SINGLE REVIEW: Benefits (feat. Zera Tønin) – Land Of The Tyrants

’…The palette may have changed, but the potency remains the same, and Benefits may have provided one of the finest songs of the year.…’

A claustrophobic club banger may seem out of left field for Benefits, a band usually known for their abrasive and noisy minimalism. However, those who have bore witness to the live antics of this outfit will know that the band have always flirted with dance and house music, weaving into their ferocious live sets with incredible and electrifying ease.

This might be why ‘Land Of The Tyrants’ feels so natural for the band. Now a duo consisting of vocalist Kingsley Hall and all-round noise maker Robbie Major, the pair have experienced a 2024 that has seen them both implode and explode, playing bigger and bigger stages amidst an air of uncertainty as to what form the band will take.

Out of that uncertainty has arrived one of the band’s finest tracks to date. Hall is a subdued figure, waking a fine line between rapped flows and spoken word poetry as he paints the north as some barren land of castaways and outlaws. Post-industrial towns have been left to rot beneath the iron fist of a corrupt capital, whilst a growing class yearn for some simple clean past that only existed within the confines of the Daily Mail and John Lewis adverts.

All of this is backed by a luscious yet understated 90’s club instrumental, with a thumping, hypnotic beat that drags you below the surface. Layers of darkly illuminated synths intertwine with one another, bubbling with moments of sharp tension as the band remind you that this is not some sanitised feel-good anthem. Additional vocal work from Zera Tønin is a wonderful addition, adding some haunting and ethereal contrast to the grounded gravel of Hall’s vocals.

Benefits make music out of a primal place; an urgency to communicate and express. Despite the raw aggression of their earlier material being swapped out for surprisingly catchy dance flair, that is still clear on ‘Land Of The Tyrants’; instead of screaming at their overlords, now instead they bleakly ruminate over a country sleepwalking towards fascism.

The palette may have changed, but the potency remains the same, and Benefits may have provided one of the finest songs of the year.

For Fans Of: Yard Act, Fontaines D.C., itoldyouiwouldeatyou, Jools, Hatari

Featured photo credit belongs to @tomw19.

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