BENJAMIN BOOKER

BENJAMIN BOOKER

2014-09-16

Featuring edgy punk-laden grooves with a blues howl that reveals why he was a natural fit for the opening slot on the current Jack White tour, twenty five year old Benjamin Booker's self-titled debut is a high energy delight from beginning to end. Produced by Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hurray for the Riff Raff) the disc shares the dynamics and soulful energy that made recent releases by those bands so successful. Like Barrence Whitfield (The Savages) he often shouts as much as sings the lyrics, which is only natural given the primal fury of the music which makes anything else a futile gesture. When he does actually sing his voice recalls a raw Trevor Hall. Booker mixes things up a bit on "Spoon Out My Eyeballs" where alternates between quiet, almost tender, moments and a full on rock blast on the chorus while "I Thought I Heard You Screaming" is a full on ballad. Lyrically he bounces between railing against overproduced records, "Spoon Out My Eyeballs", wanting his lady to set religion on the shelf in favor of his advances, "Always Waiting", and a heart-wrenching tale of a little girl who is shot while tying her shoes, "Slow Coming". Expect to hear plenty more from Benjamin Booker. Smitty

More reviews tagged #Blues

  • reviewed 06/2011

    HADDEN SAYERS
    Hard Dollar

  • reviewed 02/2009

    DAN AUERBACH
    KEEP IT HID

  • reviewed 07/2012

    LIL' CLIFF & THE CLIFFHANGERS
    THE LOVIN' KIND

  • reviewed 11/2015

    Anthony Geraci And The Boston Blues All-
    Fifty Shades Of Blue

  • reviewed 05/2017

    Bobby G w/Curtis Grant Jr. & The Midnight Rockers
    Still Standing

  • reviewed 09/2017

    Terry Robb
    Cool On The Bloom

Compiled by the WYCE Journalism Club

The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.