Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm

Benjamin Francis Leftwich -Debut album of modern Brit folk acoustica from 21-year-old songwriter, produced by Ian Grimble (Mumford and Sons), follows up a pair of promising, well-received EP's in the U.K. // Release: Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm (June 21, Dirty Hit U.K.) // Sounds like: influences of Elliot Smith, Bob Dylan, Nick Drake and Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska waft through Leftwich's delicate, airy neo-folk songs...a few tracks are fleshed out with a full band backing, but it is the minimalist, starkly rendered simplicity of songs such as new single "Box of Stones" that draws us in // Quote: "I like the way a song can grab you for a couple of minutes and take you somewhere, and how the different elements in a track can make you feel." // What we like: the intimacy of Leftwich's voice, reminiscent of Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and William Fitzsimmons, lends the album a certain mystical tranquility..."Pictures" epitomizes Smoke's best moments -- intricate acoustic guitar lines setting an ethereal backdrop for Leftwich's sweet-tempered melodies...

Benjamin Francis Leftwich - "Box of Stones" (from Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm)

Benjamin Francis Leftwich - "Pictures" (from Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm)