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Review: 'THOMAS, BENJAMIN FOLKE'
'Copenhagen'   

-  Label: 'Louv^io'
-  Genre: 'Folk' -  Release Date: '3rd March 2017'-  Catalogue No: 'LOU005'

Our Rating:
Scandinavian-born singer songwriter Benjamin Folke Thomas wears his heart on his sleeve and clearly believes that a trouble shared is a trouble halved. His laments are of someone who struggles to take life lightly and is prone to harsh self criticism.

He sweats the small stuff and isn't shy of confronting the bigger issues like politics, death and religion. The songs are of a man trying desperately to find a moral compass to make sense of the world. His conclusion appears to be that people are more important than ideologies.

On Good Enough For Me Thomas confesses to narcissistic tendencies and vows to take steps to be less self-centred ("Gonna write an ode to my grandmother/ Tell my mother more often that I love her"). Similar sentiments can be found in Good Friend Again - "I've been a selfish man of late ...... I need to try harder"

The droll delivery suggests that this might just be his conscience talking. Nevertheless, recognizing his imperfections makes good source material for his songs. In Safe And Secure he admits "I struggle with self pity when I'm down and alone" while in Copenhagen 30/6 he marvels "How can someone like you love somebody like me?"

In Finn, a song ostensibly about his late grandfather, he manages to interweave memories of a man from Palestine he used to work for, reflect on how his sister changed from being a punk to a mom and wonder what was going through Kurt Cobain's head when he blew his brains out.

The subject matter is anything but lightweight but this doesn't stop songs like Rhythm And Blues, Bad News and Hold On having great hooks.

Despite his self proclaimed flaws and burdens, Thomas is an assured songwriter, able to offload some of his idiosyncrasies in an engagingly direct and down to earth manner. Moreover, he knows a good tune when he hears it and plays a mean guitar to boot.

The fact that the album was produced by 'The Swedish Folk Maffia' also indicates he has friends who will protect him and see him through the hard times.   

Benjamin Folke Thomas' website
  author: Martin Raybould

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THOMAS, BENJAMIN FOLKE - Copenhagen