Local Review: Tom Bennett – I Am Everywhere

Tom Bennett
I Am Everywhere

Sweet Salt Records
Street: 02.01.17
Tom Bennett = Charlie Parr + The Black Lillies

Georgian gone West Tom Bennett is a folk singer whose 2017 three-track EP is titled I Am Everywhere. This is Bennett’s third EP, and while short in length, each song is soulfully folk and filled with instrumental depth and thrill.

The EP opens with “Show Me The Exit Sign,” which is a quick-rhythm song rooted in classic folk elements. Bennett sets the bar high as a one-man band, opening with strums and slides on the dobro, which only briefly stands alone before the wailing harmonica comes driving in. Bennett kicks up the dirt with gritty vocals, foot drumming and percussions—a beat you can’t help but stamp to.

“Where Do You Keep Your Love” is slower and about five and half minutes long. The song begins with foot percussions and is shortly joined by the harmonica, howlin’ the blues. The harmonica often takes the place of vocals, trading off to accompany the strumming dobro and frequent slides and dramatic starts and stops. Bennett manages to deliver a classic cowboy song without total sadness and despair, but instead, just the good, ol’-fashioned blues.

“If I Was A Conductor” is a fun, upbeat folksy-blues song. While equally instrumentally impressive with the train-sounding harmonica and quick-chord shifts and picks, Bennett incorporates narrative-style lyrics. Between fast foot-kicking and clapping, he sings, “Well if I was a conductor / Let me tell you what I see / I see the wide open West / Laid out in front of me.”

Bennett seamlessly shifts from instrument to instrumental to vocals, and it’s hard to believe he’s one man band. With only these three tracks on I Am Everywhere, Bennett offers a wild peek at what’s to come. Hold on to your horses—I bet it’s going to be good. –Lizz Corrigan