Coming into music around the tender age of ten back in Houma, Louisiana, Ben Shea began recording his on his own
music seven years later before falling into some darker drug ridden days upon entering adulthood. Music took back his main focus by the time he reached 19 and from there Shea recorded four local albums in Mississippi before joining Stale Fashion and touring across the Sates. In 2007 he began recording music with Dark Knights of Camelot, releasing an EP and full length, once again touring the country, this time adding Canadian soil to his list of places to have played. At the end of 2009 Shea and his band played their final show, and he officially entered his career as a solo musician.
In addition to making music, Ben also is a talented artist, creating the album art for his full length, as well as an array of fliers and designs over the years. His debut album, Red Sunshine, was released in the first month of 2010 and Shea is currently on a tour of the Southeast with Alabama band, Baak Gwai, until the end of this week. From there we can only hope that he continues his pattern of playing across the U.S. so we have a chance to see him in action.
Red Sunshine, featuring the assistance of Brad Newtown on drums, Sam Adcock on bass, Dark Knights of Camelot drummer Simon Davenport, and Mike Blount on an array of instruments including xylophone, guitar and piano, is an absolutely eclectic blend of sound. First kicking off with the track “You And Me Are We” we hear what would surely be a radio favorite, a melodic and catchy tune, containing lyrics with a great rhyme scheme, albeit nonsensical word choice. This song, along with track three, “Return Chant” take a strong shine to the indie-pop likes of Rufus Wainwright.
Shea’s sound is reminiscent of a number of musicians, from Elliott Smith in the tempo and pace of “Downtown” and title track “Red Sunshine” to the Folk Implosion inspired “First Hangover”. There is a definite psychedelic-folk vibe throughout this album, complete with echoing endings and slow twanging guitar. The sound of Shea’s southern upbringing is tastefully sprinkled across the album as well, and over all Red Sunshine is a compositionally perplexing blend of the aforementioned folk and Mid 60’s-70’s throwbacks, laced with a more contemporary creativeness.
The psychedelic folk sounds so perfectly pinned down in songs like “Endorphins” are relieved for a little while in short and sweet “Simile”, in which Ben sings “When I go out that’s when I know/When I go out that’s when I know/When I know I’m alone/Sweet Simile/Simply Juxtaposed/Sweet Simile/Simply I’m alone”. Additional likeness to 90’s band Failure is heard from the style of the guitars in “Safe and Sound” and “Well Done”, a track notable for its rhythmic piano and chorus, “It’s true I led about/ the things I do without for you/Well done. I’m through.”
Clearly a talented writer instrumentally, Ben Shea has created an album that blends a vast variety of elements, and this coupled with his seemingly nonspecific lyrics, create a sound that urges its listener to listen on repeat in order to properly decipher a falsely discordant collection of songs.
Listening to his other projects, it is evident that this musician knows where his talent lies, and is unafraid of pushing it past its comfort zone. For fans of the slightly psychedelic, The Thrills, and Jason Collett, Ben Shea’s Red Sunshine is an album worth exploring, and we can’t wait to see what else comes from this new endeavor.
Ben Shea Online:
Myspace
BenShea.org
iTunes
CD Baby
Tags: Album Review, New Release, Tour
February 10, 2010 at 12:09 am |
[...] folk and southern charm, tossed together with a variety of pop and 60’s/70’s throwbacks. (Read our Review of Red Sunshine here) At this point Shea’s focus lies in getting his music out to be heard, with [...]