By Deuce

Anyone who listens to the latest release from Ben Conley, “Thanks for Something”, can tell dude had a lot on his mind when he laid this one down. Something had to be iggin’ him just to come up with the concept, the music, arrangement, instrumentation, and all that good stuff.

The singer/songwriter puts it down way too fast and furiously on this cut, which clocks in at a mere minute and twelve seconds—which doesn’t begin to describe the amount of ground he covers on the tune. Granted, most skits outlast this single and video, but few can match the sheer ardor of the artist.

For starters, it sounds like he’s working with at least 120 (and more likely closer to 130) beats per minute. That pace of drums rapidly whips the musician into a frenzy. It’s difficult to keep track of how many f-bombs he drops in this short duration, which may qualify him for some sort of record.

Then there’s his guitars that are as grungy and metallic as anything anyone from the 80’s on ever recorded to tape. There’s a (comparatively) slow guitar solo that opens the number up, but that quickly escalates to the rapidity of what’s a somewhat fun, somewhat serious riff that works well at this tempo.

But let’s get back to those vocals. It’s difficult to discern which is distorting more, those wailing electric guitars or the vocal effects framing Conley’s singing. And, such singing it is, which quickly quells all notions of fun on this one as it’s apparent something had him worked up to the point of unleashing vocals that are part yelling, part cussing, and part bellowing on the track.

The only minor issue is it’s a little ambiguous as to what exactly has him this animated. A babe? Personal relationship? The contemporary social climate?

This much, however, is perfectly clear. By unpacking all this emotion into little over a minute of frenzied drumming, hardcore bass, and unrestrained guitars, he truly emphasizes his point—whatsoever it might be—making you feel it, whether or not you actually understand it.

Best of all, if there’s any further questions, you can always listen to the song again.