Music
Press
A cracked and beautiful voice, with a series of gently electronic infused laments of love, loss and disenchantment. Quite beautiful.
- Subba-Cultcha.com
Benjamin Shaw is an alternative idol in waiting. His debut EP, the gloriously titled I Got the Pox, The Pox is What I Got, sees brief vignettes of almost unbearable sadness crafted into beautifully composed, darkly humorous lo-fi. But, as Shaw demonstrates, low fidelity doesn’t necessarily suggest a lack of ambition. Each scratch, each crackle, each second of tape-stretching noise is perfectly judged, and blisfully restrained.
Recalling Nick Drake, early (but significantly less whiney) Bright Eyes and his beloved Sparklehorse, Benjamin Shaw’s debut is intensely literate in every sense; it is lyrically accomplished, but also demonstrates a deep musical understanding. Benjamin Shaw gets ‘it’, whatever ‘it’ turns out to be. - Fractions of One.com
Born from noise, a gurgling, a hissing and a humming comes the striking opening chords of ‘Thanks For All The Biscuits’ followed by a voice so fragile, almost defeated, yet carrying such swathes of emotion it’s hard to keep the tears in.
These are folk songs constructed from matchsticks, barely able to support their own weight - a sigh would leave them in pieces on the floor. So delicate; constructed with 100% proof emotion. This collection of six songs from this Blackpool singer/songwriter is up there with the best of this year and certainly puts him on the 'to watch' list for 2010.
Through the despair and sorrow there is a black humour, the English trait of laughing in the face of misery exemplified. There are genuine moments of laughter. Ben inspires a rare empathy in the listener - sharing his plight but also the glimmers of light that work their way to the surface. Fans of Lupen Crook, Nick Drake, Jeffery Lewis, Adam Green and something left of centre but heart-warming will utterly adore this. 8/10 - The Music Fix.co.uk
“Fastidiously DIY in sound…A ‘name’ for 2010.” – God is in the TV
"Ben inspires a rare empathy in the listener... Up there with the best of this year...on the 'to watch' list for 2010 - 8/10." - The Music Fix.co.uk
“Benjamin Shaw had a few more surprises tucked away than I first thought. I would definitely love to hear more. CD of the week.” - Nic Dalton, Lemonheads
"A cracked and beautiful voice, with a series of gently electronic infused laments of love, loss and disenchantment. Quite beautiful." - Subba-Cultcha.com
“Underground notoriety beckons…8/10.” – Rock Pulse.co.uk
“A surprisingly layered record…real swells of sound. A smothering blanket of melancholy…I look forward to a full album.” – Songs By Toad
“Defiantly ramshackle..the only fear is that Shaw’s style may fail to attract the attention it deserves.” – The Skinny
“A 'singer-songwriter' who obviously isn't happy with the connotations that tag would bestow upon him. He's fighting to find his own voice in a sea of tepid waters soiled by the likes of James's Morrison and Blunt” – Tasty Fanzine.org.uk
“A curious, water colored dreamer” – Clicky Clicky Music.com
“Defiantly lo-fi values cloak soul baring singer-songwriterliness as if essayed at the end of a very long and uncomfortably active night, throwing everything off course with electronic layers, noises and the inscrutability of his lyrical worldview.” – Sweeping The Nation
“A beautiful lo-fi thing indeed.” – A Little Electricity
“An alternative idol in waiting…” – Fractions of One.com
“Benjamin Shaw is a one-man wall in a dark alleyway of sound, and I’ll be looking out for him - 9/10." - Music Emissions
“Hopelessly catchy." - Unpeeled.net
“Alive in a raw way that was almost lost years ago.” –Chaos Before Predictability.com
“Enjoyed from the wrong side of a bottle of wine, like the singer appears to be - 7/10." Die Shellsuit Die!
“Magnificent” – Jack Hayter (HEFNER)
“Distortion, self-deprecation, and humor. I cant wait to see what he puts out next.” – Creative Intersection
“Benjamin’s vocals are very distinct and a whole host of adjectives can be used to try to describe them but it’s almost impossible to do so – 4/5.” – Tracks Monkey - Various / Credited Below
Discography
"There's Always Hope, There's Always Cabernet" (Self Released. 11 songs.)
"Three Songs" (Self Released. 3 songs.)
"I Got the Pox, The Pox Is What I Got E.P" (Audio Antihero Records. 7 songs.)
