Benton Falls - Guilt Beats Hate

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 13 / 6 / 2003

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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 Kill
2 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

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