Benko

Welcome to the Follow Through

Sarah Norris’ lulling, chiming vibraphone is the lift of this local trio, a charming twist on the typical instrumental configuration that came from bassist Erik Grostic and original beat keeper Graham Reynolds thinking outside the Golden Arm Trio. Grostic and new drummer Aaron Dugan pull Norris’ vibes out of the ether and into more pop territory on Welcome to the Follow Through, a playful jab of a title for their debut LP. The 10 songs fluctuate between genres, flowing through pop-punk (“City of Lights,” “Highball Stereo”) and slow-burn (the Norris-cooed “They’ll Never Take Us Alive” and dreamy “Great Commander”) and even satirizing gentrification (the pleasant, innocuous “East Side”), but throughout, Follow Through keeps its elevator sheen. There’s never a point where Benko really “rocks out,” but then that wasn’t really the point. They’re sophisticates toying with genres, and since 2005 EP An International Affair, they’ve fine-tuned their experiment.

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This article appears in November 7 • 2008.

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