Thursday February 3rd, 2022
Australian singer-songwriter Ben Walker has released the title track from his debut EP Time To Go. The new song is the follow-up to his recent release, Castles, which generated decent nationwide radio play across a wide range of broadcasters, including Tamworth’s 2TM and 92.9FM, Australian Country Radio, Good Morning Country, and the ABC.
Time To Go once again explores the minutiae of everyday life yet extends the theme to incorporate the complexities of love. Time To Go mines similar territory to some of Ben’s previous songs, the minutiae of everyday life, yet these themes have been extended to include the complexities of love.
Ben’s ability to fuse the domestic with the romantic in an understated way manages to avoid any tones of overwrought sentimentality. This is particularly the case with the chorus, with the lines, ‘How can I love you, when its always, time to go? / Don’t want to make love, on the telephone’, set to an evenly-moderated melodic structure and performed in such a conversational manner one is more inclined to relate to such direct statements more naturally—we needn’t have to be convinced of their significance.
The new track’s laid-back groove is set up early, with the verse melody’s sparse structure fortifying the lyric. When the chorus arrives, it has a slightly modified rhythmic element—a more concerted four-four drum feel—which helps create emphasis and generate energy, elevating the part and providing a natural ebb and flow—once again reinforcing the lyric.
Ben’s close-sounding vocal is maintained throughout, a confident performance that contains enough effective vulnerability and nuance. Whether it’s the understated vocal style, the melodic sensibilities, or an alliance with the subject matter, Ben Walker’s new release will undoubtedly help facilitate extensive radio and playlist action in time for the release of the EP, which launches on the 11th of February.
