Think of the semi-mystical county of Wessex, and it's the blasted heathland of Thomas Hardy's novels that immediately springs to mind rather than the scams'n'shenanigans of our beloved rock'n'roll world.
Investigate the sleepy counties of Dorset and Wiltshire in depth, though, and you realise the seemingly gentle, undulating landscape has actually entertained a fair amount of notable musical thrills. XTC hail from Swindon, beneath the Vale Of The White Horse; Julian Cope resides amongst the Long Barrows and stone circles at Avebury; Peter Gabriel's Real World studios in Box have even attracted rock's current favourite hip rebel Peter Doherty and (stretching a point) albums by influential artists such as The Smiths, Goldfrapp and, er, Tears For Fears have been crafted in nearby Bath.
BEN GUNSTONE'S second album "Songs From The Corner Of A Room" was also fashioned in Bath, and comes bearing the stamp 'Made In Wessex'. It's a record that's steeped in folkily rustic songwriting from an emotive singer/ songwriter we'll probably know in wider circles in years to come who's actually quietly made a name for himself already.
If that statement puzzles you, then let's delve into Ben's past, which involves co-writing with Morrissey's guitarist Alain Whyte, travelling throughout Europe tech-ing for Blur during the mid -90s and fronting his own band who - on given occasions - feature Page & Plant collaborators Charlie Jones and Phil Andrews. Not too shabby a CV, though judging by the quality of the songs on this album, it's no surprise Ben has such an impressive address book.
Funnily enough, despite names like these springing up in his press release and a thank you to (I assume) ex-Cure drummer Boris Williams on the album's sleeve, "Songs From The Corner Of A Room" is often a relatively solitary affair, with only instrumentalist Stephen Evans regularly embellishing Gunstone's primarily acoustic frameworks. The album as a whole, is something of a "grower": with songs requiring a good few listens to really permeate. Effort on the listener's behalf is worth it, though, as there's ultimately plenty to savour here.
Most of the album's first half is relatively folksy and bucolic on the surface. Songs like "Wish You Were Her" and "So I See" are attractive, rustic pop set-pieces led by finger-picked guitar, shadowy basslines and subtle touches of either organ or trumpet. Gunstone's voice is charismatic and breathy and his songs are often tinged with regret and bitterness, like on "So I See" when he sings: "The sky is red and it used to be blue/ I lie in my bed when I used to lie with you." Crumbs.
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Elsewhere, impressively stark ballads such as the subtly orchestrated "You're Not The Person I Used To Know" and the aching piano-led "Words Are No Use Now" are delivered with a winning mixture of confidence, cynicism and charisma and in a tangibly favourable Dylan-ish flavour. Gunstone is an able wordsmith deserving of such superlatives and when he comes out fighting on the album's vividly angry title track ( sample lyric: "With your smile wrapped around your face like a snake/ you're a fraud, you're a fake, you're a complete mistake") he's pretty damn captivating.
The album is bisected by its' most unlikely success, the spoken word set-piece called "Valediction." It's a fascinating poem set to the ambience of a 40s jazz piece and may or may not be written from the point of view of our hero at a funeral remembering a wedding. It's possibly deliberately ambiguous and open-ended, but intriguing regardless. The album's mood shifts significantly afterwards, taking in the heavier, anthemic rock of "Lust Has Turned To Love" and "Four Years, Twenty Five Seconds". These are something of a sonic volte face, but Gunstone's voice is commanding enough to cope with the increase in volume, and the swaggering, James Dean Bradfield-style guitars are utilised surprisingly well.
Proceedings close with the self-explanatory "I Can't Bear The Thought Of You With Anyone Else": a poetically sad and anguished postscript, but somehow one that's fitting after the emotional rollercoaster of the previous 40 minutes or so. It's not been the easiest of rides, but nonetheless one you'll find yourself signing up for a second time and more besides.
"Songs From The Corner Of A Room" introduces us to a serious-minded, darkly romantic young British singer-songwriter who rarely flinches from cutting to the emotional chase. The county of Wessex will be making another notable appearance on the rock'n'roll map, it seems.
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