Mellow Folk
The Bench Connection conducted an experiment on MySpace, setting up a MySpace page manifesting themselves as a group called, "Son Of Bench", a folk duo called Ian Bench and Angus Benchley who reappeared 35 years after the former drowned in mysterious circumstances around the release of their seminal 70's album, 'The Orchard of Mother Mary Jane'. While they're no longer lying about their past, The Bench Connection would still fool new listeners with this tale, so retro and typical of balmy 70's folk are the tunes on 'Around The House in 80 Days'. Infact even the album's presentation recalls the fond past with two sections affectionately named "Side One" and "Side Two" in homage to the good old vinyl.
Guitars twang away over acoustic bumbling, reedy vocals that ponder love, religion and any other worries that weigh on their minds. 'Stainless' is a fine example of this careless country feel, "If there is a second coming, well we may as well go along" sighs Matt Deighton, while slide guitars yelp in the background. While they may try to be modern and relevant, "You can pay with Visa Delta, a free trial for 30 lightyears" muses the sorrowful 'The Big Wide Out There', the sound could still be placed some 40 years earlier, especially when a big squealing guitar solo appears from nowhere. Side one ends with the mellow twinkling keys of 'I'm So Blue I'm Black', with soft vocals from the duo melting through the bluesy piano notes.
'Side Two' was purely a structural device as it opens much as we left off with the aptly titled, 'All Strings Attached (Happiness Runs)', which of course commences with some shimmering strings. 'Last Needle In The Haystack' is a similar chill out tune that allows you to sink into its soft melody and occasional hypnotic chimes of a triangle. 'Saint What' adds a note of discord as its vocal harmonies stir a note of discomfort somewhere inside the listener. In 'Grandeur Fever' we are introduced to yokel folk extraordinaire with the merry plucking of a banjo incongruously bouncing around behind lyrics about, "Rolling around your inbox again".
The Bench Connection's pleasant folk sound is a joy to the ears on a lazy summer day, but it's not going to win any awards for innovation or get a party rocking; just as you'd expect really.