Super Natural

I got lost this morning, that’s a regular thing though, I get lost quite regularly, you see I have this thing where I see a little bit of congestion and think, oh, I will try that road instead, couple that with my shockingly poor navigation skills and that equals unscheduled diversions to Tamworth and Sutton Coldfield, still I get to see the countryside of the West Midlands.
So the soundtrack to me being lost this morning was the album Super Natural by Bennet. Wikipedia tells me that it was their debut, I am not convinced.
Bennet were a bit of an oddity in that they were an overtly indie band signed to an overtly metal label, Roadrunner, whilst they on the surface appear to have been influenced by Blur, their labelmates tend to have been influenced by one of Satans minions. The single time I saw Bennet was supporting Echobelly in Wolverhampton and to this day they remain the loudest band I have ever seen, and whilst outside the venue a group of girls mistook me for the lead singer Jason Applin, I can only assume that he was fat and speccy with jug ears.
So what of the album? In the 90’s the mid to late 90’s when this album was released, certain bands had this habit of creating these characters and singing about them, Blur to my mind started it, but the likes of Rialto and Echobelly and Sleeper also did this, and it seems that Bennet do it also, and to be frank it gets on my tits. Also secret tracks on albums, I get it, it’s a sneaky little thing after so many minutes silence, a treat, an unexpected treat, well it would be if you don’t put on the sleeve 16. Secret Track.
So that’s the cons, putting them aside, it was an enjoyable album, lots of tracks that I enjoyed at the time, Some one always gets there first, mum has gone to Iceland etc, and some tracks I cant recall and very few of those that I didn’t like. As a soundtrack to me cursing myself that I was lost AGAIN, it was very effective, certainly enjoyable. Applins voice is distinctive enough to be unique but without being grating, the songs aside from the points mentioned earlier are strong and resolutely upbeat and it was a reminder of how much I used to enjoy Bennet.
These days Applin is in the bands The Headclub and The Vending Machine Heart, as for the other members, google wasn’t so accommodating.
7 out of 10.



Mum Has Gone To Iceland by Bennet.