Cousin Ben is the moniker of writer and musician Ben Murray, who hails from the Isle of Wight, just off the south coast of England.

Having bounced between London and Brighton for the last two decades, he finally made the latter his home in 2021. It was where he’d cut his musical teeth years before as a member of fabled pop-punk power trio, La Frange (2003-2008), and then as drummer for Chris T-T, playing on his 2014 album ‘The Bear’ (Xtra Mile). Since 2019, he has played drums for Jim Bob (Carter USM), recording two Top 40 albums, and touring extensively across the UK.

The songs on his self-titled debut album were written over a period of 15 years and encompass a wide range of themes and influences, from the writing of Flannery O’Connor to the films of Ingmar Bergman. The earliest ones emerged after some obligatory heartbreak and were written out of a sense of loss and anguish, but with a desire to turn those things into something of value.

The album was recorded in rural Norfolk. The idea was always to take the process as it came, to never get ahead of himself. Using rough guides recorded at home, the instrumentation was laid down gradually, welcoming the accidental, the serendipitous, the unexpected. The result is a lush, plaintive record with a hint of indie-pop thrown in for good measure.

TRACK LISTING:

1. A Good Man Is Hard To Find (6:13)
2. My Lover's Arching Back (4:00)
3. Something In The Water (6:36)
4. Fold You (2:11)
5. What's In A Name? (3:35)
6. Oh, Heather (5:02)
7. To The River (4:13)
8. Waiting On The Engines (6:38)
9. When England Was Mine (5:39)

All songs written by Ben Murray

Produced by Chris Thorpe-Tracey and Ben Murray Engineered and mixed by Owen Turner at Sick Room Studios, Norfolk, UK Mastered by Jon Clayton at One Cat Studios, London, UK

Ben Murray: vocals, guitar, drums, percussion Chris Thorpe-Tracey: bass guitar, piano, organ, string arrangements Johny Lamb: modular synthesiser, guitar, backing vocals Jenny Macro: guitar, backing vocals Owen Turner: guitar, percussion Ivan McCready: cello Franziska Mattishent: violin Edric Brown: percussion

Cover photo: Dave Murray

Thanks: Dave and Trish Murray, Cliff and Noreen Hopcroft, Phillip and Margaret Murray, all the Murrays, Moores, Hopcrofts, Wivells, Ebblewhites and Collets, Julia and PK, Will Bramley, James Brackpool, Edric Brown, Chris and Rifa, Owen and Maria, Johny Lamb, Jen Macro, Lindsey Scott, Jon Clayton, James Morrison, Simon Kobayshi, Marc Ollington, Neil Witherow, Chris Davies, Ruth Marshall, Julia Smith, Nicola Smith, Madeleine Murphy, the Three Crowns crew, and all the Harpers, Ryders and Kingslands. Oh, and Marcel Proust.

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