Ben’s Brother - Battling Giants [CD]

Flat Cap Records

April 30, 2009, 01:46 PM

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There’s not an awful lot to say about Ben’s Brother (an encouraging start, I know) –if you liked the debut, ‘Beta Male Fairytales’, back in 2007 then Battling Giants is sure to be a winner and well worth picking up. However, if you were indifferent, as the majority of people using this site in particular probably were, then the follow up record isn’t likely to astound you and make you fall in love with Jamie Hartman’s music. Sure, there are 13 tracks of beautifully composed and perfectly executed soft rock nuggets for the sensitive types that will undoubtedly be stuck in your head all day long, but personally, they’re not songs that I want to be hearing constantly.

I think that the problem for me here is a lack of variety between the songs, although appearances from Joss Stone (the soulfully powerful ‘Stalemate’) and Jason Mraz (title track ‘Battling Giants’) prove to be fascinating collaborations that sees Battling Giants wandering from the very well established path that it seems to have established for itself for the majority of the record. Said track featuring Jason Mraz is undoubtedly a highlight of the album and takes the listener a step back away from real life into a gorgeous world of acoustic guitars and the most relaxing, meandering vocals that anyone could ever wish for, truly showcasing the immense talents of all parties involved – a true musical triumph.

Unfortunately however, the remainder of the album strikes me as what many would call ‘fillers’, but this is a term that I hesitate to use in this case because I can appreciate the hard work and emotions that have gone into producing such a sensitive record, so perhaps I should just say that whilst not managing to sound like potential singles, they do their job in making Battling Giants feel complete.

Maybe not a record to listen to from start to finish, but Ben’s Brother’s Battling Giants certainly has many tracks that may pleasantly surprise the listener who prefers to use their player’s shuffle function, inviting them to step back and forget the world for four blissful minutes.

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