Benjamin Dean Wilson infuses a gripping blend of witty humor, cinematic flair, and musical ingenuity to his latest release, Until the House Falls. Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and now based in Fort Lauderdale, Wilson presents an expansive, multi-genre opus that functions as a “film for the ears,” combining progressive folk rock, vaudeville, indie, and musical theater into a seamless, character-driven mosaic.
“This radio play was inspired by my experience sheltering from a tornado in my closet,” Wilson explains. “Although the tornado touched down a few miles away, it still caused damage to several houses in my neighborhood. The next day I was talking with a friend of mine who said, ‘I can totally see you writing a play about this or something.” “Good idea,” I thought. And that evening, once we had finished picking up the debris, I started writing what would become the first song of the play.”
Opening the release, “Tornado!” is a replay-inducing delight with its enthusiastic vocal performances and brass-forward charisma. “Rain falling down,” the vocals prove foreboding, with caution to take cover during a storm assuming a narrative-friendly appeal — screaming sirens, and a child mentioning they “hate tornadoes” and a father’s reassurance in response. It’s a thorough success of a track that balances fun, punchy melodic flair with a cinematic-like series of various vocalists/characters and descriptive accounts of tumult during a storm. Plenty of standouts show throughout, from the organ-laden rousing of “Sleepless Night” to the suave twangy rock feelings within “Try Again.”
Befitting of a musical, the album encompasses a wide range of tonal and structural maneuvers — also emphasized in the excellent “Busy Day.” The initial piano-led day-dreaming quickly shifts into the narration of a wife whose husband “will be home within the hour” — and who he himself will be anticipating a clean house, as he so proclaims in the subsequent section. “I am the most important man in town,” he proclaims as brassy enthusiasm coexists, full of bravado though a seeming ignorance regarding the layers within a relationship. Until the House Falls is a consistently riveting, charismatic display of character-driven songwriting and accompanying instrumentation that envelops in its melodic precision and dynamic aesthetical pursuits.
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“Tornado!” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
