Ben Reed - Bandaged (CD)

The Fantastic New Album By Ben Reed.. Features Guests Jimmy Hastings (Caravan, Hatfield & The North), Ross Stanley (Steve Howe Trio), B. J. Cole, Rachel Hayter (Alvorada), Laura Groves (Bat For Lashes) And Matt Weeks. Ben Reed has worked with Frank Ocean, David Byrne, Sampha and many others, but his own music is unpredictable, passionate and tinged with melancholy and has drawn comparisons to the so-called Canterbury sound of Progressive rock. 'Bandaged' is much more in the singer/songwriter vein than Ben's previous releases, albeit tinged with an undeniable British proggy-ness. The richness of melody and harmonic vocabulary remains, and the influence of jazz is still detectable, this time via more concise song forms. Past review comparisons to the Canterbury sound aren't too far wide of the mark here, especially as Jimmy Hastings (Caravan, Hatfield & the North) is present on two of the songs. Throughout the album there is a detectable combination of sentimentality and melancholy combined with playfulness and a dark sense of humour making 'Bandaged' one of the most interesting and innovative new albums of it's genre in 2023