Benjamin Booker – Witness (ATO)

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Following up an acclaimed debut album can be tough on an artist. For Benjamin Booker, a trip to Mexico City helped ease the pressure. The isolation and distance from his home in The States gave him the space and perspective he needed to write the songs found on Witness.

Bookers’ first, self-titled, album was released three years ago. With its dirty blues and garage rock and the artist’s connection with Jack White, it was destined to be a critical favourite.

But Booker describes himself as a “transient person”…he’s lived in Florida, New Orleans and now Los Angeles…and so his musical style has gone through some changes as well.

Not that you could tell from the opening track.

Right On You rocks with an intensity and urgency that would have Mr White smiling. It’s a gritty rocker with a T-Rex style riff that makes the listener sit up and take notice.

But its also something of a musical red herring as the remainder of the album consists of more soulful, introspective material.

That introspection took place while on a trip to Mexico in early 2016 in an attempt to break free of a case of writers’ block.

Booker speaks no Spanish, so he pretty much kept to himself. The trip also gave him the opportunity to observe the US from a distance. At the time, police were shooting black men on a regular basis and the Black Lives Matter movement was taking hold.

This all fed into Booker’s songwriting, in particular, the title track, which he sings with noted Civil Rights activist and all-around incredible vocalist Mavis Staples. The song essentially asks, “Am I going to be a witness and, is that enough?”

Booker’s sense of isolation while in Mexico crops up in The Slow Drag Under, a hypnotic blues with a loping beat.

Then there’s Believe, where we find the artist searching for something to believe in…”I don’t care if it’s right or wrong”, he sings in desperation. Musically, the song opens with a stirring string section, reminding me of Sam Cooke’s classic, A Change Is Gonna Come.

On his first album, Booker embraced analogue technology, but here he has discarded that for a more modern approach. Together he and producer Sam Cohen have come up with a sound palate that still sounds true to his retro aesthetic but keeps the listener on their toes with sonic flourishes and left turns.

Best of all, Benjamin Booker has written ten songs that will move and motivate the listener to think and feel about the world around them, while simultaneously offering up some sweet, soulful vibes.

Marty Duda

Click here to check out the 13th Floor interview with Benjamin Booker. 

 

 

Marty Duda
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