Every now and then, I press play on something that feels like it’s already halfway down the road. That’s exactly how I felt when I first heard Ben Charles’ “Gomboo Blues” — no polite introduction, no easing in. Just movement.
There’s an upbeat velocity to “Gomboo Blues” that caught me immediately. It doesn’t stroll because it NEEDS to be running. The drum and bass lock into each other so tightly I genuinely started worrying for the bass strings — they feel like they might snap under the pressure. It’s relentless, but never chaotic. Instead, it feels intentional, like a pulse you’ve had all day without noticing.
Then Ben starts singing, and suddenly the whole thing shifts into this dusty, almost cowboy-tinged atmosphere. There’s something friendly in his timbre — open, unguarded — yet there’s a wild streak running through it. I hear those gypsy-style guitar runs weaving in and out, and I can see the setting clearly: a small 1920s oil worker’s cottage in Southern California, where this track was written and recorded alone, during a period of convalescence. That detail matters. You can feel the cabin fever and the daydreams colliding.
And that chorus — why does it feel so familiar? Maybe because, like Ben, I get the “Gomboo Blues” on a regular basis. That restless itch. That sense you’re looking for something but can’t quite name it. KCRW’s Jay Siebold called these blues contagious, and he’s right. This isn’t wallowing. It’s movement disguised as confusion. If you’re searching for something and you’re not even sure what that something is, start here. With this tune. Thank Ben later.
About Ben Charles:
As for Ben Charles, his story reads like someone who’s always had one foot on each side of the Atlantic. Born in Los Angeles to a transatlantic family and raised between North America and the British Isles, he grew up playing across England, France, and the United States before cutting his teeth working in Hollywood. His 2023 debut, “Before The Fire“, brought in heavyweights like Hugo Nicolson and Dave McNair, and now he’s living on an old oil field in Southern California with his band, The Flames, crafting a double LP titled “Deep Son“, set for 2027 via Lovelock Records.
If “Gomboo Blues” is our first taste, the horizon looks wide and dusty in the best way.
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