Benefits hit Birmingham on the penultimate date of their tour and Geoff Shaw was there to capture it for RESOUND.
In the early ‘90s, the Levellers sang of freedom being dead and gone, the power of the rich being held by the few, whilst the young ones were paralysed by lies.
After a feel of better society through the early ‘00s and the false dawn and hope of an arguably more united country off the back of the 2012 Olympics, here we are again, a generation on with the same old story, but this time round we have Benefits to voice our discontent.
Their recent debut album, Nails, captures the anger and frustration with the inequalities of our increasingly dis-United Kingdom after thirteen years of Conservative government and boy are they angry.
Formed on Teeside in 2019 as an indie punk band with a DIY ethos, they have evolved during the COVID lockdowns into an act that defies genre – a description of just “Noise” does a disservice but it’s the most apt in giving the perfect platform for frontman Kingsley Hall to deliver. On paper, that may not sound like the most enticing prospect but for those gathered in a damp Birmingham (are all the gigs I review on rainy nights?), they are in for a treat.
Before Benefits though, London duo Scrounge address the already busy room with a short, sharp set of punk pop offered with a sound bigger than the setup of vocals, guitar and drums would immediately suggest. With a mini-album, Sugar, Daddy, under their belts they are worth keeping an eye on and get an appreciative response.
With a looming Coronation, the re-draping of anything that doesn’t move or breathe in Union Jack bunting, and the suggestion of unthinking national allegiance to the Monarchy, now is the perfect time for Benefits to be touring. Taking to the stage as a four piece – Hall flanked by brothers Robbie and Hugh Major on synths, sequencing and sonic wizardry, with drummer Rick McMurray of Ash on the last of three gigs deputising for regular tub-thumper Cat Myers – they launch straight into the sonic assault of opener “Marlboro Hundreds“.
From the off, it’s clear that Hall is the ace in the pack for Benefits live with a stage presence of a slimmed down Henry Rollins demanding your focus and attention. He voices his disdain on modern society’s ills, challenging the listener to open their minds rather than bask in past long gone glories. But it’s not just his constantly moving contorting presence that makes Hall such a commanding performer. His delivery often slips to a cadence that is almost Shakespearean in pentameter as he offers a repeated rhetorical question whilst held in a single spotlight before uncoiling back into a ball of spitting frustration, backed at times by some incredible drumming from McMurray. All in all, it is an immensely powerful performance to witness, the words and music lancing the increasingly festering boil of the United Kingdom in 2023.
With a setlist drawn from Nails, an hour-long set disappears in a blink; the relentless pace and brutal assault of “Warhorse“, “Flags” and “Empire“, tempered by the more reflective “Council Rust.” In the latter, Hall ponders where his memorial bench might be. Based on this live performance and the songs Hall and the Majors have created, there’s no need for a bench as Benefits will be etched in the minds for a long time to come with their album, an apt document for society and where we are.
Just immense and quite possibly the most relevant band in this country right now.
Words and pictures: Geoff Shaw @gshawisme