After a lengthy wait, beneb fans can rejoice: the Brisbane artist has just unleashed his long-awaited debut album.
The project of beneb – spearheaded by musician Ben Mackay – has released his debut album, God Knows. The follow-up to the 2018 EP Be Something, the full-length was written over the better part of a decade.
In addition to his solo career, Mackay is known as a touring and recording musician for artists including Sheppard, Amy Sheppard, Sahara Beck, Clea, Bud Rokesky, and Citypiss. And it’s that lifestyle that painted elements of God Knows, which was created in the margins of his life as a working musician.
The new album is available today via Bandcamp, iTunes and all major streaming platforms.
God Knows marks a release for beneb. Letting years of songs go, it’s an album that’s “cooked, reflective, and unafraid of its own contradictions,” per a press release. It’s a record that quietly disenfranchised listeners will relate to, a record for the heartbroken and endlessly dedicated.
beneb took on a life of its own when Mackay was 25, towards the end of his first band. After focusing on beneb for a few years, Mackay switched to paid work but has since recently decided to revamp his solo act.
“Now that things are kind of changing, I want to go back and rehash some old songs that I wish I released back then and a bunch of new songs as well that I've written while building other people's empires and wishing you were building yours,” he told The Music in a recent interview.
As a solo act, Mackay performs the guitar, vocals, programmed drums and synths. When describing his sound, he mentioned that he doesn’t allow any one genre to influence his work and that new sounds guide his inspiration.
Opening up about what fans can expect on the album, he added, “Throughout the album, there are a lot of electronic funky dance songs, but there are a lot of weaves and turns through a few different genres. I'm not sure how accessible it will be to a lot of people, but I just wanted this selection of songs to almost act as a journal of the last eight years of my life.”
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