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Gentle Ben and His Sensitive Side.
 A year ago Gentle Ben and His Sensitive Side's 'The Beginning Of The End' got my attention like a slap across the face. Come Christmas, I wasn't alone in listing that stunning record one of the best Australian albums of 2004: 'Gentle' Ben Corbett is still buzzing over the unexpected success of the band's debut. The title track had extensive airplay on Triple J, the clip was shown repeatedly on Rage, and Channel 7 picked it up for use in their 'Last Man Standing' tele-drama.
"When we finished the album we weren't certain what would happen," says Ben Corbett. "I thought maybe some of the independent stations would play it occasionally. So I was pleasantly surprised."
The band's new album 'The Sober Light Of Day' should achieve even more success as it builds on the love-torn themes, forlorn vocals and dirty tex-mex guitar licks of its raw predecessor. If anything 'The Sober Light Of Day' is a darker but richer record.
"We've probably gone a little further in both directions," says Corbett. "We've delved into more of a rock'n'roll sound, but we've also pared it back a bit more and written some very quiet, introspective late-night numbers. "It's a lot more indicative of the kind of band that we are, I think," Corbett continues.
"I was very pleased with 'The Beginning Of The End' but, because there was a gap of about six months between finishing and releasing the record, by the time it came out we had progressed a lot and become quite a different band."
If Gentle Ben and His Sensitive Side's debut captured anguished lovers howling at midnight over broken relationships, 'The Sober Light Of Day' takes those tales into the seamy city and explores the hollow loneliness of the night's aftermath.
"A lot of it stems from where I'm working," says Corbett. "I go to work at 5AM, so I see this drunken world from the other end. When you see that every day, you start to look at it in a different way than you would if you were playing rock'n'roll all the time. It's kind of interesting watching what people do to themselves. These are themes I like writing about: there's drama inherent in them. I'm not trying to go out of my way to be morose or depressive; my desire is just to write good songs in whatever form they take."
Gentle Ben and His Sensitive Side are currently touring Australia on the back of their new album, which requires both dedication and organization considering that all of The Sensitive Side have other bands. Guitarist Dylan McCormack is in The Polaroids, Trevor Ludlow (bass) and Nick Naughton (drums) play in Skippy Showband, and 'Gentle' Ben Corbett also fronts SixFtHick.
"I think with people who have really sold themselves to music, that's the way it naturally happens," explains Corbett of having other bands. "I love being in SixFtHick, but it doesn't fulfill everything I want to do. So it felt natural for me to try something else. The Sensitive Side gives me a way to challenge myself further, and it's just worked out much better than I could have expected."
Corbett agrees that alternative Australian music is much richer for this kind of cross-pollination between bands. "Absolutely! I mean it's created some of the best bands that have come out of Australia. Some of my favourite bands have happened when people from other semi-successful or cult bands got together. The Beasts of Bourbon are a classic example. Australian music is all the richer for the music of the Beasts. A lot of bands have drawn influence from that music.
"Australian bands can't make a living out of music easily. You have to be in it because you love it. And sometimes it's a matter of artistic survival; if you can't go around constantly touring and keeping yourself busy with just one band, you might as well have two."
Gentle Ben and His Sensitive Side are one of the most original sounding Australian bands around at the moment, and they bring their barely-harnessed vigor our way very soon. And they're rumoured to be even more ferocious live than on record.
"Every time someone comes to see us they're going to see a different show," says Corbett. "We actually can't play the song the same way twice. We're not trying to be tricky; we just aim to present the songs in a way that they'll connect with the audience each night... Well, that and we get bored easily."
Steven Hocking
 | Gentle Ben and His Sensitive Side play Crown & Anchor on Sat 22 Oct, and 'The Sober Light Of Day' is out now through Spooky Records. |
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