Ben Dalby

“Season of the Knife” is a striking new track from Southampton, UK-based artist Ben Dalby. Available on a variety of streaming platforms, via this link, “Season of the Knife” relays concerns about the tumultuous times today, amidst a nostalgic alt-rock sound with shades of The Go-Betweens and Television. 

The track’s lyrics resonate with a poignant brooding, anticipating melting ice, rising waters, and toxic fumes. “You breathe the fumes, you hope it’s safe,” Dalby sings during the climatic bridge, driving to the psych-friendly “you can hear the waves,” exultation. The backing vocal addition here, alongside the tender guitar twangs, makes for a timeless resonance. The title-referencing verses thereafter exude a Tom Verlaine-esque suaveness. 

“Hear a sound, hit the ground, stay down, stay dead,” the closing refrain lingers, an apt summary of the anxieties present in today’s world. “Season of the Knife” channels such energy into a confident rock sound, propelled by stirring songwriting and poignant lyrics.

Mike Mineo, Obscure Sound (June 17, 2022)

The music of this artist took me back in time.

I pictured myself driving a convertible to Woodstock. In some moments the melodic line and the drum rhythm made me think of Jim Morrison and the Doors.

Ben Dalby's vocal timbre is intriguing. Ethereal and elegant but it also hides a rock spirit that makes it fascinating.

The guitars with that tremolo effect and the musical arrangements are very coherent and manage to create this "vintage" halo around Season of the Knife.

The production is excellent, direct, and sincere, perfect for the genre.

Surely we are faced with an artist with a great compositional experience behind him. The chord progression is never predictable and banal and keeps you glues to the speakers from the first to the last second.

A very interesting artist that I recommend everyone to go and listen to.

Edgar Allan Poets (June 16, 2022)

Southampton, UK alternative indie artist Ben Dalby has been around for over two decades, his eclectic style is what keeps bringing people back. His latest release “Season of the Knife” was produced by Leighton Allen of The Hoosiers and the track was recorded as band. Welcome to “Season of the Knife” from Ben Dalby.

“Season of the Knife” is the first release from Ben this year, and after “Tin Man” it’s been long awaited. This is the type of songs that takes you to different levels, the song goes in waves from low, somber mood and gradually builds up and comes back down. There’s moments when you are going to want to dance and some when you may want to cry. 

Ben says “Season of the Knife” is about anger and sadness, a song that directly speaks to the world we live in right now. A world where many of the things we’ve taken for granted are being cut away – health, stability, food and friends. 

When a song has a powerful meaning and is catchy, it’s hard to not immediately love it. “Season of the Knife” is a song for everyone, it’s relatable to the masses. The world today is so chaotic and the song is the opposite and for just a few moments it puts you at ease. 

The man who has been around for decades knows how to appeal to people, “Season of the Knife” is a song that’ll be a household song for years to come.

Jaye Maverick, Rising Artists (June 11, 2022)

Setting the tone with four bold, minor key band crashes followed by intricate and enigmatic bass and a cosmic frequency, Ben Dalby opens his single, Season of the Knife with situational lyrics, “The shelves are empty, the gold is spent, the borders are closed, but the guards are bent…” 

The song expands with poetic nuance to encapsulate societal hypocrisies, elements of the human condition, existential questions and apocalyptic scenarios fused with Ben’s emotive performance and classic rock energy.

The composition has a rolling feel, taking us on an emotional journey with a similar in energy to tracks like House of the Rising Sun, although it is clear that Ben is creating a universe of his own. Fans of David Bowie will also definitely be able to connect with Season of the Knife. (Full review here)

Kimu, Karli Is My Uncle (June 10, 2022)

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, times are tough all around. No matter where you look, mounting crises dominate the headlines. It’s enough to make you wonder whether anyone’s really in charge or if we’re all at the mercy of calamitous fate. U.K. based singer-songwriter Ben Dalby ponders about the state of affairs on his latest single, “Season Of The Knife.” On this alt-rock airing of grievances, there’s no easy solution to what ails us all. 

On “Season Of The Knife,” Dalby does not dance around the collective mess we find ourselves in. Whether he is referencing empty shelves, melting glaciers, pollution or rising sea levels, there’s no diminishing the totality of the situation. In turn, a blunt lyricism is lobbed over “closed borders,” calling the powers that be “bent.” All of this culminates in a semi-menacing Dalby referring to our times as the “season of the knife.” 

