Goodbye, Kagoul World

Doomed South London label Audio Antihero: Specialists in Commercial Suicide are proud to present: 'Goodbye, Kagoul World' by Benjamin Shaw, the leading single from his upcoming "Goodbye, Cagoule World" release (released: April 21st 2014).

Born in Canada (accidentally) and raised in Blackpool before making the move to London, Shaw first appeared in 2009 with the Audio Antihero released 'I Got the Pox, the Pox is what I Got' EP - a fuzzing 6-tracker full of lo-fi dissonance and homicidal romance. The release went largely unnoticed at the time but would pick up support from BBC 6Music's Tom Ravenscroft and a slew of rave reviews, with The Line Of Best Fit warning readers that "if you think you've heard the likes of Benjamin Shaw before, think again."

Debut album 'There's Always Hope, There's Always Cabernet' was released to acclaim from Drowned in Sound, The 405, Clash Music, TLOBF, This Is Fake DIY, GoldFlakePaint, the BBC and more. Shaw became the singer/songwriter who hated singer/songwriters and his material grew more varied with Folk-esque songs mixing with drones and foggy soundscapes, lurching uncertainly into accidental shoegaze, twisted arrangements and back again, before closing with an aching 7 minute piano ballad about The Incredible Hulk. Response ranged from DIS calling it "Superb" to Subba Cultcha asking us to "please make it stop" - I believe "polarising" is the word?

Now in 2014, Shaw will soon return to Audio Antihero with 'Goodbye, Cagoule World' a 29-minute clash of the simple and the synthetic, a record that is as humorous as it hateful and delicately dissonant. The misspelt title-track speaks volumes about the upcoming record; an exhausted sounding Shaw offers a sleepy farewell, articulate but vague, it sounds an awkward wave goodbye. The song ticks and chimes like a fancy clock, the melody suppressing the waves of feedback and squealing trumpet that attempt to commandeer it.

Shaw has always been incredibly conflicted and uncertain, his shaky voice and uneven arrangements contributing to his confused sound. The Fractions Of One blog once named him "an alternative idol in waiting" and while Shaw would likely never allow that, his unique persona and original sound means a lot to a few. His worldview is never certain and his walk is never confident but they are both his own.

'Goodbye, Cagoule World' is not the end, but it is the end of something. Benjamin Shaw has been a part of Audio Antihero from the very beginning and I'm very pleased to re-introduce you to him.

Previous Press:

"Superb." - Drowned in Sound

"Brilliantly moving - 9/10." - The 405

"One of the hidden gems of 2011 - 8/10." - This Is Fake DIY

"You wouldn't want everyone (or anyone else) to sound to like Benjamin Shaw but I'm delighted someone does." - The Line Of Best Fit

"Benjamin Shaw is an outcast, a loner, a maverick and a freak. All of these are compliments." - CLASH Music

"Excellent." - Tom Ravenscroft (BBC 6 Music)

"A truly special album - 4/5" - Music OMH

"An album that is quite unlike anything else, full of blackened charisma and a sonic imagination quite different to most - 8/10." - The Music Fix

"A piece of work that could stand the test of time...The solitude is palpable." - Gold Flake Paint

"Defiantly ramshackle. The only fear is that Shaw's style may fail to attract the attention it deserves." - The Skinny

"One of the better records of the year - 4/5." - Is This Music?