Kirkpatrick, Benji
In Phase
Benji Kirkpatrick rose to fame as a member of Bellowhead, Faustus and the Seth Lakeman Band. In 2019 he released the debut Gold Has Worn Away by his band The Excess and now comes an album written over the last few years that felt more like a solo than a band project for him. The themes of the songs range from the very personal, as in "Shadow Love", in which Benji is on the trail of his own demons, or "You Could Try Roulette", which sets out to find ways out of procrastination, to "History On Repeat", about mistakes that one makes again and again in life, to the attempt to build a non-physical connection to someone, as in the title track "In Phase". "The Undead" is about digital addiction: "Heads are bowed down in worship to this attractively colorful font of procrastination, perceived knowledge and entertainment." Benji addresses political and social issues in "Barefaced Lies" and "Mindspace". The search for truth in a world of lies and deception is the theme of "Speak Your Word". In the song "When We Get Through" about a time when people will have overcome hostile politics, Benji uses the piano for the first time in a solo piece, the first instrument he ever learned, and says: "For me it's one of the most pertinent moments on the record."