Today, ascendant Teesside agitators Benefits have shared a video for their new single ‘What More Do You Want’. The single lands a day ahead of their highly anticipated debut album ‘NAILS’, which is released by Invada Records (BEAK>, Billy Nomates, and more).
The track follows the release of the album’s lead single ‘Warhorse’, a pummelling yet danceable track described by frontman Kingsley Hall as “an iron fist in a velvet glove.” The track ignited the fuse for the album’s release in late-Feb, earning fervent plaudits from the bands dedicated fanbase, as well as landing a daytime playlist from BBC Radio 6 Music, and attracting press coverage from the likes of Rolling Stone UK, NME, the Quietus, Dork, DIY, The Line Of Best Fit, CLASH, Louder, and more.
The latest preview of their new album ‘What More Do You Want’, sees Hall’s nimble vocals spar and duet against spartan free jazz percussion. The track is inspired by the band’s live improvisations with Hall recording the vocals without any accompaniment or backing as a performance poem before sending onto the band to perform over with the only instruction being that it needed to build in intensity. The result is a tense and powerful track that builds into a crushing cacophony of noise around Hall’s lyrics about toxic patriotism.
The single is also accompanied by a captivating new video which sees the band in a derelict building amongst union jack flags, British party foods, and celebratory decorations, which they destroy as the track develops.
WATCH / SHARE THE VIDEO FOR ‘WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT’ HERE
Going on to speak about the message behind the single, Hall says “It’s about the corruption of power and the nagging possibility that things weren’t necessarily better in the old days, despite what everyone says, and how harking back to them may not bring you the glory you desire. It’s one of the noisiest songs we’ve ever constructed, completely designed with a brutal sonic impact in mind. Dale’s drums clang and clatter in a really beautiful way, they’re harsh and heavy but there’s a melody to them. Hugh and Robbie hurl giant slabs of noise into the mix and it all builds to be a monster. Despite the chaos, this is probably Benefits in our purest, noisiest form.”
In support of their new album Benefits will also head out on a headline UK tour in April, which will come ahead of early festival dates across the EU and UK. Dates are as follows:
21/04 – Glasgow, UK, Rum Shack
22/04 – Leeds, UK, Lending Room
23/04 – Manchester, UK, Soup
24/04 – Cardiff, UK, Clwb Ifor Bach
25/04 – Tunbridge Wells, UK, Forum
26/04 – Brighton, UK, Chalk
27/04 – London, UK, 100 Club
28/04 – Hebden Bridge, UK, Trades
29/04 – Birmingham, UK, Hare And Hounds
30/04 – Newcastle, UK, The Cluny
04/05 – Belfast, NI, Deer’s Head Music Hall
05/05 – Limerick, IRE, Dolans
06/05 – Dublin, IRE, Workmans
12/05 – Brighton, UK, The Great Escape
17/05 – Paris, FR, Supersonic
18/05 – Paris, FR, Supersonic
19/05 – Rotterdam, NL, Rotown
20/05 – Amsterdam, NL, London Calling
26/05 – Catton Hall, UK, Bearded Theory Festival
27/05 – Bristol, UK, Dot to Dot Festival
28/05 – Nottingham, UK, Dot to Dot Festival
