Description
Critically acclaimed Teesside agitators Benefits return with the announcement of their much-anticipated debut album Nails. In their four years of existence, much has changed for Benefits. Over lockdown they morphed from spirited guitar-led punks into overwhelmingly brutal harsh noise-wielders, whose furious, eviscerating music garnered them the kind of word of mouth following most artists can only dream of. Frontman Kingsley Halls spoken (and screamed) vocals acting as a righteous rebuke to the divisive, xenophobic, poisonous rhetoric coming from elsewhere, spread by those who stand to profit from the fallout, that had all but overwhelmed our public discourse. Every time one of the bands bracing polemics arrived it would spread rapidly across social media like an antidote to that disease and gather more to Benefits cause. High profile fans like Steve Albini, Sleaford Mods and Modeselektor were among those on board from the off. Now, however, they are stepping things up a level, signing to esteemed indie imprint Invada who will release their debut album Nails. We could have released a record at any point over the last couple of years but held back because I wanted to wait until the right people came along, Hall says. The labels co-founder Geoff Barrow of Portishead was one of the many whod been drawn to the music as it made waves online, and when he came to see the group perform live in his native Bristol was immediately hooked. His faith in the band has been repaid and then some, producing a record that not only confirms the groups brilliance, but also redefines what you thought was possible. It captures all of that validating rage that established them one of the most exciting acts in the country skull crushing fan favourites Flag, Empire and Meat Teeth are all present and correct but also pushes their sound into bold new territory, both sonically and emotionally.
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