Ben Catley
Run
Independent
I felt an overwhelming sensation of spatial awareness listening to this track, like there was suddenly more room in my room, more air in that space than there was before. I could have been in my tiny kitchen and at the top of Uluru simultaneously, almost like I would have been surprised to swing my arms around and feel my fridge because I was caught up in that feeling.
Launched at Mojos Bar two Thursdays ago, the structure of this song is continuous but somewhat out of place. The puzzle pieces don’t sit where you’d naturally expect them to. The introduction is like a warm-up stretch. A little breathy, very gentle and light. But then it’s like your first day of swimming lessons, and your dad pushing you in the deep end of the pool to learn the hard truths.
The transition into the track is a similar sense of fast and surprising. From there, the song continues to build and flesh out its tempo. Some songs that start off nurturing then slap you in the face can come across with a muddy touch, but it doesn’t read like that at all. It’s vibrant and big energy roots. It’s pure and feeling-centric. It’s acoustic and upbeat and the vocals are seriously breathy. The lyrics are structured and shadowed, but the guitar work is noisy and warm.
Ben Catley has made a song that feels like an expression, which is an extraordinary task. By combining his freak technical abilities with a desire to build an emotion, he relies heavily on his layered guitar work to be the jack of all trades in one song. It crosses over well. It would have been interesting to see what happened if the vocals were used as a cool cup of water in all that heat, but the breathy nature is transcending when paired with the live performance elements in the music.
ANNIE MUNROE
