The Mirror………… Gavin Martin review

Dennis Hopper Choppers - Chop (4/5)
If you want a bassist to make the ground shake and someone who is capable of playing folk, soul, country and rock ’n’ roll, big Ben Nicholls is your man. A veteran of Seth Lakeman’s group The Ralfe Band and several more outfits, Ben’s self-produced album grabs the spirit of Dick Dale, Link Wray and a whole bunch of rockabilly hepcats. The well-primed influences are filtered through Ben’s winning sensibilities while a blend of organ bass pedals, drums and guitar map out an action-packed road movie of the mind. Tasty!

The Sunday Times……………Mark Edwards review

As is the way these days, there is really only one Dennis Hopper Chopper – one-man band Ben Nicholls. Clearly a man who likes his popular-culture references, as well as naming his band after one of the coolest actors, and unarguably the coolest kids’ bike (well, that’s how I like to imagine it, anyway), Nicholls then holed up in the village where The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was shot to write the songs for his debut album, Chop. So, neither the eeriness nor the twanginess of this LP should come as any surprise. Nicholls cooks up a sound that suggests Dick Dale meeting Nick Cave and discussing some very disturbing things indeed. Nicholls is at his best when hurtling through the pneumatic rhythm of Little Johnny, but fans of the gothic will find plenty of other treats here.

DWink DWINK CD 001