This is the brand new album from the Ben Reel Band "NEW HORIZON" Official release date 25th june 2007. Ben Reel is a singular artist, the latest original to emerge from the wonderful Irish tradition of great singer-songwriters. From the troubadours of the heart and the message song, through Van Morrison and that shape-shifting Declan Patrick MacManus (Elvis Costello) and a bit of the Pogues, the Irish songsmiths crafted works both spiritual and emotionally charged while also tinged with the gift of turning a phrase with the best of them.
Gerry Anderson, of BBC Radio Ulster called Reel’s last album, SWEET VICTORY, “the best album I’ve heard in years.†And live, Ben with long standing recruits Michael Black on drums, Ronnie O'Flynn on bass, Micky McCarney on guitar, Ben himself on vocals and guitar, the Ben Reel Band have been building a great reputation as being one of the finest live bands in Ireland.Hailing from Silverbridge in County Armagh, against the backdrop of “The Troubles†in Northern Ireland, music became Ben’s way out. He first picked up the guitar when he was 13 years old and first musical adventure began when he formed the now legendary band Trim The Velvet.After achieving significant success and a very loyal following, the band went their separate ways and Ben started recording and touring as a solo artist. To date he has completed 4 studio recordings, the latest of which NEW HORIZON, has just been completed and will be released in Ireland in April, 2007. Along with its predecessors it showcases Ben’s talent as a sublime singer-songwriter.This time around though, Ben collected his band into the studio to hew simple, direct and heartfelt songs. While the Irish know that their Blarney can get them out of dire situations and make a bad situation so much lighter, they also know that the bitter truth needs to be acknowledged and dealt with straightaway. Ben’s songs on NEW HORIZON are those, bitter with the bad, but with a view to the way out.The tracks have unfolded contain a more rootsy, earthy, Americana rock feel to them. The band has developed a kinship from performing throughout Europe, creating their unique sound together. Bringing real music back to the people in an age of the corporate manufactured mundane, NEW HORIZON announces to the world something, which a growing number of people have already known throughout
Ireland; Ben Reel is a major talent.hi-fi+ Magazine Review of New Horizon - 17th October 2007Ben Reel Band ~ 'New Horizon' B.Reel Records: BRBCDA005Ben Reel, a native of South Armagh, Ireland, is a superstar in waiting; rarely have I heard an album so complete and so fully realised. From the brilliance of the playing and arranging to the magnificence of Reel's voice - this is heaven all the way.Actually it's his fourth album, so god knows where he's been hiding. With lyrics delving deeply into the spiritual, inspiration is heavily gleaned from classic books like Sogyal Rinpoche's 'The Tibetan Book Of Living And Dying' and Deepak Chopra's 'Synchrodestiny'.However, it's one thing being a great word smith but it counts for nothing in music if you can't weave it into a strong melodic force. Fortunately Reel proves to be a master of both on this really beautiful collection of rootsy, soulful rock.'New Horizon' is 'all killer, no filler', and if Reel can manage to get more radio exposure then there's no reason why songs like 'Westcoast', with its instantly memorable chorus, and the message-laden ' All Souls Alive' can't light up the increasingly stale and predictable mainstream airwaves for years to come.Actually, every song here stands up handsomely to repeated plays, but one - the lilting Irish ballad 'When The Summer's Gone', featuring the angelic humming of Julieanne Black - is definitely the most haunting song I've heard in years and has 'future classic' stamped all over it. Revelatory work.reviewed by Andrew Hobbs hi-fi+Music 9 I Recording 8
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