A twenty five song debut album from an American bloke with a shabby beard and unkempt hair thinning down toward a somewhat stout waistline: already we’re conjuring images of some droning, drawn out, lifeless prog-metal, but take note because little could be further from the truth.
Benji Hughes plays the kind of upbeat, mellow, warm & fuzzy sunshine pop that sets a soundtrack to summer days spent relaxing on the beach with friends. With women as a clear centre of his world, he sings brittle lyrics that are both cutting and forgiving in the same breath. Drawling about loves lost, loves left behind and loves entirely untouchable; there’s a humour, a wit and an observant wisdom to Benji that’s truly addictive. His is a sound that, although often compared to Beck, is entirely more dreamy, uplifting and optimistic.
‘A Love Extreme‘ is an album that fizzes with contradiction and irony. Starkly juxtaposed, the magic in Benji’s music lies between sandpaper vocals, prickly notions and fluid, soft melodies. The placement of pop song “Tight Tee Shirt” sitting abruptly next to the melancholy “You Stood Me Up” is precisely the use of light and shade that proves Mr Hughes and his creation is a lot more serious and carefully thought out than first glance might suggest.
3 years in the making, this debut might be all we have to cling to for a while so it’s just as well that there’s so much to get your head around. Keep an ear to the ground because, should he find time amongst womanizing, Benji Hughes could be a legend in the making.
Trotty P.