If you’re taking the time to read about music, you’re probably a person a bit like me: music infuses most of your waking hours, and one song can take over your day to the point that it can make you feel happy, sad, or whatever it’s meant to do. You feel like there’s not enough time in the day, month, year, lifetime to listen to all the music you want to, and you worry that you’re going to miss a great song. You will also, from time to time, get a shiver up your spine (in a good way) when you listen to a song for the first time – and when that same song keeps causing the same response, you know that it’s not only a great song but it has another dimension to what’s going on – not a dimension you can name or even visit, but it’s just there, and you know you will keep going back to that song for years to come, not necessarily trying to figure out what it is but just to keep experiencing that magic.
That was my reaction to ‘Villains’ by New South Wales singer-songwriter Ben Leece. Now based in Newcastle, originally from Quirindi, Leece recorded the song during sessions with Shane Nicholson for an upcoming album. Leece’s voice is an instrument of mystery and wonder, leading the listener into a story and holding them there. It cracks and bends its way through the song, and never lets you off the hook. But it’s such a compelling place to be that you won’t mind – and, like me, you’ll probably keep going back for more.
Listen to ‘Villains’ on:
Soundcloud | Spotify | Apple Music