The Brag

Indie Album Of The Week: Donny Benét
Don’t Hold Back
Rice Is Nice

Donny Benét is the solo stage name of Sydney’s Ben Waples, sometime bass player for Jack Ladder and the now-defunct avant jazz act Triosk. But for his solo project, he sheds all associations with the indie and jazz communities to step into the slimy skin of an Italo-disco superstar. In stark contrast to his reserved bass-playing alter ego, Benét – allegedly the son of a legendary Italian disco accordianist – peddles a turgid mix of moog solos, onanistic lead guitar and endless 7th chords.

The success of his debut lies largely in that it dials the joke down a notch. His outrageously silly live show works because Benét is completely poker-faced the whole time, and this mock seriousness extends to Don’t Hold Back. This is a record of Donny Benét being his sensual self, as opposed to Waples documenting an exaggerated gag.

With any other recording of this ilk, the listener’s level of enjoyment would hinge largely on how funny they found the overarching concept. The remarkable thing about Don’t Hold Back is the way Waples successfully circumvents this awkward eventuality. Sonically, it resembles certain Hype Williams tracks, or Dam Funk’s teenage bedroom demos. Un-quantised drum machines, tacky synths and overly-affected bass all jostle in a desperate race to reach some unattainable realm of disco perfection. The stilted results appear to be of no concern to Benét, whose out-of-tune croon brags of being a sophisticated lover with an unbridled fondness for the girls of Japan.

Don’t Hold Back works just as well as a straight-faced piece of hypnagogic pop as it does a novelty disco gag. You can stroke your chin and admire it, or you can get down with the get down. Your call.

Luke Telford