Ben Kunder - Stranger
Canadian singer-songwriter Ben Kunder recently released “Stranger,” a track from his forthcoming album Searching For The Stranger, scheduled for release in October.
Ben Kunder
Explaining the song, Kunder says, “‘Stranger’ feels like an escape to the present. Like you're dreaming of being in this different world that feels euphoric and you are there - just open your eyes.”
The video for “Stranger,” directed by Christopher Mills, reflects Kunder’s sensation after listening to the song and channels ‘80s brat-pack movies, specifically John Cusack in Say Anything, with Kunder standing in a trench coat holding a boombox over his head.
The new album follows Kunder’s excellent LP, entitled Better Human, released a few years ago.
Maximum Volume Music’s Andy Thorley, in his brilliant preview of the entire album, wrote, “The Harmonica at the start of “Stranger” might mark this out as singer/songwriter, but this is not Steve Earle, this is not Bruce Springsteen. This is not some Americana act from the back roads. The closest reference point I kept coming back to was an Aussie pop artist called Alex Lloyd who I adored about 20 years back. He was similarly hard to pin down, but similarly classy.”
If the rest of the album is remotely as wonderful as “Stranger,” then it promises to be a pearl of miraculous beauty.
“Stranger” opens on low-slung almost jangly guitar, shimmering with soft gentle textures, flowing into a deliciously velvety rhythmic flow, supporting Kunder’s haunting voice. It’s one of the expressive, passion-filled voices, exuding raw melancholic flavors and tantalizing urgency, the kind of voice that you can’t get out of your head.
The chorus blossoms on exquisite layers of color, embellished by the superb vocal harmonies, tantalizing, alluring, and wafting. The harmonic solo at the end of the track infuses the tune with lingering desolation.
If the rest of the album is remotely as wonderful as “Stranger,” then it promises to be a pearl of miraculous beauty.
With “Stranger,” Ben Kunder casts a gloriously alluring sonic spell, smooth, glistening, and chock-full of vulnerable coloration. Ben Kunder definitely has it going on!
