Benefits – Dan Le Sac – Coventry – Live Review

Sink Or Swim Promotions Presents – Benefits – Dan Le Sac – Just Dropped In Records – Coventry – 13th November 2025 – Live Review

Benefits were here earlier this year launching their, ahem, critically acclaimed, second album Constant Noise. It was an excellent night and we wrote it up as such. This time it’s a full on Benefits performance, whatever that means, and we are here again. Read what we wrote and look at the pictures we took below.

Kingsley, the Benefits vocalist is behind the merch table and both me and the photographer buy ‘Lefty Woke Shite’ shirts. A good start.

The stage is full of electronics, there’s a bank of what look like aircraft landing lights at the back and Dan Le Sac is creating wibbly drum and bass beats and sounds. He asks what that was, a track or a song? And then plays some more beats and synths, he talks as he swaps stuff about and it’s a bit less funny than it’s supposed to be I think. The beats are pretty similar for a while and then it switches to a more tuneful earworm of synth over the beats. It’s repetitive and then goes into funky wonky synths. He moves around and engages the audience and the sound goes from a pretty hard groove to heavy techno and then a slow dubby drum and bass vibe.

He talks about touring being irritating and then goes into something nice and squelchy, the crowd are dancing in bits and pieces and it’s pretty interesting. Well, the photographer isn’t convinced. Dan says he’s enjoying this, stops, says it’s a mistake and carries on with more of the same, says this is the last song and after an initial stuttering groove we get stupidly fast and hard beats.

We stand by Benefits as they write out setlists and then they are up fiddling with the electronics, the singer says Good Evening Coventry, and goes on to say what a special place the record shop is, and how it’s going to be pretty overwhelming tonight so if it gets too much you can leave without them feeling bad. He stops and ‘I’m looking up in awe at a mountain of shit’ A slow strobe and low synths wash in. It’s immediately angry, deeply political and you really have to care to feel like this. The synths rise into a solid wall of sound, smashing in waves across the room, static rises and stones quickening to make the whole thing disorientating and harsh, he’s shouting now, Reject Hate! We Care! It’s a massive noise. Tinny beats, shouting and despair he is holding a drumstick to gesture and accentuate his words as the other guy stands solidly behind the band of electronics creating a noise like a broken aeroplane engine, it slows and crackles, guitar sound whines in and feedback squeals as low synths start to move to the front again. Spoken word and the anger is rising as he explains that we are not all the same, Hail to the Thief! And there are synths, beats, noise and full on strobe madness, it’s an all out assault. A fast rudimental beat and ‘stop telling me to tighten my belt’ It’s pure anger, squealing synths and broken drumming, livid. THIS IS WAR! Stop telling us what to do, we are not in it together and never have been.

They turn to pure hardcore punk. Shouting, thundering thrash beats and noise, utterly brilliant. It slows to beats and angular noise, the strobes are still attempting to confuse me and it feels dangerous. ‘What would you do? What would you do? What Did You Do? Free Palestine.

Weird electronica leads into a sound that Merzbow would be proud of. Overwhelming, suffocating and all enveloping, it drops back to techno and an angry chant. A skipping beat stuttering along and more anger, you can see him feeling and meaning every word. Then ear shredding feedback, more noise and bloody hell this is good.

A ballad is announced as the noise master disappears out for a vape. It turns slow, with low synths and a hi hat marking time. He sings in a croon, it sounds lost and desperate and is incredibly moving. Alone on stage he sings take me home.

Then Flags, fast spoken word poetry without a mic, stunning, Wave Your Flag! It’s never been more relevant than right now. The hip hop beat rises as he shouts Fly Your Fucking Flag and the static fills the room again. Everything is rising again, harder and harder, he’s moving like a man possessed as the sound reflects the emotion. ‘There’s a new found spring in the goosestep’. We get the future we deserve. A slow industrial grind starts up, there’s a huge bass hum behind it. The vocal is fragile and nervous, despairing again.

The last song, after talking about anxiety shared, communities and how important places like this are. Then telling himself off for talking too much because he gets nervous..

Hi hat sounds, synth waves and singing, the sample is from a huge hit, someone will tell me what it was.. He sings with a deep rich voice, and then finishes it off with angry shouting, desperate and lost into a maelstrom of noise which dies down to a feedback whine and a simple ‘Thanks’.

What a gig. Totally different from the album launch and utterly riveting. Catch them, buy something, just make sure they keep going. We need noise like this.

–

Benefits