By: ‘Telegram Sam’ Gordon
2/3/08 [originally posted on Jstreetzine.com]
2/3/08 [originally posted on Jstreetzine.com]
A sonorous and rich voice greets you unaccompanied at first and grabs your attention. The first line, “She only comes out at night-” makes you turn to your speakers and ask “Who? Are you talking to me?” And as the rest of the song unfolds this smooth and honest voice sounds familiar and comfortable.
That is what sitting down to the first track Make or Break, off of Ben Brittsan’s new album Who we are sounds like. This third release from the Chicagoan follows two albums made in 2002 and 2004.
Song titles such as Damn my heart and Turn around tell you right off of reading the track listing the direction this album is going. While heartache and unrequited love is a common theme in acoustic artists, Ben takes it and makes it his own. Musically, each of his songs have their own distinct sound. From light twinkling piano or drum accompaniment to the solid strumming of a guitar, they all differ. If you were to listen to the album two or three times through you could distinguish which song was which within the first 10 seconds. In that aspect I give Ben major kudos because its no easy feat to beat the acoustic temptation of playing the same three chords over and over again. From the first track Brittsan takes his listener through the steps of what was obviously a major change of characters in his life. We begin with a hopeful song, transition into the questions of why things aren’t working,move into the loneliness, the missing, and wrap it all up with a song about closure. Out of the 11 tracks Ben has to offer, I’m most partial to that last song. The simplicity of The Cartographer attracted me initially , with its effortless strumming and his warm voice. Which compared to the intensity of some intros, like the heavy piano in Damn my Heart, comes off delightfully lighthearted. The first line ‘Wake up sleepy head, you’re gonna be late’ sounds like a new love song, until its followed by ‘to bite the hand of the one that feeds you’. I appreciate the contrast of acoustic guitar and light keyboard to the head shaking, tut-tut, realization the lyrics make. “You can start by taking a bow- while entertaining your whole new crowd-in the last row of seats I’ll probably be fast asleep.” The perfect end to an album of discontent, Ben makes his peace with this crooked map maker of a girl and continues on his own path. I would definitely recommend this album to anyone with an appreciation of acoustic music, and especially to anyone feeling a little torn up inside. Over all Who we are gives us a little piece of who Ben was when he wrote each of these songs and offers up a slice of relation for everyone, because this album is the proverbial pie that always seems to be dessert in our relationships.
That is what sitting down to the first track Make or Break, off of Ben Brittsan’s new album Who we are sounds like. This third release from the Chicagoan follows two albums made in 2002 and 2004.
Song titles such as Damn my heart and Turn around tell you right off of reading the track listing the direction this album is going. While heartache and unrequited love is a common theme in acoustic artists, Ben takes it and makes it his own. Musically, each of his songs have their own distinct sound. From light twinkling piano or drum accompaniment to the solid strumming of a guitar, they all differ. If you were to listen to the album two or three times through you could distinguish which song was which within the first 10 seconds. In that aspect I give Ben major kudos because its no easy feat to beat the acoustic temptation of playing the same three chords over and over again. From the first track Brittsan takes his listener through the steps of what was obviously a major change of characters in his life. We begin with a hopeful song, transition into the questions of why things aren’t working,move into the loneliness, the missing, and wrap it all up with a song about closure. Out of the 11 tracks Ben has to offer, I’m most partial to that last song. The simplicity of The Cartographer attracted me initially , with its effortless strumming and his warm voice. Which compared to the intensity of some intros, like the heavy piano in Damn my Heart, comes off delightfully lighthearted. The first line ‘Wake up sleepy head, you’re gonna be late’ sounds like a new love song, until its followed by ‘to bite the hand of the one that feeds you’. I appreciate the contrast of acoustic guitar and light keyboard to the head shaking, tut-tut, realization the lyrics make. “You can start by taking a bow- while entertaining your whole new crowd-in the last row of seats I’ll probably be fast asleep.” The perfect end to an album of discontent, Ben makes his peace with this crooked map maker of a girl and continues on his own path. I would definitely recommend this album to anyone with an appreciation of acoustic music, and especially to anyone feeling a little torn up inside. Over all Who we are gives us a little piece of who Ben was when he wrote each of these songs and offers up a slice of relation for everyone, because this album is the proverbial pie that always seems to be dessert in our relationships.
www.benbrittsanmusic.com
www.myspace.com/benbrittsanmusic
www.myspace.com/benbrittsanmusic
Tags: Album Review
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