Benjamin Booker: LOWER (Fire Next Time/Thirty Tigers) - review | Under the Radar Magazine Under the Radar | Music Blog for the Indie Music Magazine
Saturday, February 15th, 2025  

Benjamin Booker

LOWER

Fire Next Time/Thirty Tigers

Jan 27, 2025 Web Exclusive

Look no further than the high contrast cover photo of Benjamin Booker’s latest to know that there’s a new sheriff in town. Looking like some hybrid of Eraserhead’s Henry Spencer and Frankenstein’s monster, LOWER is a different beast. Nearly eight years on from Booker’s last, he returns with legendary hip-hop producer Kenny Segal at his side. Booker appeared on recent Segal collaborations with billy woods (2023’s Maps) and Armand Hammer (2024’s We Buy Diabetic Test Strips), so the paring doesn’t come as a total surprise. But the contents of LOWER are a clear departure from Booker’s prior work.

Suffused with layers of static, hiss, fuzz, and other manners of aural interference, LOWER’s underlying power and message are anything but covered up. Announcing itself right off, the opening “BLACK OPPS” is a boomy, thundering thing dripping with menace. “Before I get away, I’ll be buried in this place,” Booker sings in the chorus and goes on to marinate on his own demise. The “OPPS” of the title including the extra “p” likely signifying oppression rather than the term’s more standard context. The glitched out “LWA IN THE TRAILER PARK” and Latin flecked “REBECCA LATIMER FELTON TAKES A BBC” take things further down a stark racially divided trail.

Setting context aside, the soundscapes of LOWER are both varied and breathtaking. Booker has lived in many places, including Mexico City, with south of the border melodies coming through further in the tightly wound “POMPEII STATUES.” Mekala Session’s drumming here sets the tone as Booker takes a stroll through what could be most any urban landscape. The limbs akimbo imagery of the laid out homeless and beggars on the street is pure poetry. “SPEAKING WITH THE DEAD” brings an ancient hybrid of country blues and traditional folk—the melody picking up on The Carter Family’s “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” Ironically, the title of Booker’s own record label points to folk-based gospel roots of earlier generations.

Not all of LOWER deals with darker themes, as the wavery filter of “SLOW DANCE IN A GAY BAR” brings outright positivity. That’s taken further with the near celebratory “SHOW AND TELL” and even “REBECCA LATIMER FELTON” has more than an ounce of wit in its margins, if not its title. And the most fuzzed out and blown out track here, “SAME KIND OF LONELY,” is a straight up banger of a single.

Many years in the making, LOWER is a welcome return and a high water mark in Booker’s career. In spite of the howl around him, he manages to get his messages across in a calm and collected near whisper in most spots. Evidencing both a maturity and an ability to reign in the chaos when it’s warranted, makes for an exciting listen from an artist at the height of their powers while also fully in control of them. (www.benjamin-booker.com)

Author rating: 8/10

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Average reader rating: 8/10



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