Album Review
4-5 Stars While it may not be the most cheerful of experiences, it is undeniably a powerful and significant one.
Reviewer: Sarah Jamieson
Released: 21st March 2025
Label: Invada
“I’m gazing in amazement at a mountain of garbage,” opens the initial refrain of ‘Constant Noise’, serving as a fitting metaphor for the sentiments many of us are currently experiencing. It’s somewhat difficult to grasp the notion that the world has deteriorated since Benefits launched their 2023 debut ‘NAILS’, yet here we find ourselves two years later, collectively stepping into a new age of despair. The Teeside band, now reduced to the duo of Kingsley Hall and Robbie Major, are responding fittingly, with their latest album confronting the void and wrestling with it. As expected (particularly given its themes), it’s an album expansive in both musicality and lyrics, pulling back from the chaotic moments of their debut to embrace more dance-oriented aspects. Of course, there are still bursts of that raw intensity (‘Lies and Fear’ delivers a relentless assault on the senses, while ‘Terror Forever’ serves as their agitated take on beat poetry), but the contrast of electronic rhythms with Kingsley’s poetic lyrics creates a mesmerizing, at times existential, push-and-pull of anxiety and release. An album that boldly plunges into the fear, anger, and exhaustion of our current reality, it may not be the most joyful of listens, but it’s undeniably impactful and essential.
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