The Defamation of Strickland Banks

PLAN B The Defamation Of Strickland Banks (2010 UK 13-track CD album - Produced by Paul Epworth The Defamation of Strickland Banks is the sound of Motown Stax and Northern soul filtered through the grit of contemporary East London. The switchblade sharp soul sound of the album is perfectly recreated on stage complete with a brilliant sharp-suited band and backing singers. Includes the singles Stay Too Long She Said Prayin The Recluse and Love Goes Down)

The Defamation Of Strickland Banks, the second LP from Forest Gate-bred singer/musician Ben Drew, will be a surprise for anyone who spent meaningful time with his 2006 debut Who Needs Actions When You’ve Got Words. That album cast him as a potty-mouthed rapper, threatening to stab you with a biro over choppy acoustic guitar. Now, following a quick makeover, he re-emerges as blue-eyed soul singer, fronting a suite of bittersweet love songs steeped in vintage Stax and Motown. What might seem a rushed rebranding makes more sense if you know a little about Drew's creative drive, though; obsessed with cinema and narrative, Plan B is a storyteller at heart, and …Strickland Banks' songs trace a tale through the London underworld, Drew playing a soul singer from the East End jailed for a crime he didn’t commit. It's a concept that works, thanks largely to Drew’s voice--surprisingly strong, and more than capable of handling everything from upbeat Northern soul to fraught numbers like "Welcome To Hell". The narrative never overwhelms the quality of the songs, though, and for anyone disappointed such an impressively angry man has gone a bit Paolo Nutini on us, there's the occasional rap delivered with anger more savage for its infrequent deployment. –-Louis Pattison