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When the debut 25 track album called 'A Love Extreme'
from Benji Hughes turned up, I had no idea what
to expect from it as it was the first I had ever
heard of the man, so I happily put the first cd
on from the double album and what I was greeted
with was really uplifting and happy and the sound
is rock music mixed with dance music and electronic
synths, with Benji playing both the keyboard and
guitar equally as much. After a short listen of
the album after I finally realised that 'A Love
Extreme' is a really strong sounding album, I decided
to Google Benji Hughes and check out his myspace
and I was pretty speechless when I got there, I
was expecting Benji Hughes to be a geek with big
glasses and look a cross of Elvis Costello meets
Rivers Cumos but instead what I saw was a big guy
with long hair and a ginger beard who looks like
a hardcore metaller who would look well in place
in a band such as Slayer or Valient Thorr and was
quite shocked that the man has created this style
of music, this is a perfect example of why you shouldn’t
label people until you know enough about them.
So how good is 'A Love Extreme', let’s
start with the negative points of the album, firstly
it has 25 tracks which are spread over 2 cds,
now I’m well up for more tracks than normal
on an album but when it becomes spread over 2
cds you always find that one of the cds is better
than the other and stick to listening to the one
cd without giving the other one a listen. Some
of the songs sound unfinished, you can end up
getting into a song and then it just stops dead
and finishes, now I’m not sure if this is
because the song is actually unfinished or because
Benji wanted do things in his own unique way and
mix things up a bit, the last of the negative
points are that some of the songs on offer are
actually really bad but some how that gets turned
into a positive point as they become so bad that
you cant help but love the songs.
CD 1 starts with 'I Am You, You Are Me, We Are
One' the song is a short instrumental track, it’s
quite uplifting and beautiful to listen to, the
song fades out just after a minute and then Benji
blasts straight into 'Tight Tee Shirt', now this
song has a formula of being a total disaster,
come on a guy who looks like he should be playing
guitar in Slayer singing a poppy rock song about
tight tee shirts sounds quite surreal and quite
wrong at the same time but actually the song is
awesome, Benji has a great voice and sure knows
how to play both the keyboard and guitar as this
song more than proves, the song is full of charm
and you will find yourself singing "Tight
tee shirt, tight tee shirt", trust me as
the song is still in my head weeks on after first
listening to it.
You don’t really realise that the third
track 'You Stood Me Up' has started until you
finally realise that Benji has ditched the lyrics
of tight tee shirt as there is no break in between
songs. 'You Stood Me Up' has a dark feel about
it and Benji changes his vocal style slightly
here, the chorus is very catchy yet repetitive
with Benji singing "You stood me up"
over and over again, the song has enough going
for it for you to get your groove on to it.
'Waiting for an Invitation' has a strong Beatles
feel about it, the song is really toned down for
Benji Hughes, there’s not much electronic
sounds going on compared to on the other songs
but the electronics are still there slightly.
If Benji Hughes is ever going to get a dance
floor busting grooves then 'Why Do These Parties
Always end The Same Way?, is the song that has
the strongest chance of making this happen as
they song is really upbeat and fused with electronics,
the chorus is extremely simple and catchy which
is the way Benji Hughes seems to like to do things
and it pays off really well.
Want to hear Benji Hughes attempt a love balled?
I am sure you do, well put on 'All You've Got
To Do Is Fall In Love', the song is so beautiful
sounding, it’s really mellow and Benji sings
"All you've got to do, all you've got to
do, all you've got to do is fall in love with
me" over and over again throughout the song.
The first CD of the double album finishes with
'Mmmmmmm' a song that does and sounds exactly
like what it’s called.
CD 2 is just as a good listen as the first cd
with strong tracks such as the really softly spoken
'Girl In The Tower, to the ever so catchy and
upbeat 'Vibe So Hot' which becomes more upbeat
the longer that the song runs for, Benji happily
plays his keyboard and sings beautifully here.
Other highlights of CD 2 are 'The Mummy' which
sounds like a indie masterpiece, I could imagine
many indie playing this song but Benji Hughes
has beat them to it as he wrote and preformed
the track before anyone had a chance. The best
track from CD 2 is 'I Went With Some Friends To
See The Flaming Lips’; the song is really
upbeat and tells a really good story with some
really clever written lyrics.
'A Love Extreme' is a really good debut offering
from Benji Hughes, it’s going to cement
the man a place in the music business, it’s
fun and exciting and the only major downside of
the album is the length, he should of cut it down
to about 15 tracks and just one cd as I can’t
see many people sitting through and listening
to both cds time and time again, but seriously
check Benji Hughes out as he is probably the oddest
artist you have come across all year.
4/5
Review by Trigger |
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| Band
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Benji Hughes (Everything) |
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| Track
Listing |
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Disc 1
1. I Am You, You Are Me, We Are One
2. Tight Tee Shirt
3. You Stood Me Up
4. Neighbor Down The Hall
5. Waiting For An Invitation
6. Cornfields
7. Why Do These Parties Always End The Same Way?
8. Where Do Old Lovers Go?
9. Do You Think They Would Tell You?
10. All You've Got To Do Is Fall In Love
11. Mmmmmmm
Disc 2
1. Even If
2. Girl In The Tower
3. Vibe So Hot
4. So Well
5. The Mummy
6. Love Is A Razor
7. I Went With Some Friends To See The Flaming
Lips
8. Coyotes
9. Ladies On Parade
10. Jubalee
11. So Much Better
12. Love On A Budget
13. Lyegue
14. Baby, It's Your Life
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Related Links |
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| Review
Score Code |
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- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
-
What Was That? |
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