We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Clear To Ground

by Ben McNeil

supported by
KymMaree
KymMaree thumbnail
/

  • Streaming + Download

    Pre-order of Clear To Ground. You get 5 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
    Purchasable with gift card
    releases October 16, 2020

      $7 AUD  or more

     

1.
Here I Am 03:33
lyrics
buy track
Every day I'm workin hard to be the best I can I'm wondering what you think of me and who I am A thousand times a day So I'm gonna make a game and try a couple different ways To get an answer from you then I will explain what I'm tryin to say tell what you'd think of me if I was superman super saving the world every Other day I think you'd like me that way What if I was president and knew just what to do to ease the tension when you've had a rough ol' day what'd ya think that I'd say? but here I am, just an average kinda man doing all I can to understand just who I am I bet that I'm entwined in some deep philosophy If found the answer was a single word you'd see That I would write it on down I often sit and wonder if you're truly satisfied if I make you happy and give you peace of mind do I fulfill your life but here I am, just an average kinda man doing all I can to understand just who I am Tell me if I'm mistaken Tell me if I'm wrong There's only one explanation As to why I wrote this song but here I am, just an average kinda man doing all I can to understand just who I am I'm asking for a different point of view So I can be the perfect man for you
2.
Let It Break 04:05
lyrics
buy track
Holding onto a breaking point you can feel slip away your picture frame is now empty boy unravelled rope with ends frayed let it break instead have your compilation of things that keep you afraid sends you into a frenzy boy don't let your conscience dictate let it break instead you see the light coming right at you hope it's not a railroad freight train the cup is half full if you believe or do I need to explain do you want the world to burn I don't believe you I've been there before I won't let go Just hold me close I'll stand and I'll endure When the night breaks into day how your breath fills your soul soak it all in and remember to not leave your story untold
3.
Blind Tomorrow 04:31
buy track
4.
Every Breath 03:46
lyrics
buy track
Think it over Can I say I won't be here all night long Can't take it and you know that I'm hanging on your every word Here's my shoulder It's all I got I wanna see you smile again It's been too long Now I'm gonna be by myself If that's what you want I won't go I'll see it through will I be yours Or will you fly on free I don't know I can't see today I wanna see you smile again It's been too long Now I'm gonna be by myself If that's what you want I recognize That look in your eyes It says if I wait the longer it takes the further we'll drift from shore But I wanna see you smile again It's been too long So I'll take my leave I know there's more i know that we're worth fighting for Take it home Better day it now belongs to us and I'm gonna be all you want me to be With every breath I breathe
5.
Wash Away The Thought 03:53
buy track

about

The art of painting makes for a great allusion when it comes to describing music. Some pieces are built of riots of colour, paint liberally applied and full of texture others are fashioned from delicate washes used in harmony with the emptiness of the blank canvas to merely outline the subject. In such an analogy, Ben McNeil’s music would lie somewhere between, using confident, colourful brushstrokes but laying them sparing and precisely.

Clear To Ground is his latest release and across these five songs, he demonstrates what such an expert grasp he has to the aforementioned approach. There are moments where his singer-songwriter sonics burst out into more exuberant pop explosions, Every Breath being the perfect example of a song which feels both deftly cut but with an anthemic feel, reminiscent of the likes of Crowded House, and at the other extreme, such as with open salvo Here I Am, displaying a more intimate, reflective and understated alt-country charm.

Blind Tomorrow has a more indie-folk vibe, both steeped in traditional troubadour sounds and bristling with modern energy, lush and lingering, forward-thinking though wonderfully familiar and Let It Break feels like the sort of song which could easily have been the centerpiece to David Gray’s breakthrough album White Ladder. The e.p. rounds off with the sonically shifting, Dylan-esque joys of Wash Away The Thought.

Although perhaps sounding like the product of a rising Nashville folk outlaw, Ben recorded the record at his home in Ridgehaven, South Australia, pretty much fulfilling every role required and aided and abetted by Syd Green who provided additional instrumentation.

Honest, intimate, and understated, Clear To Ground is the perfect snapshot of modern roots music. Although recorded half a world away from the heart of the alt-country homeland it remains the perfect summation of the genre today and perhaps even reminds us that the modern world is indeed a small place and that we, its people, have more which unites us than that which separate us.

credits

releases October 16, 2020

Ben McNeil -Music, Lyrics, Recording & Mix Engineer Vocals, Guitar Bass, Harmonica
Syd Green - Drums, Slide Guitar, Bass

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Ben McNeil image

Ben McNeil Adelaide, Australia

Ben McNeil (a Singer-Songwriter from Adelaide, Australia) has a passion for energetic alternative and vibrant melodies that echo genres as diverse as acoustic, folk and pop. He set out to develop a personal and insightful approach to songwriting, to create compelling tracks with a sound that feels refreshingly modern yet organic and natural. ... more

contact / help

Contact Ben McNeil

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Ben McNeil, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring Riley Pinkerton (aka The Rat Queen) from the theatrical NYC rockers, Castle Rat.
listen now