ben rankin - this is more than enough

bringing FRESH NEW TUNES FROM CANBERRA, ben rankin has BEEN SECRETLY WORKING to drop his new ep "this is more than enough" if you've been paying attention, you'll have already heard the 2 singles off this ep that really struck our ears.

lets break down this ep, starting off with track no. 1 - "1984"

beginning with a smooth jazz melody, interrupted by ben saying "let's take it up a bit" followed by an explosively furious drum & guitar instrumental. this track is dark, mysterious and powerful, and by far the heaviest on the ep. i enjoyed the cheeky misleading intro, the evil laughing before the guitar solo breakdown and ben's screams "save your prayers, cause big brother's watching you."

track no. 2 - "all is well in hell"

hot & heavy journalist, Kirsty reviewed ben's first single from this ep back in early april, giving us a great rundown on what to expect from ben and his upcoming ep.

with that being said, i think kirsty has said everything there is to say about this track, and you can read about it here!

track no. 3 - "the bed we made"

the intro is slow, ominous and dark, that ebbs and flows in and out of a hard rock rhythm. lyrically this song to me personally, speaks about growing apart from your significant other. how you lose touch when you're only a few feet apart. your personalities, music tastes and interests change from what you once shared a commonality. your romantic spark is fading, yet you don't want to lose them. this songs heartbreak is real, and very relatable - to the point it was actually hard and confronting to listen to. everything about this song hits hard emotionally, from the melancholy guitar riffs, to the despondent vocal screaming, reminding me of a personal favourite band, bloom.

track no. 4 - "Misery loves company"

this song is definitely meatier than the first 3, and almost entirely the opposite of the last. my interpretation of the lyrics are based on coming to terms with you and your partner no longer being good together. feeling angry about going separate ways yet simultaneously relived because, "we're living on an empty promise." to me, this track is an ansgty grunge "f*ck you" breakup song that contains a hefty amount of self reflection and anger.

i hear a lot of inspiration in this from the red jumpsuit apparatus' "misery loves its company" which not only do i say this due to the name, but as well as the instrumentals, lyrical content and vocal style.

Track no. 5 - “can you stay here?”

Now this is the final track on the ep, and a complete 180 from the sound we’ve already heard. This is a low, slow rock song, with pieces of melodic riffs and heart pounding drums. The lyrics are emotionally charged with despair, regret and longing. I feel as though the writer has managed to put pen to paper the heartfelt, painful feeling of missing your ex and wanting their presence back.

I personally feel listening to this ep in order tells a full story. We’ve touched on all of the emotions leading up to, and going through an intense heartbreak, even coming out the other side of it with second thoughts. This ep is filled with self reflection, fighting personal demons, agony, anger and a lot of hurt.

Ben has successfully achieved describing the utter pain and gut wrenching feeling of going through an intense separation with someone you once shared your world with.

This ep is a roller-coaster, with every twist and turn taking you down a familiar path that resembles bands such as Metallica, the red jumpsuit apparatus, three days grace and even Sydney metalcore band, bloom.

We had a chat with Ben discussing musical inspiration for this ep, and confirmed any similarities you may identify are purely coincidental and unintentional.

you can find ben rankin on platforms here: instagram, spotify, apple music, youtube