BENJAMIN RUSSELL
WAVES
TCBE RECORDS
Benjamin Russell is certainly busy. Hot on the heels of last year’s fantastic album, Pleasure Center, he brings us Waves. Russell is an artist, a visual artist, and a musical artist. In fact, quite often they intertwine. His music, especially on Waves, has a very visual element to it. Waves is not a continuation of Pleasure Center 2024, but like that album, Russell dips into his influences, mixes them all together and comes up with a very original and entertaining album.
This is a synth-based album, with plenty of other interesting things thrown in the mix. Russell does nod to the past and some of the music he loved finds its way into the music, but Waves is 100% Russell. The album opens with “Gentle Man (Energy Mix)” which is very synth based but features some very strong and brilliant guitar. “Better” has a Giorgio Moroder flavour with a very strong and pleasant melody. It really gets lodged into the brain. “Blossom” is another very instantly accessible song.
Other songs are a bit more experimental, such as “Seeing Trails (Sky Mix)” and the title track, “Waves”. Again, synth based, but with more effects and interesting sounds flowing throughout both songs. Russell’s vocals are strong throughout and he delivers the songs with very strong conviction. The interesting thing about Waves is that Russell is never afraid to try something different and mix it all together. Again, much like bands such as Talk Talk, Russell has the ability to shift from one style to the other.
The album ends with the very dramatic and beautiful instrumental, “Molto”. The violin, mixed with the synthesizers, creates an atmosphere, almost like a song for an imaginary film. It has a strong melody and is the perfect way to the album. It seems to come out of nowhere, and then, it comes to a close. A very suitable ending.
Russell has been making music since the 1980s, and over time he has developed his songwriting and performing crafts. Waves is a very beautiful album, full of strong melodies, powerful lyrics and top-notch production. Russell never disappoints, if anything, he keeps getting better and has honest communication with his audience. He may use synths to do it, but Russell has come up with a number of honest, emotional, and heartfelt songs. Waves is a brilliant album.
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