Ben Charles - “Gomboo Blues”
Photo by Robert List
Los Angeles-based Ben Charles returns to the blog with the intoxicating “Gomboo Blues.”
One of the things so striking about Ben Charles is his ability to craft catchy, guitar orientated pop-rock songs while layering them with a spacey, odd and eclectic gloss and sheen. Beneath the warmth, texture, riffs and tension there is an undeniable thread of psychedelia. Not the Tame Impala variety, but the lineage carried forward by Radiohead, solo Noel Gallagher and U2 when they were avidly pushing the boundaries of pop in the mid-1990s. A lineage that looked back to krautrock, post-punk, art rock and big scale arena ambitions. Music with ambition to expand rocks tool kit rather than creating sonic drift that drift inward.
“Gomboo Blues” is tight, muscular and urgent. Riding on a drum beat that refuses to coast. Every element, whether the acoustic guitar or melodic bass, moves with intent. Throughout, sounds lift out of nowhere. Phased percussive string action on the guitar heightening tension, trippy helicopter like-effects that mutate into distorted noise, Middle Eastern inflected motifs or colourful waves of uneasy texture. The composition is nothing short of a highly creative artist firing on all cylinders. Making music that is accessible but vividly abstract.
Ben Charles doesn’t attempt to smooth out the tension with his vocals. For most of the song he hovers low in the mix. Restrained, intimate yet wide-eyed and knowing. You know that he has seen something behind the curtain that has altered his perceptions. All he has is surreal, vivid words, flowing like a stream of consciousness left to help us navigate our way through the dreamlike terrain. Only in the final section does the composure unravel. There are no crescendos, just controlled fragility.
Epic, beautiful and majestic, “Gomboo Blues” is a confident and daring show of experimentation. Keep your eyes on Ben Charles who is currently recording a double LP entitled Deep Son, releasing in 2027 via Lovelock Records. Connect with the artist: Spotify | Youtube | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook