When an album is so good, there is no limit on subsequent release dates to ensure it reaches as wide an audience as possible. April was the first time SWEET ANHEDONIA by Ben de la Cour reared its probing head bonded onto a substantive base. The onsetting darkness of October is an apt time for it to receive a European reboot and getting lost in its mesmerising maze is not a bad place to abscond to as the shortening days loom. A little knowledge of Ben de la Cour's previous material sets you on track for a tough ride that accrues an extra sheen when learning that the Southern gothic sounds of Jim White are influenced from the production seat. Lacking that knowledge doesn't diminish the appeal as long as you buckle up for a heavy dose of Americana noir that glistens with reams of exceptional songwriting.
The oxymoron of the title echoes the irony code. Dig a little into the writer's documented background and you feel therapy taking shape. Take a peep into the character's world and shudders ensue. The wrong side of the tracks is a compelling fertile place for striking songs, equally enjoyable if you are consuming from the safe haven of the other side.
'Sweet Anhedonia', the title track, is demonstrably personifying with cutting lyrics making a desperate plea for awareness. Mesmerisingly constructed and hard-hitting sketches the outline of a song given a slither of light through the featured additional vocals of Emily Scott Robinson.
On an album pulsating with resonance throughout its 11-song 48-minute existence (this includes the digital only bonus track 'Birdcage' that sits as an outlying roots stomper in different robes at the end), there are four killer moments to lift the record into the annals of hugely influential. Two tracks in and Becky Warren joins the prime protagonist for a sumptuous duet 'Numbers Game', one awash with fiddle and an alluring narrative focussed on characters bumbling along rock bottom with just a slight glint of hope at the end. It is interesting to note that Lynne Hanson gets a co-write credit. Now if Ben de la Cour had the touring horizon of her, then some serious talent would cross the ocean.
The next pair of potential standouts nestle together as the record rounds the corner into the home straight. 'Suicide of Town' is a high tensile rocker in the vein of Michael McDermott for those in the know and a certain Mr Springsteen for the rest. The repeatedly defiant tub thumping line of 'I ain't going back' toughens the exterior of a heart pumping track. In one realm, this track juxtaposes with follow on piece 'Palookaville'. This piano stunner complete with a sensuous brass interlude is a slow moving character documentation once again channelling the vibes of Michael McDermott, though this time stripped down, and on a different scale pulling comparison with Simone Felice famed for a steely gaze adding intensity to his songs.
Ben de la Cour probably reaches his lyrical peak in the penultimate offering 'I’ve Got Everything I Ever Wanted' with scintillating lines bursting out peaking with the stellar lyric 'I looked down at the table and said get me out of here/ Table didn't say nothing, Table just don't care'. At this point on the record you can be forgiven for losing the stamina to dissect. The way with words fluently eases the path from creator to listener.
Another popular and respected addition to the credits is Elizabeth Cook who supplies additional vocals to 'Shine on the Highway'. For close on four minutes there are vocal and rhythmic shades of Sam Baker housing a ghostly march exuding implied messages and observations. At the outset, the tone is set through the vibes of 'Appalachian Book of the Dead', a powerful slice of gothic noir to open things with the line 'where you gonna go when you can't go home' driving home a point of death and missing.
Worn vocals bed in on 'Maricopa County' as a race to the bottom accelerates. A track painstakingly slow, but in time with the sombre mood of a place more than a little down on its luck with mysterious characters. Much later in the record 'Brother' unveils as a softer gentler number addressing a character with some poignant advice. This is just before the mini epic 'American Mind' where easy sonic tones emanate while the lyrics are left dangling free of not too much interpretation, just allowing room to marvel in the writer's serene lyrical flow.
The work of Ben de la cour has previously been toyed with without leaving that lasting mark. SWEET ANHEDONIA changes the script and cements an ending to lock in an artist's ultra credibility. It is a record to get lost in, peruse or study and just enjoy a masterly approach to the songwriting art. An armoured soul may help in some cases, but an accessible nature makes you believe in what is being said. The ultimate accolade to a songwriter exploring the truth before waving a magical lyrical wand to make their point.
