THE GOLDEN DREGS
Founded in Falmouth, Cornwall, in 2013, The Golden Dregs is the project of Benjamin Woods, a songwriter and producer currently residing in South London. From bleakly baritone one-man-band to an all–singing–all–dancing seven-piece, The Golden Dregs can take many forms – but is always underpinned by Wood’s lyrical prowess and distinctive point of view, as observed across his four album to date; Lafayette (2018), Hope Is For The Hopeless (2019), On Grace & Dignity (2023) and Godspeed (2025).

The Golden Dregs’ fourth album saw Woods return his attention to London; where On Grace & Dignity (4AD) held up a light to and lamented a certain kind of rural experience based on Woods’ hometown in Cornwall, Godspeed narrates the high highs and low lows of urban living. The hooks are constant — hear “Perfume”, “The Company of Strangers”, Stranglers-esque cut “If You’d Seen Him” — but rarely resort to familiar tropes, leaving room for unpredictable turns.

GODSPEED [ALBUM] 25th April 2025

“We’ve been dying to meet you,” Ben Woods sings on “Linoleum”, the second single from Godspeed, album number four for The Golden Dregs. This rousing greeting doubles as a mission statement for the project. What began as a solo endeavour by the then Cornwall-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Woods has grown into a six-member ensemble, each artist deeply rooted in London’s grassroots music scene. On Godspeed, for the first time, each band member contributes individually, but Woods’ songwriting and resonant baritone remain at the core — an anchor welcoming listeners into the fold.

The city plays its part here. A very close ear will pick up London’s cranky ambience, recorded on a handheld recorder by synth player Davy Roderick, then woven into the songs. And where the previous The Golden Dregs record, On Grace & Dignity (4AD), held up a light to and lamented a certain kind of rural experience, Godspeed turns the contrast up three or four notches above its predecessor, feeling cut through with the spirit of the city because of it. The highs are higher: a wall of sound soars more and more euphorically on penultimate track, "The Wave”. The lows are lower: “I think I’ve had enough to last a lifetime” announces the chorus on "The Weight of it All”, a beautifully devastating homage to irreparable situations, sung by Issie Armstrong.

“I love hearing people’s stories,” says Woods. Indeed, The Golden Dregs’ songs have always been less about telling individual stories and more about narrative vignettes, snippets of images that leave the listener guessing. And although Godspeed has a clear sense of character — “I came here to drink on my own, I don’t see the problem” (Heron) eerie synthesisers abounding; “maybe it’s time I was taken out to pasture / since lately I’ve been getting it wrong” (The Company of Strangers) — this is not introspective music. It looks beyond its author and his immediate situation to something more collective.

While it continues the sonic signatures of the previous records from The Golden Dregs, Godspeed is more immediate. The hooks are constant — hear “Perfume”, “The Company of Strangers”, Stranglers-esque cut “If You’d Seen Him” — but rarely resort to familiar tropes, leaving room for unpredictable turns. This assuredness is given further weight by the fact that Woods own label Joy of Life International, an imprint of and collaboration with End of the Road Records will release the album: a statement of independence and creative intent. Much like the current incarnation of The Golden Dregs, Joy of Life International is also a dynamic collective – January 2025 sees the label release its first non-The Golden Dregs music: a single by Ohtis, an established alt-country project based in Normal, Illinois, produced by Ben Woods, with further releases in the pipeline.

Last year, in between finishing this new record and setting up a studio on the outskirts of London as a new base for solo work and Joy of Life International, the band supported Future Islands at Crystal Palace Park, opened for Ezra Furman at Union Chapel and sold out a series of surprise intimate gigs to test new material. The future looks bright for these songs to find their people. Godspeed.

by Aaron Skates

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