We Speak Indie Artist
Benji Tranter releases video for infectious acoustic-pop single ‘Speed Camera’!
After a hiatus of over five years, Welsh songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Benji Tranter has returned with his debut solo album ‘Songs to Make You Happy’, out now via Pear O’ Legs Records.
With a lo-fi, home-recorded approach, Benji builds the album around stark acoustic guitars and his idiosyncratic voice, with embellishments from a menagerie of instruments, played by Benji and a collection of friends. What emerges is a charming, chaotic collection of vignettes; diary entries, polaroid snapshots, and notebook poems, with musical nods to influences like Elliott Smith, Conor Oberst and Nick Drake.
Growing up on the Welsh Marches, Benji has released two EPs, while more recently focusing his efforts toward his power-pop trio Ski Lift, who have been featured across BBC Radio 1, 6 Music, BBC Wales and Radio X. He is also a member of psych-folk group The All Night Chemist. Live, he has performed at Glastonbury, Edinburgh Fringe, and supported Tom Robinson.
The album’s first single ‘Satellite’ picked up plays on BBC 6 Music and BBC Wales and has been described as “enchanting” (Fresh on the Net) and “beautifully crafted” (Adam Walton, BBC Wales). New single ‘Speed Camera’ is an infectious acoustic-pop gem that conjures the airy harmonies of Sufjan Stevens and Elliot Smith. The accompanying lyric video captures dash cam footage from drives through gorgeous scenery.
Plain Mister Smith returns with Bric-À-Brac Attack, a beautifully offbeat collection of indie-folk, pop and atmospheric songwriting. Released via Amelia Records, the album finds the Vancouver and London-based multi-hyphenate turning fragments of memory, relationships and everyday absurdity into something quietly cinematic.
At its centre is “Grindavik”, a shimmering, reflective track inspired by the Icelandic town shaped by recent volcanic activity. Bright acoustic guitars and steady drums carry a constantly shifting chord progression, mirroring the song’s central metaphor of a relationship under pressure and the hope that its fissures can eventually heal. Featuring Jordan Klassen and Kitt, the track captures the emotional tension that runs throughout the album.
Elsewhere, Bric-À-Brac Attack moves effortlessly between playful guitar-driven moments, lush arrangements and more introspective passages. “Miss Sunshine” brings infectious energy, while collaborations with Findlay Brown, Leeroy Stagger, Krystle Dos Santos and Tyson Mostenbocher add colour to an already eclectic record.
Former guitarist of Canadian darkwave band Moev and a cellist with the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra, Plain Mister Smith brings an unusually broad musical perspective to his songwriting. Yet Bric-a-Brac attack never feels overly calculated. Instead, it has the charm of something discovered rather than constructed.
Warm, strange, melodic and emotionally searching, Bric-À-Brac Attack is a record that rewards getting lost in its details. Plain Mister Smith may remain deliberately mysterious, but the music itself speaks with remarkable clarity.
Photo credit: Sandra Lockwood
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