Ben de la Cour

• Americana
• Singer/Songwriter

Ben de la Cour’s visceral songwriting weaves evocative stories of desperate characters with his signature “Americanoir” sound, shining an empathetic, raw, and at times bleak light on the human condition. Raised in Brooklyn, he lived in London, Cuba, and across the United States before settling in the American South over a decade and a half ago, drawing inspiration from writers and musicians alike—Townes Van Zandt, Jimi Hendrix, Nick Cave, Nina Simone, Leonard Cohen, James Baldwin, and Carson McCullers among them. His gothic folk songs create fully realized worlds populated by down-and-out characters trying to make it through.

New Roses is de la Cour’s sixth album, following his 2023 Grammy-shortlisted Sweet Anhedonia. It grew out of late-night writing and recording sessions at his home, where he experimented with layering synthesizers and looping sounds, electric guitar, and acoustic fingerpicking. De la Cour plays every instrument on the record except fiddle and trumpet, and the songs balance doom and optimism, seeking out kernels of hope in the darkness.