Benjamin William Pike
Album: Devil On My Shoulder (EP)
Label: Gin House
Tracks: 5
Website: http://www.benjaminwilliampike.co.uk

This is a quiet little gem that at first rather undersells itself. Begging questions like how come this guy's only just got around to releasing his first record when he's been playing guitar since age 15 (all of 15 years ago) and is clearly at a well-developed stage of accomplishment right now. The EP's five songs are all self-penned, comfortably nestling within a laid-back yet nifty and precise country-blues style that more than anything recalls Chris Smither, with occasional shades of John Martyn in the vocal department.

Benjamin may not quite have Smither's gift for melody, but he displays an intense assurance that's both infectious and compelling in its own unassuming way. His guitar work is both genuinely creative and brilliantly deft, his confident and freewheeling fingerstyle picking punctuated by delicate runs with a folky-oldtime kind of inflection (Guiding Light), while his banjo technique is equally scintillating (Linda) and he's no slouch either on pedal steel or, most especially, the six-string dobro-style lap slide (When I Leave).

Evidently a glutton for musical exploration, Benjamin's latest quest has been to master the 21-string Indian equivalent, the mohan veena, for a forthcoming fusion project on his next release; I can hardly wait! Oh, and by the way, it may come as a surprise to learn that Benjamin's based in Leeds; indeed, together with three local fellow-musicians he's set up an independent roots record label collective to distribute the music of Yorkshire-based roots artists. Even more puzzling, then, that I've not hitherto come across him in the region's music venues.

David Kidman