Benton Falls - Guilt Beats Hate
by Benjamin Howarth
published: 13 / 6 / 2003

Label:
Deep Elm
Format: CD
intro
Impressive new album from Benton Falls on Deep Elm, which unusually for the label looks more towards art-punk rather than emocore
ANOTHER bloody Deep Elm record!!! And yet again it’s really, really good. I’m sorry, look if it actually was rubbish, I would say so. But Deep Elm doesn’t really put out bad records, so I can’t. Benton Falls are kind of different for Deep Elm in that they sit towards the arty-punk side of music, rather than emocore. They are a three piece, and a lot of the time the sound here is raw and jerky, rather than warm and full like you would get from, say, Brandtson. But that’s a good thing ; you don’t just want the same thing over and over. Benton Falls, therefore, will interest people who like stuff like Sebadoh or Pavement, which I suppose isn’t the typical Deep Elm audience. Emo fans, however, won’t be let down, because Benton Falls are still mainly focused around the songwriting craft rather than instrumentation or (urrgghh) ‘art’. They’ve recognised that if you have a strong and unique song then the music will always be interesting, even if it appears conventional. Every now and then they enhance the mood with well-placed keyboards or strings, but they don’t over do it. The main thing that sets this apart is some fantastic lyrics that really do cover some fascinating themes, and go straight for the heart rather than beat around the bush. One of the best indie-rock records of the last few years. Well, probably the best since the last Sebadoh album in 1999 to be honest. A collection of 10 memorable songs, just what you want.
Track Listing:-
1 This Housecall Could Kill2 The Race To Die
3 Bitter By Choice
4 Trial And Error
5 Angel On Hiatus
6 Like Portraits On Walls
7 There's No "F" In Team
8 Defining The Warm-up
9 Beneath The Ashes And Lies
10 Broken Frame
digital downloads
most viewed articles
current edition
Cornbury Music Festival - Great Tew Park, Oxfordshire, 8/7/2022...10/7/2022 -The Final GoodbyeBathers - (With Cowboy Mouth and Sugartown), Strathaven Hotel, Strathavan, 17/6/2022
Felix Cavaliere - From Pelham, NY to Rock n Roll Hall of Fame
NIck Godfrey - Interview
Silent Running - Interview
Prolapse - Peel Sessions 20.08.94 and 08.04.97
Dwina Gibb - Interview
Queen and Adam Lambert - O2 Arena, London, 20/6/2022
Sarah Cracknell - Interview
Dorothy Bird - Jimmy's, Liverpool, 30/6/2022
most viewed reviews
current edition
Hurrah! - David Jensen 08.12.82Paolo Nutini - Last Night in the Bittersweet
Moon Under Water - Fragments EP
Marine Research - John Peel 18.05.99
Burning Hell - Garbage Island
Blue Orchids - Angus Tempus Memoir
Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp - 18
Brooks Williams and Aaron Catlow - Ready for the Times
Dave Edwards - Many Rivers
Jessie Buckley and Bernard Butler - For All Our Days That Tear The Heart
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart