Having caught many off-guard with the intensity of their debut album ‘Nails’ in 2023, it remained to be seen where Benefits would turn next as the “difficult second album” loomed. Then came the single ‘Land of the Tyrants’. Featuring guest vocals from Zera Tønin of Arch Femmesis, it sounded more like the record you’d listen to on the night bus home from a Benefits gig. Toning down the overt anger for a more introspective approach, it seemed like the band were ready to take the next step in an already eclectic musical evolution. Their new LP ‘Constant Noise’ is that next step.
Now functioning as a two-piece, with Robbie handling production duties and Kingsley on vocals, the gain and distortion dial has taken a sharp turn anti-clockwise, with ‘Lies and Fear’ being the only track to really hark back to the ‘Nails’ sound. Instead, what we have is an album zig-zagging across the electronic music landscape, bookended by two beautiful comedown-style drone tracks in ‘Constant Noise’ and ‘Burnt Out Family Home’, and peppered with everything from upbeat Underworld-style EDM (‘Victory Lap’ and ‘Blame’), hyperactive hip-hop-infused club rhythms (‘Divide’ featuring Shakk) and ambient electronica (‘Relentless’ featuring Pete Doherty).
Lyrically, Kingsley stays in familiar territory, with political frustration and bleak portraits of post-industrial Britain remaining central themes (“I’m looking up in awe at a mountain of shit” serves as the opening line of the record). But while ‘Nails’ showed a band loudly grabbing your attention, ‘Constant Nois’e shows a band who know what they’re going to do with it. It’s all exciting stuff and feels like a band on the cusp of a mainstream breakthrough. However, any notions of Benefits forgetting their DIY roots are firmly dispelled by their upcoming tour.
The band had previously reached out to fans, stakeholders within the music scene, and idiots like me to see what we – as a “scene” – can do better to rejuvenate an ailing live music environment. The result is that all shows on the forthcoming tour will be capped at a £12.00 ticket price, with a 10pm curfew, in an effort to maintain affordability. The band recently took the message to BBC’s Look North, explaining the importance of live music not becoming the preserve of the privileged. Hopefully, it’s a message that will resonate with other promoters.
The ‘Constant Noise’ tour will arrive at Gateshead’s Glasshouse on Friday 2nd May.
Tickets, priced at £13.50 (including booking fee), are available from theglasshouseicm.org.
