He initially teased this era with “Polygraph.” Right out of the gate, it resonated with listeners. On its heels, the single “Heaven In The Right Light” layers dreamy piano and lightly strummed guitar over an airy backbeat. Ben’s delicate delivery echoes on the hook, “Heaven in the right light, so strange, wonder what you might find.”
“I was listening to a lot of José Gonzáles, and I wanted to write a soft number,” he says. “We made a loop out of different drumbeats. Jeremy suggested a key change, and we pulled it off.”
On “Rest Assured,” loose guitar gives way to swooning strings in the wake of a lush and lovestruck refrain, “Rest assured that I’m on your side. The rest is yours, and you’re all mine.”
“It’s a no-frills, very intentional song about love—as if there aren’t enough,” he laughs.
Synths murmur through a haze on “If You Had To Ask,” while a lilting piano crescendo carries the song towards a sonic exhale. Then, there’s “Real Life.” Acoustic guitar brushes up against a glitchy beat, and a moment of acceptance crystallizes on the chorus, “I guess it’s real life. If it worries you, leave it alone.”
“The lyrics were really stream-of-conscious,” he says. “The message is just let go and trust the process. Focus on what you can control and do your best. I’m a firm believer everything will work itself out, and the song reflects this narrative.”
The finale, “The Tourist,” revolves around stark acoustic guitar, grainy beat-craft, bright flute, cinematic strings, and his so-grizzled-it’s-beautiful timbre. It ends on a gentle realization, “The days of being strangers now are gone.”
“It was inspired by feeling like a tourist when I got to Sweden,” he says. “It’s not a bad thing, but most of the time, I do feel like a tourist.”
Ultimately, Old Sea Brigade’s music is just as endearing as his life is.
“Old Sea Brigade has been my creative outlet for so many of my formative years as an adult,” he concludes. “The catalog is there to document how I felt in all of these changes and normal events that followed me around for the last eight years. I’m incredibly grateful for this life. I wouldn’t have met my wife if it wasn’t for Old Sea Brigade. It’s the reason I came to Sweden. It’s the reason I’m a dad. It’s the reason I’ve met so many of my friends. These relationships are just as important as the music is.”
