If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Trenity Thomas Compared to the previously released singles from LOWER , "SLOW DANCE IN A GAY BAR" is the most straightforward of Benjamin Booker's recent singles. The song is a relatively straightforward slow jam, drenched in the worlds of soul and R&B. There is just the slightest rock edge to remind you of Booker's earlier albums, and just enough of an experimental sound to fit in with the other songs we've heard off his upcoming album. Each single from LOWER has been completely unexpected, so what could surprise us more than a fairly traditional soul song, even if it's still a little experimental? Benjamin Booker says of his new single and video: "You know, sometimes you find yourself in a death hole, surrounded by bones and rotting flesh. It feels like every second is a shovel-full of dirt flung on your head—the worms are laughing at you, hungry, ready to eat.    "But then, out of nowhere, the impossible happens. A laddeer appears. Yo...

Photo by Alex Edep We're thrilled that Benjamin Booker is set to release his first album in seven years, and especially so since the pre-release singles aren't anything like what he's done before. "Same Kind of Lonely" doesn't have much in common with the powerhouse blues of his self-titled album, or even the more experimental and genre defying follow up, Witness. This new single is combining too many genres to be able to mention them all after a single listen. You're going to hear elements of indie rock, soul, hip hop, doo wop, glam rock, art rock, ambient, and many more. "Same Kind of Lonely" should be a complete train wreck of too many styles, but Booker draws them all together with a master level of creativity. Sure, the song is a bit rough at times, but that feels more by design than lack of skill. It feels like we missed a few musical steps in the seven years since Booker officially released music considering how much of a departure "S...

Photo by Trenity Thomas I was a huge fan of Benjamin Booker's 2013 self-titled album and his 2017 album Witness. The dirty, fuzzy, raw blues of his first album fit nicely with the more polished sound of his second. Now, Booker is finally back with new music after a seven year absence, and he's completely reinvented his sound. His upcoming album was co-produced by underground hip hop producer Kenny Segal, and the first single isn't quite hip hop but isn't exactly not hip hop. "LWA IN THE TRAILER PARK" is a noisy version of hip hop meets indie rock and possibly some industrial. Booker is crooning throughout the song in a fashion more like Prince than his previous work. The song is layered heavily in fuzz with a beat that almost hits too hard at times. The whole thing is impossibly trippy and dreamlike, while being fairly jarring at times. "LWA IN THE TRAILER PARK" isn't anything like what I expected when I saw new music from Benjamin Booker in our ...