Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The day is filled with the unseen and the unexpected, it is the time in which the shadows find glee at the darkness and shelter we simple spectres of humanity crave for; the comfort of the music we know and never daring to step beyond it out of fear or the thought of betrayal to the memory of the band that you have nurtured in your soul for as long as you have taken breath.
It is that sense of betrayal to a listener that can stop some appreciating the solo artist, that might find them worrying about the future of the band to have taken to if they were to consider the music of just a single element, the structured thread of the group at the finest and all because one of the members has gone out and done their own thing with a guitar and a great sense of fortune installed into their stride.
Nothing will ever replace the terrific rush you would feel when you listen to Killaflaw but it can certainly be enhanced when you allow for a brief time Benn Helm the moment in which to show why Killaflaw sound so sweet and mind blowing.
Killaflaw are a band that cannot and must be contained and even when they are away from the venue as a whole, like a spy embarking on a dangerous solo mission into unknown enemy country, armed only with powers of seduction, the silver tongue of a poet and the meanest looking, dirt pounding guitar placed at their hips, the parts of the band are more than able to send the brutally frank and considered message of hope across.
In Benn Helm’s performance at Constellations at Beerdfest, the name of Killaflaw lived unexpectedly in the hearts of those who made the afternoon session of entertainment laid on by Jodie Schofield and her team of hirsute helpers. It was the rock invitation to blow away the cobwebs caused by the day’s descent into heavy downpours and overcast skies.
With the elegance so deserving of one primed in his approach to making music, Benn Helm floored resistance in songs such as In The City, Way Back When, Diamond Eyes, Testify and Happy Days; the sound of the guitar like the rattling of a sabre, loud, beautiful and full of dramatic steel; Benn Helm certainly left no heart untouched as he demonstrated his skill with this hybrid machine.
A fantastic moment in time and one to catch again, it won’t hurt the band but it would certainly mess with your mind if you don’t catch Benn Helm performing.
Ian D. Hall