Steve Benjamins – Sightlines EP
- Written by Julia Lamb
Steve Benjamins’ latest EP Sightlines is an organic take on indie-pop. Compared to the likes of Justin Vernon, Sufjan Stevens and James Vincent McMorrow, Benjamins’ music is poised without surrendering its intrigue.
Title track ‘Sightlines’ eases you into the EP with a magnetizing coupling of ethereal organs and Benjamins’ effortlessly smooth vocals. Although delicate, it’s brimming with emotion and sincerity. The pace picks up on second track ‘We Used To Live’, an electronic number with a buzzing verse and a banging chorus - all the while tasteful and sophisticated.
At this point in Sightlines, Benjamins trades synthesizers for pianos and guitars, veering the record in an instrumental direction. ‘Devotion’ is a gorgeously melodic interlude of rich piano and featherweight harmonies. The track lulls you into a state of peacefulness - it’s at once gentle and warming. ‘Steamroller’ continues this subdued sound, paving the way for Benjamins’ exquisite upper vocal range to soar freely. Shifting gears once more, ‘Exploding Boy’ kicks in with a subtle but piercing beat that grows into a thunderous gallop by the song’s chorus. The track winds down with Justin Vernon-like echoic vocals, before transitioning into the record’s closing track ‘Later On’. Although a mere minute and a half long, ‘Later On’ is a poetic and heartfelt exit to this EP: “Lit by fading red and orange glow / Like the grip of a knot or the fade of a century.”
Sightlines is a much-needed breath of fresh air for indie-pop, from a man gifted in the art of subtlety.
Sightlines EP is available from Steve Benjamins’ website (for free) and iTunes.