Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There are those who will tell it, supposedly, like it is and there are those who will show you the error of your ways. The former will do so with punishment, they will feed off the energy like locusts on a corn field and leave the recipient exhausted, drained, distressed and troubled, and all because they have offered no real possibility of change, instead they have set the subject of their scorn back physically and mentally.
The latter, those who see the error but wish only to enlighten and improve, they see that the Gold Has Worn Away and become tarnished, but being in the position to show the person that the metal has had its day and that their soul is worth more anyway.
For founding member of the big-band Bellowhead, Benji Kirkpatrick’s place in the annals of music’s history is assured but that doesn’t mean he won’t find the time and the space in which to indulge, to pursue other means of voicing his concerns and fears for how humanity is allowing itself to sleepwalk in personal, emotional distress, to see its political leaders slowly unravel decades of growth and freedom in the name of ideology. It is in Mr. Kirkpatrick’s power of observation that this new project takes shape, his understanding that gold tarnishes with time but in the heart of a person gold can be as good as it wants for life.
Joining Benji Kirkpatrick in the band is Pete Flood on drums and percussion and Pete Thomas on double and electric bass, with guest vocalists Rowen Godel and Janie Mitchell adding a distinctive flavour to the unveiling of the lies that have gripped the world and in songs such as Human Cost, The Undesirable, In Your Cave, Just Another Burn Out and Got To Be All Mine, Benji Kirkpatrick & The Excess prove their point with care, attention to the detail and without making the listener feel as if their life has not been worth a dime to those that care for them.
Gold has worn away, the metal sheen has dulled, but in its place stands an album worth its weight in personal fortune.
Benji Kirkpatrick & The Excess’ Gold Has Worn Away is out now and available from Westpark Music.
Ian D. Hall