"When I Fell Over In The City / The Carpeteer" (Digital Double A Side single - upcoming)
We're receiving spot plays from the likes of Resonance FM, Propaganda Radio, 209 Radio 105FM.
And video streaming on SeeSound & DIY TV (This is Fake DIY).
Photos
Bio
Benjamin Says:
Now, as you may know, Blackpool is a town built on disappointment and despair. Growing up on these windy shores, Benjamin Shaw had an awful lot of time on his hands.
After a period of particular awfulness, and a short descent into madness, Ben fell for a whimsical fair lady on the other side of the planet, and promptly moved his life over to Melbourne, Australia. After a year in Melbourne, playing gaggles of shows Ben returned to England with a wife and an array of new songs and recordings. Now living in the woods of North London, Ben has recently been seen playing all the main dives you've never heard of.
Neil Young mixed with the Okkervil Rivers, Jeffrey Lewises and Sparklehorses of today have become the diet, and with all the agility you would expect from a gangly, pale washing line of a man, Benjamin Shaw is coming at you like a wet duffle-coat. I Got the Pox, The Pox is What I Got: Six & a half songs of nausea, noise and hilarious anecdote.
Audio Antihero says:
DIY storyteller Benjamin Shaw makes his debut with ‘I Got the Pox, the Pox is What I Got '. At its root a collection of beautiful , simple and homicidal songs, but one that grows in layers; keys, percussion, screeching harmonies, with claps, thuds, kettles, kittens and creaking doors all washing over this intimate and desolate lo-fi record.
Musically vast and sonically awesome, Benjamin is far beyond the (now derogatory) term – “Singer Songwriter”. He recalls the most essential works of Neil Young, J Mascis, Bon Iver, 'Vivadixie..' era Sparklehorse and even the early charms of a drunken Tom Waits – but brings so much of himself to his work, that it's a chore to arrogantly suggest sound-alike's or influences, Shaw is one of a kind. His concept of narrative and sense of bleak humour create involving and fascinating stories, ones that truly deserve to be carried by the fighting frailty of his voice.
Benjamin's bitter bedroom recordings, swamped with fuzz, buzz, distortion, are a real shot in the arm for the sterile swarm that is today’s acoustic scene. Artistic, ambitious, original and pure – there's been no one like Benjamin Shaw around in a long time.
Press says:
“Fastidiously DIY in sound…A ‘name’ for 2010.” – God is in the TV
"Ben inspires a rare empathy in the listener... Up there with the best of this year...on the 'to watch' list for 2010 - 8/10." - The Music Fix.co.uk
“Benjamin Shaw had a few more surprises tucked away than I first thought. I would definitely love to hear more. CD of the week.” - Nic Dalton, Lemonheads
"A cracked and beautiful voice, with a series of gently electronic infused laments of love, loss and disenchantment. Quite beautiful." - Subba-Cultcha.com
“Underground notoriety beckons…8/10.” – Rock Pulse.co.uk
“A surprisingly layered record…real swells of sound. A smothering blanket of melancholy…I look forward to a full album.” – Songs By Toad
“Defiantly ramshackle..the only fear is that Shaw’s style may fail to attract the attention it deserves.” – The Skinny
“A 'singer-songwriter' who obviously isn't happy with the connotations that tag would bestow upon him. He's fighting to find his own voice in a sea of tepid waters soiled by the likes of James's Morrison and Blunt” – Tasty Fanzine.org.uk
“A curious, water colored dreamer” – Clicky Clicky Music.com
“Defiantly lo-fi values cloak soul baring singer-songwriterliness as if essayed at the end of a very long and uncomfortably active night, throwing everything off course with electronic layers, noises and the inscrutability of his lyrical worldview.” – Sweeping The Nation
“A beautiful lo-fi thing indeed.” – A Little Electricity
“An alternative idol in waiting…” – Fractions of One.com
“Benjamin Shaw is a one-man wall in a dark alleyway of sound, and I’ll be looking out for him - 9/10." - Music Emissions
“Hopelessly catchy." - Unpeeled.net
“Alive in a raw way that was almost lost years ago.” –Chaos Before Predictability.com
“Enjoyed from the wrong side of a bottle of wine, like the singer appears to be - 7/10." Die Shellsuit Die!
“Magnificent” – Jack Hayter (HEFNER)
“Distortion, self-deprecation, and humor. I cant wait to see what he puts
out next.” – Creative Intersection
“Benjamin’s vocals are very distinct and a whole host of adjectives can be used to try to describe them but it’s almost impossible to do so – 4/5.” – Tracks Monkey
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