The latest project from singer-songwriter Ben Power is an homage to classic rock music, the kind you’d see dominate airwaves in the 1970s. The Aussie artist has a strong, controlled, and distinctively old-school vocal delivery that defines his music. The five track long EP is a short collection of measured classic rock pieces that take marked inspiration from the godfathers of rock music. There’s a cinematic grandiosity to each track, an almost larger than life aesthetic that Ben instils onto the production to give it a stadium rock energy. As someone who grew up on the same music Ben seems to be emulating, it was an absolute pleasure to go through.
Ben describes the album as ‘a Dionysian Prayer to late night lust, to dreams, to longing for home and to drinking for the muse.‘ There does prevail a sense of longing, yearning, and depth in each of Ben’s vocals. But the overall tone of the album’s production lends you to imagine these seemingly mundane topics with a richness and emotion you wouldn’t otherwise bestow them with. Track number four, ‘Jessica’, is sung almost like an omen. A slowly building drum beat with a prophetic sounding piano progression serves as the ideal accompaniment to the portentous vocals from Ben himself. The grimness on the track hits as Ben sings, ‘Jessica said, we’re all dead anyway’, bringing the song to its rather mellow but undeniably cathartic crescendo.
The album’s closer, ‘Light A Candle’, might be one of the most serene and beautiful pieces of slow rock I’ve heard all year, let alone on the album. Ben has a way of building songs to moments, keeping your attention throughout but never needing to anything ridiculous to hold it, just simply steering you along as he takes you on his musical journey. Songs like ‘California’ are more light-hearted, fun, and easy going road trip-esque pieces. But the album’s heart lies in powerful songs like ‘Light A Candle’.
I wouldn’t expect everyone to immediately be drawn to Ben. If you don’t already have an affection for music of the past, particularly the ‘dad rock’ or classic rock of the 70s and 60s, you’re bound to fall in love with ‘Drink Like A God’. Ben’s voice is enough of a reason in and of itself, but the way he’s composed every song to move slowly but captivatingly makes him an artist well worth your time.
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