I usually stumble hazardously into musicians previously unknown to me for the simple motif that i either like the title of an album or the album cover or a song title which pushes me into imagining how the music would sound like.
I know this seems devoid of rational criteria but who cares if this pays off? After all i bought my first Echo and Bunnymen only because i got fond of the "Heaven Up Here" album cover.
And the same happened with Husker Du "Candy Apple Grey" and with so many others. In a word I trust the fine art of finding awesome music intuitively.
This made me discover Benjamin Verdoes work. Who is the guy? He was part of Seattle indie rockers Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band and Iska Dhaaf before he made the decision to pursue a solo career. The Evil Eye released on Brick Lane Records in January 2014 is Benjamin Verdoes spell bounding début solo album. One of the best musical legacies from last year according to INDIEVOTION.
The Evil Eye delivers emotional smooth gentle moody indie pop ranging from luminous sunbathing sceneries and joyful open spaces to darker closed confrontational ones layered with edgy guitars and incisive drumming filled with nostalgic keyboarding and vocals calling for longingness.
The experience of listening to Benjamin Verdoes sonic proposal triggered my aural memory to the work of Mark Mulcahy and Miracle Legion. There are so many poetic and atmospheric similarities between Benjamin and Mark that I’ll outrageously dare say that “Me and Mr. Ray” Miracle Legion's album might have subconsciously inspired Benjamin Verdoes to make his stunningly solo album sound almost like a love poem.