New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) After its release last week,
Benjamin Booker's self-titled debut on ATO Records just landed in the Top 10 of both Billboard's Alternative Albums and Independent Albums charts, hitting the Top 50 of the Billboard 200 overall.
Watch him perform "Violent Shiver" on KEXP:
Booker's "rapid and charmed and richly deserved" (Vice Noisey) ascent has hit a fever pitch. Booker has chatted with the New York Times about his "sudden rise," "wowed" on Conan (Consequence of Sound), and been raved about by Rolling Stone, NPR
Fresh Air, USA Today, SPIN, Billboard, and more. Overseas, the Guardian said he is "giving the likes of
Jack White and the
Black Keys a run for their blues-rock money" and the Evening Standard called him "a musician whose fierce sound resonates with all who love elemental American music." See more press quotes below.
After a whirlwind summer that saw him play Lollapalooza, Newport Folk, and FYF Fest this past weekend - where the LA Times named him "one of the fest's best sets" - Booker is gearing up for a headlining US tour. It kicks off
September 25 in Nashville and includes stops at Austin City Limits and Voodoo
Music Experience. See current dates here.
Press Praise for
Benjamin Booker:
"A raucous, unruly mix of punk, blues rock and soul, inspired by early 1980s acts like
Black Flag, Minor Threat and the Gun Club." - The New York Times
"Flashing both the raw talent of a recruit and the acumen of a much older musician, Booker's self-titled debut shows off both his youth and his grasp of past musical forms." - NPR Music
"A curiously cool cross between indie rock distortion, grunge mumble and classic blues-rock that is best experienced live and turned up to 11." - Rolling Stone
"Contender for rock record of the year." - SPIN
"Booker's honesty ... just makes the intensity of the music all the more intriguing. You're left really wanting to hear where this guy's going next and who he wants to take along for the ride." -
Fresh Air
"'Benjamin Booker' is an all-American rock album for the 21st century, with both the worn-in feel of a lost 78rpm classic and the livewire soul of modern punk." - Vice Noisey
"The suavest kid in Southern Rock." - GQ
"Benjamin Booker sings with the world-weary rasp of
Ray LaMontagne and rips guitar solos like Gary Clark, Jr." - Billboard
"A swirl of textures and emotion" - USA Today
"Takes the blueprint honed by his rock'n'roll forebears and transports them bang into 2014, gnarly and gloriously unrepentant." - NME
