Today, Benjamin Woods shares a new song from his upcoming GOLDEN DREGS album, On Grace & Dignity. Following early single ‘American Airlines’, ‘Sundown Lake’ is a coming-of-age song full of nostalgia where bandleader Benjamin Woods – joined by Issie Armstrong on backing vocals – muses on hazy memories of teenage life in Cornwall.
+ Stream ‘Sundown Lake’ on all platforms here +
Released on 10 February 2023, Woods’ third album, On Grace & Dignity, considers his home and what it means to be shaped by a place – in this instance, Truro, Cornwall’s capital, home to a rare three-spired cathedral, a peaceful river and a lot of empty shops and flimsy out-of-town housing estates. In among the personal reflections on loss of innocence and inferiority, Woods spins subtly interweaving narratives about survival, desperate acts of violence, loss and the limitations of community in the face of rapacious gentrification. On Grace & Dignity unfolds at a graceful pace and is grounded by Woods’s deep voice, which seems to resonate from his feet. Written, recorded and produced by Woods from his South London home and childhood bedroom in Truro, it was mixed by Ali Chant (Perfume Genius, Aldous Harding) who provided additional production.
+ Pre-order On Grace & Dignity from the 4AD Store here on eco black vinyl, limited clear vinyl and CD +
The first 100 LP pre-orders will be handsigned by Ben
+ Pre-order and pre-save on all formats here +
For the On Grace & Dignity visuals, Woods commissioned Bristol-based model-maker Edie Lawrence to construct an HO-scale fictional Cornish town. Christened Polgras, the 8 ft by 4 ft model features a viaduct, an estuary, a supermarket, new-build houses and industrial buildings; every song from On Grace & Dignity is represented by a scene in the town. “There are different parts of the experience of growing up in Cornwall in there,” he says. “Some of it was from me looking at it when I was down there that winter, and some of it was me harking back to the experience of growing up there. It’s defined by that sense of duality, of coexisting realities,” he explains. “You’re geographically so far away, and it has a strong identity of its own, as well as a different landscape. It’s so rugged and bleak, but beautiful – which is what I really like in music.”
the GOLDEN DREGS has announced a raft of headline shows for 2023, with more to be added. A full list is below (new dates in bold), click here for tickets.
the GOLDEN DREGS TOUR DATES
November 2023
17th – The Roundhouse, London, UK*
18th – Esquires, Bedford, UK
19th – The Mill, Birmingham, UK*
20th – QMU, Glasgow, UK*
21st – O2 Ritz, Manchester, UK*
March 2023
9th – Baby’s All Right, Brooklyn, NY, US
13-18th – SXSW, Austin, TX, US
23rd – Gold Diggers, Los Angeles, CA, US
19th – The Mill, Birmingham, UK*
24-25th – Treefort Music Festival, Boise, ID, US
April 2023
6th – Village Underground, London, UK
May 2023
5th – Elsewhere, Margate, UK
6th – Green Door Store, Brighton, UK
8th – The Louisiana, Bristol, UK
9th – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, UK
13th – Workman’s Club, Dublin, IE
14th – Roisin Dubh, Galway, IE
16th – Mono, Glasgow, SC
17th – Cluny 2, Newcastle, GB
18th – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, GB
* – supporting Ezra Furman