Rock/Review Ben Reel - Bring It Back to Life

Ben Reel began his music career in 1989 at the age of 17 with his first band, Promised Land, later renamed Trim the Velvet. Formed at Crossmaglen High School during the Troubles, music became an escape from an abnormal reality. The band gained a reputation as a powerful live act across Ireland before disbanding in 1997.

With “Bring It Back to Life,” Ben Reel reaffirms his place as one of contemporary folk-rock’s most sincere and steady voices. As the second single from his forthcoming album “Spirit’s Not Broken,” the track extends a hand to a world still reeling from uncertainty, offering reassurance without sentimentality and hope without illusion.

Written in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the song captures a collective emotional landscape many are still navigating — exhaustion, disillusionment, and the fragile desire to begin again. Reel has always had a gift for grounding big ideas in everyday truth, and here he channels that gift into a message that feels both intimate and universal. His lyrics encourage perseverance not through grandiosity, but through quiet resolve: believe in your own strength, honor your convictions, and keep stepping forward even when the ground seems to shift beneath you.

Musically, “Bring It Back to Life” carries the warmth and grit that define Reel’s catalog. Acoustic textures, steady percussion, and subtly uplifting melodic lines build a foundation that mirrors the song’s emotional arc — starting from reflection, rising toward renewal. His vocal delivery is earnest and unvarnished, the kind that feels like a conversation rather than a performance, which deepens the impact of the song’s message.

As a preview of “Spirit’s Not Broken,” the track suggests an album centered on healing and human resilience. More than a single, “Bring It Back to Life” is a reaffirmation of spirit — a reminder that even in fractured times, recovery begins with one spark of belief.