Benjamin Francis Leftwich – Pictures EP

Ringing with haunting melodies and sweetly soft words this music can actually stun you into silence of appreciation. The single acoustic guitar is reminiscent of a music box, its metre so perfectly in time, you don’t have to be a musician to appreciate a great heart-warming sense through such intricate simplicity. His voice has echoing undertones cementing meaning in every word that is sung, the backing contains some tasteful effects in places accompanying the sparse acoustic texture in the form of elusive piano notes, subtle drum rolls and sustained backing vocals.

The inspired opening title track and E.P name Pictures, is an uplifting 3 minutes containing verses structured purely by questions, unavoidably filling our minds with wonder. The notion of taking pictures is Leftwich’s metaphor for when life gets too overwhelming not to forget precious memories, but especially people. Tracks See You Soon and Sophie are beautiful lessons concerning the aging process and treasuring friendships. This idiom is surmised simply and perfectly in the chorus “if you get time come back and be mine, if you pass by I will see you in the sky.”

There are elements of romance and longing running like a delicate thread through these four tracks, a message that distance is a necessary cog in life’s excursion, but still remains incomparable in its attempts to separate strong bonds. This is displayed poignantly in the final track The Boat, the lyrical cycle of “I wanted to keep you close and make you mine” contrasting to “wherever you are floating on a boat or on a star.”

I predict Leftwich will have a place in the history of acoustic sounds akin with the likes of Bon Iver and Jose Gonzalez, attempted by many but this almost enchanting combination of compositional elements give him that much acquired point of difference. If music could describe the feeling of awe this would be the closest thing to it, gentle enough to be woken up to but resounding louder in many other senses than a distorted amplifier.

www.benjaminfrancisleftwich.com