Ben Hemming is a London based singer songwriter who has just released his new album ‘Darkness Before Dawn.’
The album opens with `The End` a song that has a wonderfully bleak and bluesy feel befitting a number that hints at the pointlessness of life at times but how things can turn around and head into a much more positive direction. This change usually comes with the right attitude and mindset, a real song of salvation. We enjoy a fairly foot-tapping thoughtful nigh on haunting rock out with `Baptise Me` which alludes to that difficult time when evolving from a confused adolescent to finally becoming a man and all that it entails.
`Lonesome Road` is a kind of autobiographical musing on life as a troubadour set against a fairly punchy rocky sound. In `Holy For A Day` there`s a further discourse on that emergence into maturity and addressing life`s issues and challenges. The musical backing is pretty philosophical with some superbly intricate guitar chord riffs on route.
`Sunrise`, I read, reflects a new beginning and growth as a person through emotional torment. It`s another absorbing thoughtful reflective slightly blues tinged piece. The strength to overcome loneliness and separation and become a better person is the theme running through `Propane` which really sucks you into it`s meditative layers.
`Born To Die` reflects on the feeling of dreams that didn`t transpire and feeling lost with no real meaning or purpose to your existence. The slide guitar set against the guitar riffs adds a further poignancy to this offering. Redemption and loss once again are at the forefront on the slightly melancholic blues contemplation that is `Dark Waters`.
`Howling At The Moon` is an emotional ride which veers from some quieter reflective segments to more forceful almost challenging sections. At times there was an almost otherworldly or ghostly feel about this composition. The album closes out with `The Devil’s Dance` which opens pretty acoustically before gathering depth, volume and pace and closing out almost soundlessly.
`Darkness Before Dawn` is a cracker and the title really kind of sums the album up a release made for those small reflective hours before daylight appears, and the day begins. Stefan Redtenbacher (bass) and Lui Rampino (drums) join Ben to bring his vision to light.
Ben Hemming has a unique charismatic vocal delivery, and I really loved this forty plus minutes of haunting, lingering, yearning, longing but thought provoking Americana come Blues tinged emotional reflection.
Ben Hemming is another artist to add to the growing list of superb young British born Blues artists such as Toby Lee, Laurence Jones, Phillip Sayce, Troy Redfern, and Kris Barras.
Let the `Darkness Before Dawn` seep into your life.
Rating 9/10
