There are few singers that have the ability to make me feel so at ease that I could peacefully asleep, and yet so enchanted that I could never imagine doing so. This may seem to be an absurd notion but give Benjamin Francis Leftwich a listen and you’ll know what I mean. His syrupy melodies and smoky vocals are moved along by his acoustic guitar riffs. This track, More Than Letters, is one of my favorites of his off his album ‘Last Smoke Before The Snowstorm’.
What’s nice about BFL is that, along with his musicality comes great lyrics. You know how you can be listening to a song in the background, not actually listening to it, and then this one line or word is sung and suddenly you are acutely aware of the song? In this song, that line for me talks about “bone-colored skin and flowers in your hair”. I don’t know why I love that one line so much- I guess I like the mental picture that it creates.
This 21-year-old from York, England cites Arcade Fire, Bruce Springsteen, and Ryan Adams as his inspirations yet the music he creates is distinctly his own. I hope you like him as much as I do.
Much love,
Chelsea
