Ben Poole has released his new album Post-Midnight Behaviour, his first studio record of entirely new material in eight years, alongside new single ‘Runaway Souls’ featuring Elles Bailey.
Released today, 25 September, through Gypsy Soul Records, the album finds the British guitarist, singer and songwriter expanding beyond the blues-rock sound that established his reputation. Across nine main tracks, Poole moves through blues, rock, soul, country and alternative rock, tied together by a darker, after-hours atmosphere.
To mark the album’s arrival, ‘Runaway Souls’ has been released as the latest single, with Bailey taking the lead guest vocal over driving guitars, heavy drums and one of Poole’s trademark guitar solos.
“I wanted Post-Midnight Behaviour to capture how far I’ve come as a guitarist, singer and songwriter,” says Poole.
“After years of playing more than 150 shows annually across over 20 countries, everything has grown, my guitar style, technique and voice, and how I hear music.”
Elles Bailey joins ‘Runaway Souls’
‘Runaway Souls’ provides one of the album’s biggest moments, with Elles Bailey bringing her own mix of rock, blues and soul to a song built around escaping expectations and refusing to be held back.
The collaboration places Bailey’s vocal against Poole’s guitar, Wayne Proctor’s drums and Steve Amadeo’s bass, with the track building towards a prominent guitar solo.
Poole says the wider album allowed him to rethink how the guitar fits into his songs.
“I still get to unleash the guitar, but this time it sits inside something more atmospheric and reflective, and more emotionally charged. That after-hours mood inspired the album title.”
The new single is accompanied by an official music video.
Eight years since his last album of new material
Post-Midnight Behaviour is Poole’s first studio album containing entirely new material since Anytime You Need Me in 2018.
In the years between, he continued touring heavily and released several live records, but says the process of making a studio album required a completely different approach.
“With this new album, I took my time to make sure every detail was fully realised, the songs, the sounds, the arrangements, the performances, everything,” he explains.
“My writing team and I pushed ourselves harder than ever, digging deep to make the songwriting as strong, sharp and emotionally powerful as it could be.”
The album was produced by Poole, Wayne Proctor and Oli Brown, with recording taking place at House of Tone Mix Suite and Superfly Studios in Nottinghamshire. All of the songs were co-written by Poole, Brown, Proctor and Steve Amadeo.
The recording line-up features Poole on guitar and vocals, Proctor on drums, Amadeo on bass and Bennett Holland on Hammond organ, piano, Wurlitzer and Rhodes. Brown contributes backing vocals and Moog, with Bailey appearing on ‘Runaway Souls’.
From ‘No Second Chances’ to ‘Start Of The End’
The record opens with the dark, layered ‘No Second Chances’ before moving into the sultry groove of ‘Empty’ and the harder, more urgent ‘Time Has No Mercy’.
‘Living On Repeat (Buried in the Background)’ pushes into fuzzier and more fragmented territory, while ‘Summer Haze’ brings brighter textures to a song about a relationship reduced to memory.
After ‘Runaway Souls’, the album drops into the restless early-hours mood of ‘Searching’, before ‘Nothing To You’ brings back a stronger rock groove.
Closing track ‘Start Of The End’ begins from a place of fracture and regret but gradually pushes towards renewal, giving the album a suitably uplifting final statement after much of its darker subject matter.
Ben Poole heads back on tour
Poole will take Post-Midnight Behaviour around the UK this autumn, beginning at The Green Hotel in Kinross on 31 October.
The tour continues through Glasgow, Newcastle, Oxford, Swansea, Brighton, London and several other cities before finishing at Temperance in Leamington Spa on 21 November.
UK tour dates
31 October – The Green Hotel, Kinross
1 November – Nice ’N’ Sleazys, Glasgow
2 November – The Cluny, Newcastle
3 November – The Tuesday Night Music Club, Coulsdon
4 November – The Bullingdon, Oxford
5 November – Tree House, Frome
6 November – Sin City, Swansea
7 November – The Railway Inn, Winchester
8 November – Komedia, Brighton
11 November – The Forum, Tunbridge Wells
12 November – Half Moon Putney, London
13 November – Bear Club, Luton
15 November – Music and Arts Centre, Barnoldswick
17 November – The International, Leicester
18 November – Login Lounge, Camberley
19 November – The Live Rooms, Chester
20 November – Lamp Tavern Live, Dudley
21 November – Temperance, Leamington Spa
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