(2021) Ben Watt - Storm Shelter EP
Review:
Naked and unadorned, the new EP from Ben Watt Storm Shelter captures the artist at his most vulnerable. It’s been far too long since we had just Watt and a piano. In a career that dates back to the early ’80s, it’s been almost that long since he’s recorded this way. Mind you that’s not a complaint. His work, both with Everything but the Girl and as a solo artist has always been stellar, but this resonates far differently. Partially, that’s the result of a simple setting and partially the result of the year that followed the recording, which has changed us all. Having spent years as a DJ and remixer, Watt is able to see how Ten City’s “That’s the Way Love Is” offers a poignant look at how emotions change over time. With nothing to hide behind, his singing captures the pain and poignancy in the lyric. “Two people take a vow to be together/ And live and love each other forever/ They promise to love a lifetime/ Funny thing, then they change their minds.” The change in his vocals illustrates the hurt palpable in certain lines, making the song so much stronger. There’s a controlled frenzy to Watt on “Balanced on a Wire,” singing about a 19-year-old stuck in the moment, unsure which way to turn. The uncertainty of the youngster matches an uncertainty that rests inside each of us. Which direction do we go in? Do we turn right or left? Passionately, Watt imbues these moments with the questioning that goes on inside each of us, building towards a controlled fury. Watt has a way of getting inside his songs expressing things we rarely know we are feeling. “Winter’s Eve” looks at a man haunted by his failures as much as his successes. The chorus is even more brilliant when set against the piano backing, “There’s still so much I want to do/ And the winter is a gateway through/ There’s still so much I want to do.” What Watt seems to do with great regularity is find a way to capture the heart and soul of what we feel. Reaching an age when it’s easy to look back, Watt seems to have discovered that no matter how far we go, there’s so much that seems stuck in all the places we’ve been. “Summer Ghosts” addresses the distance travelled and how close we are to where we were so long ago. “And when you look back you find you haven’t travelled far/ You thought you’d changed until reminded who you are/ And every piece of you that you volunteer/ Just brings the summer ghosts near.” Despite a seeming array of downbeat pieces, “Sunlight Follows the Night” offers a bit of hope, something we all could use. The simple refrain, “You won’t win/ If you box yourself in/ Sunlight/ Follows the night.” Having been boxed in for far too long by a pandemic that doesn’t seem to be controlled, Watt suggests that it may be time to come out of the spiritual Storm Shelter we have put ourselves in. The one caused by the pandemic may still take a while longer.
Track Listing:
01 - That’s the Way Love Is
02 - Balanced On a Wire (Storm Shelter Version)
03 - Winter's Eve (Storm Shelter Version)
04 - Comeback Kid
05 - Summer Ghosts (Storm Shelter Version)
06 - Sunlight Follows the Night (Storm Shelter Version)
Media Report:
Genre: acoustic, indie-pop
Country: UK
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits