Brut - Gentle Ben and his Shimmering Hands (Beast Records/Spooky Records)
You dug Six Foot Hick? Of course you did. Gentle Ben and his Sensitive Side? Sure.
But it's 2024. And “Brut'” is here.
The Shimmering Hands are Jhindu Pedro-Lawrie on drums, Dan Baebler on bass, and Tony Giacca on guitars. Ben Corbett handles the vocals...
The Bandcamp blurb explains; “The themes of BRUT range from a fraught, taught exploration of the broken bodies, hearts and minds of our capitalist hellscape (‘Spices’) to wailing rock and roll eulogies (‘De Bliksem’, ‘No Encore’), a drifting death-country ode to colonialism (‘Five Stars’) to bloody kitchen sink drama (‘Tactical Empathy’).”
From the first song, we know we're in for a journey. “De Bliksem” slow-grooves across your frontal lobes, tickling the grey stuff with angelic backing vocals and a burst of sizzling fuzz guitar over a twitching rip.
So yeah, we're talking a classy slab of plastic here, okay?
Let's just stay with the opener for a moment. It stands repeat playing, straight away. The basic rhythm tugs you along, and those huge, gutsy vocals caper over the top, with some rather magnificent points of interest along the way. It's a trip.
"Spices":
I'm just a dog, that knows how to drive
I saw your face four times its size
Smiling, from an A-frame sign
Repeating, the company line
You know that thing you get with classic songs? A sort of awe at how so few people make such a huge, complex machine hang together? Tony Giacca's guitar work is delicate, sublime with the hint that somewhere behind him someone's trying to push him down a slope. He's resisting. The result is often beautiful.
Dan Baebler's bass does exactly what it's supposed to, keep the world together. Jhindu Pedro-Lawrie's drums are that magnificent thing, perfectly kept and the songs steal your heart, basically.
Ben wraps his larynx around the music like a head of snakes.
"Brut" is, put simply, a damn strong LP. You won't regret the outlay. You'll play it over and over. Live shows are memorable (as you should know) ... but live shows come and go, and you only have the hazy memory (if you're lucky). Vinyl can last a lot longer. And you can rerun it over and over. Which these songs demand.
My favourite songs ... well, I'm not sure yet, but "Tactical Empathy" and "Murder Rehearsal" get me going. Trouble is, on repeated listens I've discovered that I get lost inside the songs... like "The Leech".
The last song, "No Encore" has the kind of magic which usually adds gravitas and quality to otherwise indifferent films and TV series.
Now, to the one thing which utterly leaps out at you.
Ben Corbett's voice. His intensity, his delivery, the sheer fucking power of what he's doing. His stylised vocals are born of necessity, of trying to find a way to express himself which satisfies his own sense of perfection. He's always striving to bring the reality of his emotions, of his lyrics, into your head. There's not one lazy syllable on this LP. So, in case you were wondering, "BRUT" ain't the kind of thing you put on while you do the dishes, okay?
If I absolutely had to produce a comparison of any sort for Ben's voice, it would be - perhaps - a less enigmatic Scott Walker. Ben's range and breadth of expression is truly magnificent.
In fact, "Brut" is one of those records which requires your attention. And you love it, and the musicians, for producing it.
_ _ _ _ _
You and your brother, Geoff ... as kids, what set you apart from the other kids? And, if you had to list the differences and similarities... ?
Ben Corbett: We were raised with a unique combination of conservatism and permissiveness in a semi-rural cultural backwater. There was definitely some appreciation for literature and the arts in our household, but it was quite buttoned down. Our mum had been a schoolteacher before she was married, and gave private elocution lessons to local kids. We always had books around but music was less important - although the Muppets, ABBA and Gilbert & Sullivan were fixtures.
I don’t think Geoff and I thought ourselves particularly different from other kids - a sense of individuality and independence would come later. There was definitely a desire for more than the farm could offer us though. Geoff, being seven years older, forged a path when he went off to art school and started singing in bands.
Well, as the younger bro, what made you head towards music?
Ben Corbett: It was my mum’s influence that got me onto the stage originally (reciting poems and short monologues etc in eisteddfods), then of course having an older brother who brought home records and tapes got me listening to a wider variety of stuff than you’d hear on commercial radio. I started mucking around trying to sing with some musician friends in high school (one of whom - Dan Baebler - I’m still making music with some 35 years later).
After a few abortive attempts at forming a proper band I wrote a play, a “Death-Country Musical”, that featured a live band. That band became SixFtHick. And then we sucked really bad for a few years but somehow didn’t break up and ended up getting better.
There’s never been any money in any of the bands. Anything we’ve made from shows, record sales, T-shirts etc just gets funnelled back into the band. It would be laughable to try to make a living out of it. And that’s okay. Everyone has jobs. Families. Real responsibilities. In between these things we try to get together and make music. And we’re in a privileged position where people want to buy the records and turn up to the shows.
As a singer I’ve never really known what I’m doing - I was so used to being unable to hear myself through shitty P.A.’s that were drowned out by the band that I initially just screamed as loud as I could. And I think I still sing by “feel” a lot. Tone and texture are just as important as melody. I’m always chasing a performance that feels true. It’s important to ask yourself what the song requires of you because the best thing you can do is get out of the way of the song.
Gentle Ben and his Shimmering Hands are on tour in September:.
SEP
20 – Cactus Room, Melbourne
+ Screensaver + Tall & The Arms
21 – Major Tom’s, Kyneton, Vic
27 – Marrickville Bowlo
+ The Holy Soul
28 – The Bearded Lady, Brisbane
+ Refedex + Anna & The Morphics
