Kind of Like Spitting - In the Red
Released Nov. 1, 2005
on Hush
These songs resonate with the kind of vulnerability of a boy trying to find himself, equipped with just a guitar, some like-minded friends and pages torn from a weathered diary. Only this boy has grown up — or at least gotten older. But his voice still cracks, and he stills sings with the kind of honesty that would make most adults blush.
Singer-songwriter Ben Barnett, 30, has been writing songs and searching for himself since he was a teenager, playing his first show in a metal band at 14. He has long since shifted his focus to folksy, do-it-yourself indie rock.
In the Red, his eighth full-length album, explores a range of emotions and instrumentation. Some songs are just Barnett and his acoustic guitar. Others find him playing the electric guitar backed by a full band. The pace is always changing, and the whole affair is hardly consistent.
Perhaps the label describes it best:
This is an artist that can both invigorate an audience with rare energy then turn around and demand rapturous silence and reflection. This is an artist taking a look in the mirror, wrestling with demons, and after a knock-down drag-out brawl, finding some peace.The songs are unpolished and imperfect, desperate and unapologetic. You can hear it in the way his voice sometimes sounds like it’s about to break or in the similarly-impassioned guitar playing.
This, of course, is not for everyone. Many will cringe at the description alone. It’s nothing exceptional, really, and I think he has done better. But I have a feeling that he’s doing this for himself.
For an introduction to the artist, I’d recommend Nothing Makes Sense Without It (mp3s: “Blue Period,” “Birds of a Feather“), One Hundred Dollar Room (”26 Is Too Soon“) or Old Moon in the Arms of the New (”Boy Cries Wolf“). Or you can just listen to Barnett’s cover of GZA’s “Labels.” Bet you didn’t see that coming. It’s gettin’ drastic.