Benefits at The Lexington London, 25.04.2025

Benefits have been on my radar for quite some time, but I only managed to see them live once, at last year’s ArcTanGent Festival, and ever since then I have been unable to shut up about them. They are one of those bands that in my books deserve a spot in the ‘essential listening’ category and I am really pleased that since the release of their new LP Constant Noise last month they have been getting more and more recognition.

However the Teeside noise punks are also getting recognition for doing things right. Their music is filled with piercing social commentary (not to get too political, but they have started as a project when Tories were in power and their debut LP NAILS was very confrontational), but they also make space and listen to the community that they have created around them. When the tour supporting the release of Constant Noise was announced, they took fan’s feedback on board and they capped the prices of the tickets to £12 to make the gigs affordable, and they introduced a 10pm curfew so that everyone can get home safely on public transport. That’s class. One of the people I met in the front row genuinely thanked Kingsley Hall on their way out for the pricing cap because “not all punk bands do this”. It’s that strong ethos that makes them a vital force in music – they care, they are loud about it and they genuinely are for the people. They are also fiercely DIY – the lighting rig accompanying them on the tour was built by themselves to ensure the vibe in each venue is just right. The whole tour is also done in collaboration with Safe Gigs For Women, who were a very warm welcome while walking to The Lexington.

Hang Linton

Opening for Benefits was Hang Linton, a self-taught interdisciplinary artist who focuses on themes of otherness, non-linear time concepts, community & public art. As we were in a very typical gig venue, we were treated to the music and dance part of his artistic expression, and what a treat that was. Seamlessly blending avant-funk, dance punk and breakbeats, he delivers a heartfelt performance and a perfect warm up for Benefits. Using a sampler, a synth and a guitar, as well as his body, his musical artistic expression was heartfelt as it was a great party, with nods to Bob Marley and Elvis in between.

Towards the end, he asked the audience to look to our left and to our right and realise that we are not alone. That these were tough times, but we will fight it by talking to each other and calling for people to speak to their neighbours to make sure they’re alright. This was followed by a declaration against racism, fascism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia – to a huge applause. He was picked for the tour because he stands for the same values, and because fans of Benefits would also stand for those values – he was a perfect fit. This also meant that I was surrounded by people who shared my values, and unsurprisingly – this ended up being the gig where I knew no one walking in and walked out with new friends.

Benefits

If you see one band live this year, make it be Benefits. You are on a predominantly metal site, but the crossover they have among music fans is huge (judging from my scientific assessment of t-shirts in the room). I chatted with a guy wearing a death metal band tee, I walked past someone with a Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs t-shirt (the same one I picked up a couple of weeks ago), there were punk tees (first time seeing a Wokerati Party one in the wild), I wore my ‘FUCK TERFS’ Lambrini Girls top which was a great conversation starter, and then we all raved together in perfect harmony.

Constant Noise signifies a new sound from Benefits, taking them from the pure rage (and noise) of NAILS to a more refined, electronic sound, still underpinned with rage, but with more precision. They are also a duo now, with Robbie Major on synths, violin and instruments I couldn’t identify being the yin to Kingsley Hall’s raging yang.

I’m looking up in awe on a mountain of shit.
Piled on after pile on after pile on.
Each waking day a new fury, each hour another scream, and I’m poised to react, to be repulsed
Awaiting the subject… what will I be required to hate today?

The opening verses to ‘Constant Noise’ (both the track and the record itself) are spoken by Kingsley to the microphone, and we are all swept into his world in an instant. If you listen to their albums and haven’t seen them live, you need to take my word for it that the intensity is multiplied by at least ten. The rage flows through Kingsley’s body like electricity, making him convulse, bend, bow, jump – as if he were unable to contain himself. It’s magnetic,c and the audience takes it all in in absolute awe.

Because the new sound is a lot more electronic, the set list stays close to Constant Noise track listing, with ‘Land Of The Tyrants’ picking up the beat, gently inviting us to the rave. “Hail to the thief”, softly spoken on the record, becomes a passionate shout. ‘Lies and Fear’ is the only throwback to their previous confrontational, furious, harsh noise, but Robbie Majors’ electronic witchcraft and wizardry swiftly move us onto ‘Missiles’ and ‘Blame’. To everyone’s surprise, Shakk, the Teeside rapper who accompanied the band on the track ‘Divide’ joins them on stage and the crowd went wild for this relentless, rallying cry. ‘Dancing On The Tables’ and ‘Relentless’ swap their album order on stage, with ‘Dancing on the Tables’ with its deep bassline sparking some shy dance moves across the audience. We sail to the end of Constant Noise and after the assuring ‘Everything Is Going To Be Alright’, ‘Burnt Out Family Home’ starts out contemplative, Leonard Cohen-esque, and incredibly bleak and moving, painting a picture of a war-torn seaside town.

With ‘Flag’ and ‘Warhorse’, Benefits make the nod to their 2021s LP Nails, and by this point, the crowd is spellbound, clutching onto Kingsley’s every word, every gesture as he bends over the front rows and screams into his microphone, asking “WHAT DOES IT MEAN? WHAT DOES IT MEAN?! WAVE YOUR FUCKING FLAG!” And at the end, we descend into the cover of Underworld‘s ‘Born Slippy’, the lights seem to dim and everybody is moving, turning The Lexington into a rave, almost as if we need to shake off the intensity of the message we’ve just absorbed. The finishing rave, the beat, the noise and the dance drowning out the stark reality of having to live through history.

The tickets for the newly announced show at The Lower Third are out, so grab one and join me in the Benefits awe club.