Ben Poole: Post-Midnight Behaviour — The Full Review & Live Dates
Who is Ben Poole?
Ben Poole Post-Midnight Behaviour review : Ben Poole is an internationally acclaimed force in the modern blues-rock landscape, widely celebrated by publications like Guitar World, Total Guitar, and Music Radar as one of the world’s leading contemporary blues guitarists alongside heavyweights like Joe Bonamassa and John Mayer. With praise in his back pocket from guitar icons such as the late Jeff Beck and Gary Moore, Poole has built a stellar reputation through relentless touring—performing upwards of 150 shows a year across more than 20 countries—and cementing himself as an elite talent on the international circuit.
The New Album: Post-Midnight Behaviour
After an eight-year gap since his 2018 critically acclaimed studio release Anytime You Need Me (though kept busy with stellar live recordings in the interim), Ben Poole returns with Post-Midnight Behaviour. Released via Gypsy Soul Records on September 25, 2026, this new offering represents a deliberate and rewarding sonic evolution. Produced by Wayne Proctor, Oli Brown, and Ben Poole, and recorded across the House of Tone Mix Suite and Superfly Studios in Nottinghamshire, the album leans away from frantic shredding in favor of a more subdued, reflective, and atmospheric artistry. Blending blues, rock, soul, country, and alternative rock, it captures the quiet hours between midnight and dawn with smooth grooves, mature vocal delivery, and razor-sharp songwriting co-crafted alongside Oli Brown, Wayne Proctor, and Steve Amadeo.
Track Listing, Runtime, and Availability
Spanning 10 tracks and a total runtime of approximately 46 minutes, Post-Midnight Behaviour is tightly paced and structured for immersive listening.
- Formats: Available on physical CD, vinyl, and digital streaming platforms.
- Where to get it: Physical editions can be pre-ordered directly via Gypsy Soul Records and the official Ben Poole channels, with digital tracks available for pre-save and streaming.
Track Listing
- No Second Chances (5:42)
- Empty (5:57)
- Time Has No Mercy (3:36)
- Living On Repeat (Buried in the Background) (4:13)
- Summer Haze (4:40)
- Runaway Souls – featuring Elles Bailey (4:22)
- Searching (5:30)
- Nothing To You (3:50)
- Start Of The End (5:26)
- Runaway Souls – featuring Elles Bailey (Radio Version) (4:12)
Track-by-Track Deep Dive
1. No Second Chances
A dark, layered opener that sets the tone for the album. Driven by power chords and raw emotion, it follows a man walking away from a relationship that cannot be saved. It builds steadily to one of Ben’s signature guitar solos.
2. Empty
Subtle and sultry, this groove creates an evocative backdrop for a man confronting emptiness and fading memory. From that sense of helplessness comes a striking chorus that rises to another of Ben’s melodic, standout guitar solos.
3. Time Has No Mercy
Hard-edged and urgent, this track is about seizing the moment, believing in yourself, and proving your worth. It’s the kind of song made for long overnight drives on empty roads when you’re racing toward whatever waits ahead.
4. Living On Repeat (Buried in the Background)
It opens with dark, fuzzy bass and surges forward on jagged, heavy guitar riffs. Fragmented and unsettling, it rejects a conventional verse-chorus structure in favour of a single driving impulse: to escape, resist inertia, and survive.
5. Summer Haze
With shimmering pop textures and bright, glinting guitars, Summer Haze initially feels light and carefree. Beneath the surface, however, it tells a wistful story of fleeting love reduced to memory.
6. Runaway Souls (featuring Elles Bailey)
Elles Bailey delivers a guest vocal that is the very definition of rock and soul. Over a backdrop of driving guitars and thunderous drums, she matches Ben stride for stride in an uncompromising, powerhouse performance about leaving it all behind.
7. Searching
It’s 4 a.m. and sleep is a distant prospect in this melodic, languid, and beautifully understated piece of late-night reflection. Poignant and deeply affecting, it captures the existential pull of the past and the quiet courage needed to keep moving forward.
8. Nothing To You
An irresistible slab of groove-laden rock driven by a snaking guitar line and an infectious rhythm. Effortlessly cool and relentlessly catchy, it contrasts swaggering instrumentation with a frustrating tale of unrequited longing.
9. Start Of The End
A desperate cry from the point of no return that brilliantly transforms into a monumentally uplifting anthem. As soaring, life-affirming guitars take over, it captures the exact moment the first light breaks after a long night of the soul.
10. Runaway Souls – featuring Elles Bailey (Radio Version)
A streamlined, punchy radio edit of the collaborative powerhouse track, keeping all the grit and soul intact for a tighter broadcast runtime.
Ben Poole UK Tour 2026
Catch Ben Poole live on the road following the album’s release. Tickets are available at benpooleband.com/live
| Date | City / Town | Venue |
| Saturday, October 31 | Kinross | The Green Hotel |
| Sunday, November 1 | Glasgow | Nice ‘N’ Sleazys |
| Monday, November 2 | Newcastle | The Cluny |
| Tuesday, November 3 | Coulsdon | The Tuesday Night Music Club |
| Wednesday, November 4 | Oxford | The Bullingdon |
| Thursday, November 5 | Frome | Tree House |
| Friday, November 6 | Swansea | Sin City |
| Saturday, November 7 | Winchester | The Railway Inn |
| Sunday, November 8 | Brighton | Komedia |
| Wednesday, November 11 | Tunbridge Wells | The Forum |
| Thursday, November 12 | London | Half Moon Putney |
| Friday, November 13 | Luton | Bear Club |
| Sunday, November 15 | Barnoldswick | Music and Arts Centre |
| Tuesday, November 17 | Leicester | The International |
| Wednesday, November 18 | Camberley | Login Lounge |
| Thursday, November 19 | Chester | The Live Rooms |
| Friday, November 20 | Dudley | Lamp Tavern Live |
| Saturday, November 21 | Leamington Spa | Temperance |
Rock News Verdict
Post-Midnight Behaviour is a triumph of patience and artistic growth. By stepping back from relentless blues-rock pyrotechnics and leaning into atmospheric textures, mature lyricism, and deeply textured grooves, Ben Poole has crafted his most compelling studio statement to date. Coinciding directly with the album’s drop on September 25, 2026, the simultaneous release of the lead single and its official music video for “Runaway Souls”—featuring the powerhouse vocals of Elles Bailey—serves as a blistering focal point for the campaign. It is a rich, midnight-oil companion piece that proves true evolution comes not from playing louder, but from playing smarter. Essential listening for 2026.
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Ben Poole: Post-Midnight Behaviour — The Full Review & Live Dates@RockNews
