Benjamin Booker

Resolutely lo-fi, Benjamin Booker’s music defies genre, form, structure and internal logic, and, on occasion, tuning and timing. Bursts of noise rip through the fabric of songs as undertones of The Jam, Nirvana, and even hi-life snake their way through the bass-heavy melee. Like Tom Waits, Booker’s voice belies his frame, but he lacks the gravitas and discipline to hold the chaos together. Appalachian folk interludes, minimal between-song patter and extended periods of feedback-laden inactivity confuse, and ultimately lose his audience and when he wanders offstage without so much as a goodbye Cleveland, Pilate doesn’t wait for an encore.

Audio, 26 February 2015

Rating: