Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter Ben Arnold announces that his new album XI will come out on September 26 via ALP Recordings. Produced by Shane Smith (Los Lobos, Amos Lee), the roots-rock record finds the longtime musician bridging the gap between personal insights and universal statements.
Along with the announcement, he released the first single “Catch The Lightning,” which combines anthemic heartland rock with early ’90s power pop to reflect on Arnold’s decades-spanning journey so far. He also shared the official music video, which utilizes Artificial Intelligence to portray Arnold’s experience growing up in Center City Philadelphia, falling in love with music and doing whatever it takes to make it work. The clip was featured at Magnet Magazine who praised his “uncompromising roots-rock vision.”
“‘Catch The Lightning’ was the last song sung and mixed for XI, and it obviously came not just from my own nostalgia, but also a sort of self-helpy viewpoint,” shares Arnold. “Slowly acknowledging the possibility that if I allow in all the colors of the rainbow, after all the sh*t storms, then maybe I can walk the path forward with a little more ease and satisfaction. It’s probably the most orchestrated song on the record, and I couldn’t be more thankful for my buddies Shane Smith and Barrie Maguire who helped me to get my vision more into focus.”
Arnold wrote the songs on this record between his hometown of Philadelphia and hotel rooms in upstate New York where he began traveling every month to visit his terminally ill mother. The grief and introspection of this experience found Arnold turning his gaze both inward and outward, penning songs about the personal battles he was facing himself as well as tracks about the current state of our country that live in the same world as the folk protest songs of the 1960s. No matter which category they fall into, they all feel pertinent to this specific time in Arnold’s life. Sonically, the album finds Arnold pulling from folk, blues, soul, rock & roll and classic pop for a distinctly American sound – taking inspiration across musical traditions, genres, time periods and places.
“There’s everything from Bob Dylan to Buddy Holly to Bruce Springsteen to a little bit of the Beach Boys in there,” Arnold says of the record, whose arrangements make room for electric guitar, swirling organ, heartland hooks and the warm, worn-in rasp of his own road-tested voice. “I used to feel nervous about honoring my influences, but I’ve become less on-guard about it over the years. It’s all folk music. This form of American popular music has been handed down over generations, and we’re all privy to it. We all own it.”
In addition to recording the LP with Smith, Arnold worked with Barrie Maguire (The Wallflowers, Natalie Merchant), who also produced and mixed some of the tracks. Ever the traveler, he recorded the album between the East and West coasts – specifically at Hetson Sound, the SoCal studio owned by Circle Jerks guitarist Greg Hetson. He assembled a band of longtime friends and collaborators from multiple different genres including Pete Thomas, drummer for Elvis Costello and the Attractions, who played on both Arnold’s song “Peace, Love & Understanding” as well as the Costello classic.
This all comes after a long and storied career. Arnold has been creating his own version of amplified American roots music, broadcasting that sound from venues across America and Europe, for decades. He’s been signed to Columbia Records, released albums with collaborative projects as diverse as US Rails and Pistol for Ringo and shared the stage with everyone from Lucinda Williams to John Mayer. Now, he’s gearing up for this new LP which continues to blur genre lines and redefine the sound that kickstarted his career all those years ago.
XI Tracklist
1. Catch The Lightning
2. Shooting Off Fireworks
3. Anywhere But Here
4. Cools My Rage
5. Beautiful Imperfections
6. Not Fair
7. Peace, Love & Understanding
8. All The Love In My Heart
9. My America (XI Version)
10. Build A Wall
11. Long Tall Shadow