Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

The Benjamin Gate sound like a solo artist but instead they're a band from South Africa who are playing at this year's Cross Rhythms festival. Judging from this well constructed mix of frenetic rock'n'roll and the tentative heartfelt atmospheric ballads that make up the central core of this album, I'll be on the front row getting down to this band. In Adrienne Liesching, they have a distinctive singer able to move from the emotional to the strident in half a beat. Highlights? I just love "Blow My Mind" whether in straight rock or in dance remix form - it does the business for me. "Hands" and "Secret" are both striking ballads mixing emotion and poetry to neat effect whilst "Grow Alive" has a quirky vibe. If you enjoy the atmospheric music of bands like The Choir and Common Children, The Benjamin Gate touch on that kind of vibe but empower it with guts.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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