Review of ‘Now Playing’, the frustratingly titled new release from Quick Ben

If Quick Ben weren’t quite so effortlessly charming, winking at and personally dressing every single one of their audience members at their vast gigs in canyons, rinks and some aeroplanes, they would be an immensely smack-in-the-head-able group. Every single album they release is entitled Now Playing, with little or no difference in the track listing, which reads:

1. Outro

2. 1.

3. Quick Ben

4. 1.

5. Outro

7. [see above]

8. Intro

Every single album has the exact same track listing. Every single album. The group themselves are talentedly effortless, and their down-cut jump-prog is woven in and out of the musical fabric, before fraying at the end, proving impossible to re-thread and the whole mess is flushed down the pan. Quick Ben also retain, gladfully uniquely, the position of the only band that appears to have regressed, rather than progressed, releasing what everyone considered to be their swansong aged 11, and have just released their ‘difficult second album’ after 7 successful previous ones. The only was to attend a gig by Quick Ben is to find a tattoo in your pit, enter the co-ordinates into an original Enigma machine, age by 3 years, then wander across a low-key geographical landmark – a playa, perhaps, or a delta – and wait for the sound of geese. The gigs themselves can last anywhere between 4 seconds and 23 weeks (never longer), with the group usually arriving in time to only play the last 5 minutes. Yet they remain the only band that I have genuinely bled tears for, and once injected themselves with their Nobel Prize.

Now Playing is the cheapest way to spend an afternoon on-your-face and off-your-back, a smack-jack rubber-jubber of a run-around that only makes sense before you’ve listened to it, and then makes less sense afterwards. Nonsensational.

You’ll like this if you like:

• Stamp On It. STAMP ON IT!, by Grape

• Postcards from the Khmer Rouge, by Slip Lervice

• Now Playing, by Quick Ben