Raised in Brooklyn, Ben de la Cour lived in London, Cuba and across the United States before making his home in the American south over a decade and a half ago.
He was born under a bad sign and has struggled to overcome this fate ever since. On the plus side, it provides plenty of material for gothic folk songs which he has labelled as Americanoir.
There are eleven more to pick through on this album.
Like Lucinda Williams, who has declared herself an admirer, he is more familiar with loneliness and heartbreak than fun and frivolity.
Ben de la Cour plays every instrument except fiddle (Billy Contreras) and trumpet (Josh Klein) .The album came about almost by accident out of late-night writing and recording sessions at his home.
The layered synthesizers add another dimension to his guitar-based sound but not significantly so. It is still recognizably country-folk with a hint of grunge and full of melancholy reflections.
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He is most at home “on the highway beneath the bloodshot moon.” (The Devil Went Down To Silverlake). A tortured cover Lost Highway confirms this fact.
The delicacy of Christina and rock out of Beautiful Day show that there is still hope in the darkness but this comes through in glimmers rather than through blasts of light.
Ben De La Cour’s website
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