Ben Marwood – Get Found (Xtra Mile Recordings)
Genre – Folk punk
Welcome back Ben – life may have got in the way, but we’re glad you’re back!
After a highly successful 2011 debut, an incredible 2013 follow up, a sold out UK tour and a US support for the mighty Frank Turner, everything looked like it was set up for Ben Marwood to become the next big star off the talented Xtra Mile conveyor belt, but then came the four year hiatus.
Ben opens the record in the soft, simple Punched In The Mouth that features the cries of a baby and childhood innocence, strung together by the most simple and raw features of folk, before bursting into The Church Of No Commandments.
Bursting with energy, the album’s second track reminds us what we’ve been missing – an amalgamation of Frank Turner’s raw, aggressive, blaspheming lyrics and the simple melodies of Johnny Cash’s country picker rhythm guitar. This was the sound that came screaming out of Back Down in 2013, and the sound that made the public sit up and take notice of the man that was set to be the rightful heir of Frank Turner – the sound that we’re so glad to hear once again!
This raw, acoustic brilliance continues in Nights. Vocally Ben Marwood is fantastically clear, and the stuttering, scratching sound of his guitar brings a sense of campfire rock to the party, before he bursts into an oddly uplifting chorus about death.
Bones carries on this beautifully raw, intimate approach as Marwood displays his quick witted, lyrical craft with effortless use of alliteration flowing freely from his lips. This wordplay combined with the intricate, yet simple melodies that spring from his finger picking style, highlight the talent of this young (ish) troubadour, and show why he was held in such high regard with his early releases.
Get Found is a brilliantly rousing return from the immensely talented Ben Marwood, who shows his best form when it’s just him and his guitar. The experimentation with the slow mid album piano melody DNFTTTS doesn’t add much, and in truth, could probably have been left out, but it does set up for a second half of folk punk gold such as Kick On Kick Out, The Devil Makes Work For Jazz and 13 Friends Close.
RUSHONROCK RATED – 8.5/10 All killer, one filler!
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