On top of the foreboding lyrical theme, there is a subtly intimidating melody that helps to increase the gravity of everything weighing the world down. Embracing the moment, Dalby gives off a slow burn vibe in the face of the mountain of madness that we are living in. “Season Of The Knife” could have easily been a rage against the system level of defiance. Instead, Dalby takes a brooding, passive aggressive approach that accepts the whole ball of wax for what it is. 

“You’re on your own now. Ready or not.” This is one of the parting messages Dalby leaves with. On “Season Of The Knife,” it is rather clear that he wants us to know that we, the people, will be the change we want to see in the world. If you’re waiting for a politician, big business or a billionaire with a God complex to save the day, you’ll be waiting awhile. Dalby’s “Season Of The Knife” is an anthem for a collapsing world and the people that have to sift through it.

Travis Boyer, Pop Fad (June 10, 2022)

Season of the knife is a genuine alternative rock single by ben Dalby. In his track Dalby uses rich descriptive lyrics that perfectly describes our reality in the current world order. His track is the perfect mix of nostalgic sadness and enlightenment that just brings joy to your face with the soul-crushing reality he is describing, not to mention the beat that perfectly fits the tone of the song. (Full review here)

Saiid Zeidan, Just Rock (June 10, 2022)

UK Alternative indie rock musician and video producer Ben Dalby from Southampton has released a song in the truest British tradition of capturing socio-political anxiety in rock music like the Clash. Along with the usual pubs and clubs, Dalby has also played at protests and with popular British pop rock duo Magic Numbers. Dalby’s music is influenced by artists such as Kate Bush, Prince, Talking Heads, Jeff Beck, and Pink Floyd. In Season of the Knife, you have the deep lyricism of Bob Dylan combined with a sound inspired by the Animals. 

The track begins with a pulsating bass line over Dalby’s vocals. We then hear clean guitars coming in as the rest of the arrangement comes in. Dalby’s pointed voice is the anchor around which the song revolves. The vocal harmony in the chorus with guitar phrases adorning the parts raise the spirit of the song. The song ends with a guitar solo over the chorus and drums catching pace while ending with a quieter clean guitar riff. 

Dalby sings about public spending cuts, gas prices rising, higher taxes, and tanks rolling providing socio-political commentary along the anxiousness surrounding these. The song is about encapsulating the feel of the year 2022 where the recognizable aspects of the world are changing. The single artwork by London tattoo artist Kolahari captures this essence appropriately. Season of the Knife is an acerbic rock song with a strong social critique. Roger Waters would be proud.

Rubin Mathias, Sinusoidal Music (June 10, 2022)

Starting off it sounds like an angry punk-like lyric from the 70's, mixed with an angsty 60's protest song, and those are two kind of differing pulls which somehow you manage to fuse together. It is ... a nigh on perfect musical summation of the dystopian reality out there today. (Full interview from 31'0" here)

Robin Pierce, Southside Radio (May 25, 2022)

For a song titled, “Tin Man,” Ben Dalby’s new original single sure has a lot of heart. His is a protest song for the modern day, an outright assault on jadedness, isolation, and self-domestication. With the self-depricating introspection of John Lennon’s “Nowhere Man” and the upbeat energy of a pop-rock ballad, Dalby confesses his own struggle with a diminishing spirit while urging us all to grow more connected with the world, rather than merely shrinking it. ... his song offers both hope and redemption. Granted, Dalby’s protagonist doesn’t always win this battle. Despite every self-revelation and attempt at engaging with the outside world, he occasionally reverts to an insistence on control and safety. Yet the real source of promise is found in the upbeat music, which ebbs and flows in a reminder that such a journey is a constant process full of missteps and relapses. Mistakes don’t mean that, in Dalby’s words, we shouldn’t try to “Get up!”

Jacob Jahiel, Rising Artists (Aug 11, 2021)

'Tin Man' is the name of a new single by English artist Ben Dalby. This is a cheerful song about the versatility of life that not everyone wants to see in their own cage, where home and work are all they have. The song 'Tin Man' sounds with colorful merry rhythms inspired by the 80's era. Britpop style sounds are also felt in guitars and soft vocals. Ben sings playfully and sadly, surprised and happy. The musical animation 'Tin Man' unfolds the story of a man who is locked in his box and sees no way out into real life. Kaleidoscopic change of application images tells us about the grayness of his life. And so he breaks out of the vicious circle and runs into the space of freedom and adventure. He discovers a new world full of events and feelings. The song beautifully illustrates the lives of many desperate people in this life and gives inspiration and hope for radical change. Watch the music video 'Tin Man' below on YouTube and discover something new and uncharted as Ben Dalby did.

Vitalii, Indie Music Blog (Aug 04, 2021)