Benjamin Francis Leftwich: Gratitude (Dirty Hit) Review

Benjamin Francis Leftwich

Gratitude

Dirty Hit

Apr 15, 2019 Web Exclusive By Mischa Pearlman

British songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich has always made beautiful music—calming and celestial songs held together by his soothing, solemn vocals. The difference with third album Gratitude is that it comes after the singer, who had been battling substance addiction for some time, checked himself into rehab and got clean. The result is an album of redemption, one that soars, both musically and thematically, away from those dark days towards a brighter, lighter future.

And while there’s certainly a feeling of salvation flowing through the infectious electronic glitches of “Tell Me You Started to Pray” and the Bon Iver-esque grace of both “Sometimes” and “I Got You,” at no point are these 12 songs didactic or moralistic. Rather, they offer release through their sonic splendor and the comfort found within the fabric of these lilting, gentle songs. That’s perhaps no better demonstrated by the minimal and haunting closing track “The Mess We Made,” which looks back on days gone by with a sad smile but also the knowledge that, sometimes, moving on from the past is the only way to get over it. (www.benjaminfrancisleftwich.com)

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