The last place you’ll find Benjamin Booker is where he was yesterday. Following two critically acclaimed albums marked by his signature fuzzy americana-inspired garage rock and soul sound, world tours, and opening slots with the likes of Jack White, Tame Impala, and Neil Young… he disappeared. “I wanted to get to this sound, but I didn’t know how. At some point I decided I’m going to find it or die trying.” He spent years tinkering in a loft near Skid Row in Los Angeles before ending up across the globe in Perth, Australia.
Trading stems via email, Booker crafted his third album with LA underground hip-hop mastermind Kenny Segal. The new album, “Lower”, mixes experimental hip hop, dream and noise pop, and singer-songwriter music into something that is entirely his own. Through the changes, Booker’s lyrical exploration of pain and longing have been persistent.
“I am beginning to see the beauty all around me/What this life can be,” Booker sings over simmering guitar and delicate keys on “Slow Dance in a Gay Bar.” In a statement, he said, “You know, sometimes you find yourself in a death hole, surrounded by bones and rotting flesh. It feels like every second is a shovel-full of dirt flung on your head – the worms are laughing at you, hungry, ready to eat. But then, out of nowhere, the impossible happens. A ladder appears. You climb up and the world you knew before is completely different. The colours are more saturated. The sun shines brighter and the air smells sweet like honey. This song is about that.”
His new single, “Slow Dance in a Gay Bar,” is out now, and it comes with a dream-like video of the musician driving a white van through the narrow streets of New Orleans’ French Quarter. It’s the latest of a string of loosies ahead of Booker’s third studio album,
“Lower,” is due January 24th.
The Fat Angel Sings 