Like a lot of people, Ben Harris found his voice during the pandemic — quite literally, in his case. A longtime bassist in a sideman role, Harris was never much for songwriting until, at age 44, he “had my heart broken like it had never been before.” With a surplus of free time when the world shut down, the Northampton musician channeled the pain into writing songs that he intended to sing himself. A lot of songs: Harris just released his second solo album in two years. His latest, This Fire, is a soulful grown-up pop record that follows close behind his 2021 release, Dust. (Harris performs an album-release show Thursday, Dec. 8, at the Parlor Room in Northampton.)
Though This Fire is an album rooted in heartache, Harris doesn’t wallow in his grief, or throw around recriminations. Rather, he’s taking stock on these 12 songs as he seeks understanding, of his circumstances and also of himself. Whether he’s found it he doesn’t say, but the journey is the point more than the destination, and Harris makes the ride worthwhile.
It’s a ride through an autumnal landscape: many of the songs on This Fire bridge the divide between messy endings and promising new starts, and Harris is standing somewhere in the middle. “Someday this all will be over / I’ll wake and find the weight has been released,” he sings at the end of “At Least for Today,” a song with a heavy, effects-treated beat and dense keyboards. Harris plays guitar and keys, and sings in a resonant baritone, folding his voice into tasteful musical arrangements fleshed out by Anand Nayak on guitar and keyboards (he also produces), J.J. O’Connell on drums and Paul Kochanski on bass.
Together, they create a sound on the title track that’s taut and airy on the verses, and lush on the soaring chorus. Later, on “Ready for My Love,” an aching piano part frames Harris’ voice as he sings vivid lyrics that describe a sort of emotional armistice: “I will meet you at your border / With my pistol and my dove / On the day your heart is ready for my love.” It’s one of several songs employing the imagery of conflict: there’s a rain of bombs on “Brought It All to You,” a war destined to end on “At Least for Today” and “a soldier drafted to a never-ending war” on “This Fire.”
Yet for all the talk of battle, Harris is clearly a reluctant warrior. Through his lyrics and the sound of his music, he gives the impression that he was drawn into a conflict that he never sought, and Harris sometimes sings with the weariness of one longing for peace after too long in the trenches. This Fire feels like a big step toward finding it.