Review: Benjamin Francis Leftwich @ The Crescent (01/05)

As part of his spring tour in the UK and Europe, Benjamin Francis Leftwich graced York, his hometown, with a show. The tour has included UK cities such as London, Manchester and Nottingham, as well as dates in Dublin, Amsterdam and Brussels, and not to forget the subsequent US and Canada tour in July.

A drizzling night in York seemed quite fitting for the melancholy, reflective mood of the night’s music. A positive atmosphere could be felt as soon as one arrived at the venue; it was clearly a popular occasion. The night was opened by an enjoyable set from Sam Griffiths whose impressive vocal ability fronted a body of well-crafted song-writing (it’s worth checking him out).

Benjamin takes to the stage and gets straight on with it. He opens with ‘Tilikum’, one of his latest singles. A reverbed vocal effect fills the room, an effect recognisable from his recordings. Right from the offset, he takes a hold of the audience. It is an understated presence. The audience remains attentive throughout.

A well-known favourite – ‘Pictures’ – follows. His enchanting folk-pop style is delivered by a soft, melodic voice, accompanied by calm, careful guitar picking; the combination seems to wield the ability to lull one into another place.

We hear many new tracks from the upcoming album, ‘After The Rain’, including ‘Mayflies’ (his latest single release), ‘Some Other Arms’, ‘Summer’, and ‘Frozen Moor’, and all seem to prove popular with the audience. The wistful, dreamlike, acoustic elements of his previous releases seem to prevail in the new tracks; they seem to stand confidently amongst his back-catalogue as strong additions to future sets.

However, plenty of room is made for familiar tracks like ‘1904’, ‘Box of Stones’, ‘Butterfly Culture’ and ‘Shine’, the latter of which was named Spotify’s ‘most addictive track’ of 2014. The old and new releases are interspersed nicely, producing a pleasant equilibrium.

Throughout the performance, Benjamin continues to show his appreciation for us as an audience for coming out to see him. He talks of how he can’t believe how many people have supported his shows on his current tour, and calls us ‘legends’. He thanks us for being so quiet during his songs. For somebody with millions of internet views, I sense a noticeably modest and down-to-earth demeanour in him.

Benjamin also takes some time to sing away from the microphone, and this achieves an authentic, acoustic element to the performance. His singing voice does not falter without the effect, showing that this effect is one of enhancement rather than compensation. As much as I enjoy the vocal effect (it certainly embellishes the atmospheric nature of his songs), I greatly appreciate his decision to sing to us without it at times; when it occurs, an intimacy is attained. We thus get an enjoyable contrast.

Cue the encore. ‘Maps’ features, and a true highlight for me was the appearance of a personal favourite, ‘Atlas Hands’, which was met by a brilliant response from the audience, with harmonies even surfacing at the end. In plain terms, it was a really nice moment to be a part of.

Given that he’s currently pioneering a tour, with a new album on the way, it’s clear that exciting things are happening for Benjamin Francis Leftwich. ‘After The Rain’, his sophomore album, is set to release on the 19th August.