Bon Iver. Ryan Adams. Joshua Radin. Damien Rice. James Vincent McMorrow. Even Jack Johnson, Laura Marling and Rumer. Add Benjamin Francis Leftwich to that list. That well-worn genre of singer-songwriter sombre acoustic strums is abundant these days, and ‘Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm’ is no break from the norm. However, while Leftwich isn’t breaking the mould, he is getting near to perfecting that formula.
First track ‘Pictures’ is that slow finger-picking style of guitar play that brought success to Jose Gonzalez, singing in a soothing and dreamy tone that falls somewhere between Bon Iver and Ryan Adams, complete with the chorus ‘Take a picture of them’ relating to heartfelt personal memories seemingly one step away from a sun-drenched phone advert. It’s not ground-breaking and once you’ve heard the first track you’ve got them all really.
That repetitive sound continues throughout, and by the time you’re hitting the paceless ‘Snowship’ and the almost dreary title-track towards the end, it’s wearing a bit thin. In its most questionable places, it sounds like the O.C. soundtrack, especially with the beach acoustic feel of ‘Butterfly Culture’, and the brighter but schmaltzy ‘Shine’ – with just the line ‘I hope you find what you’re looking for/So your heart is warm, forever more’ having me reach for the bucket.
And there’s no hiding where this guy gets his influences from; the Ryan Adams - Bon Iver – Joshua Radin theme shines throughout, take note of ‘Stole You Away’ and the slightly mysterious finale ‘Bottle Baby’. Add in the promo shots of an indie-fied 20-something male, complete with the forlorn look in a corn-field, and it’s the classic acoustic singer-songwriter stereotype.
But for the times when it’s repetitive, one-paced and non-original, it’s equally bewitching and beautiful in places. ‘Don’t Go Slow’ lifts the latter end of the album with a mellow and summery ode to a lover, while ‘1904’ almost gets Arcade Fire-ish and is a delightful track. Then there are those couple of songs are quite stunning in their way.
‘Atlas Hands’ shows Leftwich still sewn to his guitar and with the same wishy-washy vocals that play throughout, but it’s a gorgeous song heralded with the chorus ‘I will remember your face/’Cause I am still in love with that place/When the stars are the only things we share/Will you be there?’. And tussling with it for the album highlight is ‘Box Of Stones’, equally slow but brilliant nonetheless, with ‘You said I’m young, but I’m yours/I am free, but I am flawed’.
‘Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm’ may at times go a bit close to an O.C. vibe, and look up any of the artists mentioned previously and you will find similar stuff, but Benjamin Francis Leftwich has crafted an album that is as good as any of his peers have. We made be being flooded out by singer-songwriters, but in terms of quality, few get as good as this.
A good album in its field, and on balance between my two favourite tracks, here's my top one 'Atlas Hands'.
NWR
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