unknown female? Well, this is her name and the continuation of the story. However, this is not told from Dorothea’s perspective but by her ex-lover. He was devastated when she moved to Hollywood and longed to be with her. He also ponders, now she is in L.A. chasing her dreams, whether she pauses to think about him. Although the subject is deep and emotional, the song has a relatively upbeat tempo.
Coney Island:
Now, I expected HAIM to feature, but the National? I wasn’t expecting that. Nor was I expecting a duet between Taylor Swift and Matt Berninger. However, I discovered that the National’s Aaron Dressner produces most of the tracks on this album, so it makes sense for Taylor to collaborate either by request or suggested by Aaron. The subject matter is once again that of broken love. This time, it is about a couple reminiscing on the relationship and how it fell apart because the levels of commitment were not balanced. The song also appears to be the couple trying to work out what went wrong and trying to see if they can try again. Taylor’s melodic vocals complement Matt’s customary raspy yet deep vocals.
Ivy:
The banjo is the main instrument this time. It features the first of two collaborations with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver (Later on, the entire band feature.) over a story about a wife committing adultery and subsequently falling in love with her secret lover. Even though she continues the affair as she enjoys the attention, she is trying to stay faithful simultaneously. It is similar to the story in “illicit Affairs” from the previous album and is also freakishly the tenth track.
Cowboy Like Me:
Another song inspired by her roots in country, the story is that of gold diggers who, instead of chasing those with wealth, end up falling for each other. Marcus Mumford from Mumford and Sons provides backing vocals. The song is also typical of a song likely to be composed by Mumford and Sons with guitars, mandolins, harmonicas, and anything from country music you can think of.
Long Story Short:
From an album steeped in country, this track departs from that with its catchy pop chorus, drums, and guitars out of indie rock. You can see this being on her albums before her current two. Taylor goes after the media and the misogynists who tried to ruin her career a couple of years ago (See my first review on the album where she goes fucking ballistic on those people for the whole story.). However, rather than getting herself worked up, Taylor’s vocals are balanced and calm. Even the lyrics are about not sweating the small stuff. She displays happiness knowing she is content in her relationship and that she is way past all this petty bullshit from her enemies. She writes lyrics to her past self to let these things slide and let her enemies defeat themselves by being starved of her attention and reaction. Taylor has shown a lot of maturity so far on the record.
Marjorie:
I am starting to wonder if “Evermore” is the continuation of “Folklore” with the topics, sound, and production. It seems like it is. Still, it doesn’t bother me a jot because I prefer Taylor when writing music in the genre her heart belongs to. Pop was to get a wider audience, but country is where her heart is. Also, there is another reason this is a continuation, and it is related to the thirteenth track of the respective albums. “Folklore” was an ode to her grandfather, who fought in World War II, and “Evermore” focuses on her grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, an opera singer whom Taylor didn’t appreciate until she passed away when Taylor was just a teenager. Taylor regrets this and wishes she could go back and fix this with her grandmother. It is also a grand, haunting gesture, that Taylor used her late grandmother’s vocals for the backing track. Sends chills down your spine.
Closure:
Many of us can relate to the topic here. I’m sure we have all been in a relationship where it ended badly, and we wanted to explain ourselves later on after the dust had settled as to why, but our ex simply refuses the closure and doesn’t want to know. This song describes that. In this case, it’s a male looking for closure from the female, but she has moved on and doesn’t find it necessary to explain it, rather than doing something to avenge the hurt he caused. The lyrics mention that he wants to remain friends after the closure and that he’s angry she won’t hear him out.
Evermore:
The closing and my favourite track. Sorry, but it’s got Bon Iver on it. What more is there to say? Justin Vernon and the rest of the band produce good music. I love this piano-based song with Taylor and Justin doing a cypher and harmonising together, which touches on depression with a mix of dark and optimism to end the album. The highlight is the cypher for me; it is scarce to see vocalists go bar-for-bar like they were rapping or sharing a poem.
Song recommendations: “Evermore”, “Coney Island”, “Long Story Short”.
Honest Opinions 