See Another Me

Benjamin Booker “Slow Dance in a Gay Bar”

Benjamin Booker’s Lower has a heavy atmosphere and distinctive tonal palette that’s like the musical equivalent of desaturating color to the point that everything’s a bright headache grey. The mix emphasizes sharp textural contrasts, so you get this sort of rough sandpaper sensuality. Booker and producer Kenny Segal’s scuffed-up aesthetic brings out the humanity in the songs, as though they’ve scraped up layers to unearth hidden loveliness and unfiltered feeling.

Booker, who was previously more of a retro soul/blues guy, now sounds like an R&B singer hidden in a thick fog of shoegaze guitar and funky drumming. When that fog lifts a bit, as it does on the gorgeous ballad “Slow Dance in a Gay Bar,” he sounds isolated and vulnerable. And of course, that’s what the song is basically about – a guy stepping out of his comfort zone in an attempt to find what he badly wants, and feeling desperate for someone to truly perceive him. You hear the awkwardness and loneliness in the music, but more so, a feeling that he’s getting closer to the light. He’s almost there!

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