Benny Bassett

Lost chances and words unsaid are at the heart of Albuquerque artist Benny Bassett's second EP Words For Yesterday. The six-track collection takes stock of all those moments in life where we're posited with opportunities that we let slip and an urge to let fewer and fewer of these prospects pass us by. This could be a major move or simply feelings left unexpressed. Both can have a drastic effect on the path of a life. Examining the power of choice is at the heart of the record.

With the emotionally vulnerable and honest Words For Yesterday, you can draw a straight line between tight pop “I need you” ballads and open sky new country. With this album, Benny Bassett walks the line, never resorting to a honk in the vocals, yet always maintaining the earnestness of an acoustic guitar to remind the listener that they haven't become lost in the overly calculated electronic production of modern pop records. The production is definitely tight though. There's a smooth, welcoming cohesiveness throughout.

'Window to Forever' blends an air of wistful reflection and a steadfast drive ahead with its swirling echoes and reflective piano cut by the thrust of a constant kick. Bassett sets the mood of a sunrise drive out of town on a wide open highway, the sun just peaking over the horizon, hinting at the potential of to come. The past and future are laid out clearly on the road, in a continuum of your decisions. The chorus washes over the song like an epiphany.

'Live Where You Love the Sky' takes this same mood and offers a guide to choosing which path to follow. In an “always follow your nose” type statement, Bassett suggests that you're interests are served best when you find a place to call home where you love your surroundings and the rest of the pieces will fall in to place. A simple notion perhaps but one that has some profundity, “Love the view where you are”. Once again, chords come swelling in with unhurried ease as shakers keep you propelled forward.

Words For Yesterday takes a simple concept and comes at it in several different ways. Often the push we need to commit and take action merely requires a nudge. This album is that nudge.