One Album You Should Listen to This Week: Ben Howard

Finally, after three years of abstaining from album releases, our baby has returned. And although it may judder my heart to the point of palpitation, I Forget Where We Were is an absolute masterpiece. Ben Howard seems to have retreated from the optimistic acoustic of his debut album, and has plunged into a dark and quietly haunting world of bitterness and cynicism. Released on the 20^th October, this is not what any of us were expecting from Howard: each song is brutally tormenting, but the album as a whole is reminiscent of an underground electronic music scene. Although a familiar folky twang flickers in the likes of ‘She Treats Me Well’, the influences of Every Kingdom seem extremely distant.

After seeing him perform live last summer, I was left feeling totally elated by the likes of ‘The Fear’ and ‘Keep Your Head Up’, but something tells me that Howard’s next UK tour will leave a very different taste in the mouths of his audience. It is entirely uncluttered and sombre, that ghostly voice lingering after every evocative word that is poured out. ‘In Dreams’ leaves a feeling of complete futility with the lyrics: all is a riddle in the world she says, all is a riddle inside my head. Ouch. The title track and second single ‘I Forget Where We Were’ is equally tantalising, but seems to nostalgically draw out all the painful memories of any heartbreak anyone has ever been through:

Hello love, for you I have so many words / But I, I forget where we were.

But don’t worry, the cathartic experience of listening to the album in full is totally worth it. The music is completely mesmerising, and will hold your attention from the opening track ‘Small Things’. My stints in the library this week have actually been slightly more bearable with that voice whispering down my headphones, as Ben Howard manages to sooth and heal in ways that other artists cannot. He is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful and innovative storytellers of our time; rather than sighing away in the corner of the silent section, just crawl into bed with a huge bar of Galaxy and sob your heart out to this absolute gem of an album.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons