Benjamin Francis Leftwich Releases the Enveloping “4AM in London”

Benjamin Francis Leftwich’s forthcoming EP I Am With You is due out Aug. 24 and follows his 2016 album After the Rain. “4AM in London,” out today, is the third song to be released from the four track EP—only the second track, “Powerdown,” has yet to be heard.

“4AM in London” is the middle ground between the two previously released EP tracks “I Am With You” and “Numb.” “I Am With You” immediately tossed listeners in with the electronic influences Leftwich has pulled onto this EP; his vocals in particular mark a change in sound. “Numb” is sonically more similar to his previous works with an acoustic guitar forming the song’s backbone and electronic flourishes filling out the sound. “4AM in London” holds together the juxtaposed acoustic and electronic styles which Leftwich embraces. Beginning with just Leftwich’s hushed vocals and a piano, the song grows into an expansive and enveloping sonic space. The electronic touches are more prominent than in “Numb” but are less immediately intrusive than in “I Am With You,” and so as the first track it opens the EP with an honest reflection of the new influences but slowly adjusts listeners to them. Leftwich’s lyrics are as resonant as ever: “Distance is easy, you make me completely alive,” he sings, telling the story of a long-distance relationship. The evocative images of birds flying through timezones and sending roses (which recalls the emotionally opposing “Kicking Roses” from After the Rain) maintain the empathetic storyteller quality Leftwich possesses.

For each release off the EP, Leftwich has been leaving a brief note with the new song on his Twitter. For “4AM in London” he writes, “4AM in London. A song about true love soaring through the time zones.”

You can pre-order I Am With You on vinyl here. Listen to “4AM in London” and a performance by Leftwich from the Paste archives below. Keep scrolling for the EP’s tracklist.

I Am With You Tracklist:

1.4am In London
2.Powerdown
3.Numb
4.I Am With You