Daily Dose: Ben Special, “Brood”

Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.

Forth Wanderers guitarist and songwriter Ben Guterl is debuting a new project dubbed Ben Special, and his first single “Brood” lives up to the promise of the moniker. The standout first track from Very Special (April 26) arrived Monday alongside a video directed by Guterl’s Forth Wanderers bandmate Noah Yu Schifrin, which also features hand-drawn animation by Guterl himself.

Guterl wrote and produced Very Special on his own, a significant shift after having split songwriting duties with Forth Wanderers vocalist Ava Trilling since 2013. He comes out swinging in establishing a sound distinctly his own, building “Brood” around a heavily distorted guitar riff and raw, honest vocals. “Can’t help myself from feeling like I do / when I’m awake, I’m dreaming of you,” he sings, torn up over a love he can’t let go.

Guterl and Forth Wanderers released their self-titled Sub Pop debut in April 2018, but we’ve heard little from the band since they canceled their U.S. tour that summer, making the emergence of Ben Special all the more welcome.