Label: Transgressive
Released: 7th April 2023
Ben Gregory’s debut album is a heavy record. Not heavy in the purely rock sound, but heavy in the overwhelming emotion and deep inner reflection sense.
Following the last few years of Ben’s life though filled with upheaval from his own personal illness and treatment in psychiatric hospitals to his much-loved band Blaenavon coming to an end, there’s no way this record could be anything but emotionally heartbreaking. The overwhelming feeling though is one of triumph and reflection. ‘episode’ is the sound of Ben coming out the other side with a newfound clarity and lucidity that he has challenged into a series of incredibly musically expansive and emotionally evocative songs.
There’s heart-swelling epics like the stunning ten minute electro via baroque pop odyssey of ‘blue sea blue’ and goosebump-inducing confessionals like the gorgeous ‘mothers son’. Ending on the fittingly rousing ‘god bless you’, you feel like you’ve gone through the emotional wringer but that’s entirely the point, and anyone with love for Ben’s music old or new will cherish the return of an artist facing the future with renewed hope.
