Benjamin Booker Album Review: “Benjamin Booker”

Benjamin Booker’s powerful self-titled debut album is less of a kick in the teeth and more of a push off of a massive cliff into a deep, clear ocean. Its sound is raw and menacing at times, but its construction couldn’t be more tightly controlled. The New Orleans-based Booker burst onto the music scene with a bang this year, touring with Jack White and putting on an impressive set at Lollapalooza.

The barrage of press surrounding his anticipated debut album has often hailed him as the savior of blues-rock. While it is for certain that Booker’s sound is frequently brushed with the remnants of 60s and 70s blues and gospel, to compartmentalize this album to just one type of sound would be doing it a great disservice. In this album you hear the punk rock influences of bands like The Gun Club and glam rock bands like T. Rex. Both of whom Booker cites as bands that have impacted his sound.

Listening to this album may take you to a time of unpolished and coarse rock and roll, but despite its timeless sound this album is incredibly present. From the very beginning with the lead track “Violent Shiver,” Booker (and his drummer Max Norton) kick-start the album with a song that refuses to let the vocals rise above the rhythm section. The music and the lyrics are so intertwined that their union blurs the lines between which one is used for the melody and which is used for harmony. Is the guitar complimenting his raspy voice or the other way around?

This is blatant in songs like “Spoon Out My Eyeballs” a seemingly soothing, almost ballad, where Booker’s voice couldn’t be soft if his life depended on it. Eventually the song shifts into a fast-paced guitar at around the two minute mark. In this song, and many others on the album, the eruption of guitar feels as if Booker had just been impatiently waiting for the slow part to be done so he could implement it.

That is my favorite part of this album and with Booker as an artist. Listening to him, I can’t tell if these songs are a product of improvisation or they are just masterfully crafted songs. Exhibiting a mastery that is well beyond his 25 years.

My favorite track on the album is “Have You Seen My Son?” I first heard it on the radio a few months ago and it struck me so profoundly I had to pull over to look up the name of it. Booker in this song takes the perspective of a father who is looking for his son in a world consumed by sin and immorality. It starts with a rhythmic drum and doesn’t let up. Booker’s shaky and raspy voice pulls you in and then pushes you out as the guitar grows and grows. At around the 1:45 mark he delves into his first of two rhythmic jam sessions between him and the drummer. It sounds like he’s constantly about to lose control, but his never does. He finds cohesion in the chaos.