Greetings to my dearest gentle readers and music lovers. Today we highlight the work of Ben Rankin. Ben Rankin, from Canberra, Australia, is going to create waves in the music industry with his original EP, ‘This Is More Than Enough’. Ben has created a compilation of songs that demonstrate his raw talent and emotional depth, drawing influences from bands such as Asking Alexandria and Avenged Sevenfold. The five-song EP was released on June 13th. Let’s take a closer look at this EP
The title track is titled “1984”. The song opens with a soft jazz intro but immediately turns into a maniacal drum and guitar melody. The character in the song is tired of being controlled and told to act a certain way and lets everyone know(”sign of the times)”. The vocal performance is so out of control and I loved every minute of it. The song is visceral and the instrumentation is high energy. Wow, what a crazy way to open up the EP
“All is well in hell” is the next song on the list. The song opens with a very smooth guitar sound and then goes right up to a hundred. The song illustrates a persona who is tired of being caught up in a lie for and about a particular person(”bound by your deceit”). This song talks about the complexities of relationships and the vocal performance is very foot-tapping. You will definitely feel like jumping up and down to this song
“The bed we made” is the next song on the EP. The song opens with this very soft intro but don’t worry, it will pick up significantly. The song talks about a character stuck in a bad relationship. This character knows the relationship is failing and asks for one more chance to try and fix their relationship (”I’m a mess every day, can we give this one more try”). The song moves from mid-tempo instrumentation to high-tempo instrumentation. The raw performance of telling his lover his feelings is very passionate and desperate. It is an enigma that listeners will love
The next song is called “Misery Loves Company”. This is yet another rock song. The song talks about a character who is living on a broken promise. He knows that his lover no longer feels the same way about him and it’s making him very miserable (”I guess it’s true when they say misery loves company”). I love how the instrumentation in this song like the others, is the opposite of the message in the song. This is another hit on the EP
The last song on the EP is called “Can You Stay Here?”. The song opens with a very soft melody. The song talks about a heartbroken and dejected character who cries himself to sleep and reminisces about his ex. He begs her to stay and asks for another chance and admits that he pushes her away, not because he doesn’t love her, but, it’s because it’s all he knows and doesn’t know any better. (” Can you stay here”). The instrumentation is absolutely stunning and the vocal performance really sold the story in the song. This beautiful song ends the EP
This is a beautiful reflection of Ben’s solo creative process, in which he put his heart and soul into each tune over the course of a lonely week in his studio. All listeners can expect a compelling musical journey that encompasses Ben’s numerous musical influences. Each song was a strong performance and a hit. From the oscillating tempos and the range of feelings, this album had it all. I loved this EP and I can’t wait to hear more music from him
Stream the “This is more than enough” EP on Spotify
Follow Ben Bankin on Instagram and subscribe to his YouTube
