Spectacular debut album from ivory-tinkling Irish newcomer.
Great albums tend to make an impact from the get-go. Even greater albums hit the mark when they make an instant impact in a modest way. This is how Belfast-born Matt Benson’s debut album opens with an astonishingly accomplished song, ‘The London Line’. With a feel that mixes the best of Randy Newman and Dr John, this song is an instant classic. Opening with a gentle piano tinkling, we then hear Benson’s majestic vocals start telling a fascinating story. It’s a barroom romance set on the day that Benson moved back to Ireland after 10 years in London. It opens with the arresting line “She had a lust for irreverence and a loathing for the self”. Having grabbed your attention in the most subtle yet effective way possible, the song develops with a little help from his band – but by the end it’s a quiet piano track. The listener is suitably entranced and taking notice big time of this new artist.
Benson’s early life was dictated by the tail end of the troubles, but he eventually found success in music as part of an electro swing act, Sam and the Womp. He then managed to get some useful live music experience as part of George Ezra’s live band.
Incredibly, the trombone was the main reason this album came about. Benson grew up with a father who was a big player on the Irish showband circuit, and he regularly toured around, with his nervous son dreading a potential problem for his father in the troubles. This fear came to life when, with Benson only ten years old, his father was working in a music store and an explosion ripped through the shop. Benson’s father managed to salvage a trombone from the wreckage and, the wise sage that he was, managed to get the instrument back into working order, and he taught his young son to play ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’. With this musical start, he grew up listening to the likes of Buddy Rich and John Martyn.
So after years of touring and playing with other bands, he finally felt ready to make his debut album. And what a lineup he’s managed to attract to bring alive his glorious music.
Working with producer/co-writer Cian Boylan (Jessie Buckley, David Grey), they chose a stellar collection of musicians. They include David Klinke (guitar) and Fabio de Oliveira (drums) from George Ezra’s band; drummer Darren Beckett (Brandon Flowers); The Commitments veterans Conor Brady (guitar) and Keith Duffy (The Corrs); Dave Redmond (Dana Masters) on bass; trumpeters Linley Hamilton MBE (Van Morrison) and Ben Edwards (Paolo Nutini, Amy Winehouse); and saxophonist Ben Castle (Radiohead, Blur). The final touch came with mixing and mastering from the Grammy Award winner Ruadhri Cushnan (Mumford & Sons, James Bay).
Second track is the gorgeous ‘Sit Back Down Again’ – the album’s first single, and the tragic inspiration for this came from the passing of his older sister Catherine, when she was 13 years old. Benson remembers, “I was a bit of a mumbler, and I still am, actually. Catherine would be there to translate for me when people were like, ‘I really can’t understand him.’ She was my best buddy, we really looked out for each other, and it was a big thing for a child to go through. My family kind of fell apart around that time as well, but it was very formative for me.”
There’s a lovely vocal feel of Chris Stapleton and Nathaniel Rateliff running throughout this album, but Benson really does make his own distinctive take on soul, jazz and 60’s tinged R&B.
Next up is a “fun song about a monster” in ‘Broken Masterpiece’ – a dark and brooding song with some glorious guitar playing and, as always, really effective brass sounds. Other stand out tracks (there are a number of them) is the gentle piano sounds and choral voices of ‘Glory‘, where he muses on the advice that’s passed down the generations; ‘Nancy And The Soldier‘ where piano and brass meet in a moving song about how his grandparents met; and the New Orleans style funk of ‘Strangers and Angels‘ where he retells a story of a couple separated but reunited by fate.
It’s such a joy to listen to such an inspiring, beautifully written and performed selection of songs from an artist who sounds genuinely fresh and innovative, even if the influences are familiar. This is one special album that needs to be savoured with haste. Stupendous stuff.
