Two False Idols

Tunisia. An unexpectedly cohesive mix of charming acoustic songs, rock and country stabs, and big crashy orchestral flourishes. Occasionally bleak and frequently tender, we're calling it - until someone comes up with a better label - cinematic rock. Tunisia is the realisation of a necessarily independent approach to writing and recording this sort of thing - music to please the participants! Influences range from obvious stalwarts like Pink Floyd, Brian Wilson and Sheryl Crow, to the likes of Bernard Herrman, John Barry and George Gershwin. Not forgetting certain other progressive rock hipsters too unfashionable to mention. Tunisia is the flagship project of one Ben Craven. Ben discovered the joys of songwriting while in high school. Confronted by an increasing backlog of material, but not funding (alas), he decided to start recording, producing and releasing it himself. The resulting debut album Two False Idols belies it's conception in a small home studio, recorded on weekends for peanuts. Two False Idols is a collection of finely-crafted songs infused with Ben's sweeping production style. From the country-flavoured opener, Enough About You (a wry lyrical game of 'spot the celebrity we hate') and the pastoral majesty of Great Divide, to the cock rock of Not Me It's You and the ominous epic Golden Band (a musical hint of things to come), Two False Idols sounds like someone revelling in the creative freedom that only comes from footing the bill. While Two False Idols might sound like a lush and layered affair, Tunisia live performances are quite the opposite. In stripped-back intimate mode, Ben performs accompanied by solo acoustic guitar and keys alternatively. Rearranged to fit these surroundings, the delicacy and vulnerabilities of the music are revealed in a different light. Perhaps one day Tunisia will grow into a grand army lumbering across the heritage circuit. But not quite yet.