Album Review: Ben Howard - ‘Is It?’
Setting idyllic landscapes of hikes through pine trees and cone littered forest paths through expressive and deeply narrative lyricism is what makes Ben Howard such a unique, and substantial artist. With an expansive foray of singles, EPs and albums already to his name (the most notable and influential being his debut record ‘Every Kingdom’ released over a decade ago), Howard has re-emerged with his latest full-length project ‘Is It?’. Sitting as a departure from the acoustic nature of his historical works, he teeters on almost Tame-Impala-territory with electro-infused soundscapes (‘Moonraker’).
The album acts as a reflection of the tumultuous time leading up to it being written – Howard having suffered from two out-of-the-blue ‘mini-strokes’ which was preceded by an episode of an inability to think clearly and form sentences whilst he was “sitting in the garden listening to the radio” (‘Couldn’t Make It Up’). In his words, this sparked inspiration for Howard and resulted in him feeling an urgency to release a new record as quickly as possible, the result being ‘Is It?’.
Heavy contemplations on modernity feature throughout, but despite the apparent bleakness of the themes (‘Life In The Time’), throughout the album are glowing pockets of overwhelming joy and playful experimentalism (‘Interim Of Sense’).
As precursors to the albums release, Howard put out the first two tracks, the introspective ‘Couldn’t Make It Up’, and the reassuring ‘Walking Backwards’. The latter of which Howard states as being ““A small, personal resistance to the growing pressure to conform. To let go of the constant expectation that we should be striving for more and ploughing forever forwards. You are doing great, keep up the good work.” The first two tracks perfectly set up the rest of the album, introducing the narratives of hope and reflection in times of overwhelming pressure and self-doubt. Full of experimentalism and optimistic beats despite its narrative ‘Couldn’t Make It Up’ reflects on the experience in his garden as he contemplates “If I give up, do I give up now?”.
‘Days Of Lantern’ opens with swirling vocals akin to Grimes records, before plunging into Howard’s all-too-well-known deep basslines and delicate lyricism. Plucked almost directly from ‘I Forget Where We Were’, the cut harks back to his musical roots - steeped in emotion and wholly idyllic.
‘Moonraker’ sees a distinct drop in octaves as Howard reflects on past experiences, crooning vocals to slow and steady percussive beats that aid in driving home the message of the cut - stopping to appreciate the view (“you should see the view up there”). Distorted vocals towards the back end of the track ring reminiscent of Bon Iver’s later works and perfectly transition into the electronic drones of the lush ‘Richmond Avenue’. Almost in the same vein, sitting as the most experimental song on the record, the funk-infused ‘Interim Of Sense’ is brimming with fast-paced backing instrumentation topped with Howard’s melodic-as-usual vocals.
The minute and a half interlude ‘Total Eclipse’ features spoken word intertwined with indecipherable mutterings that act as almost a speaking-out-loud reflective soundscape on Howard and the experience that led up to the creation of ‘Is It?’
The penultimate track ‘Spirit’ with almost 90’s-infused club notes that juxtaposes the present vocals, and lamentations of nature “purple flowers… you and me walking”. Rounding off the album with ‘Little Plant’, Howard bids farewell to this chapter, and takes a bow with one last exploratory cut. As with ‘Days Of Lantern’, the track almost nods at his previous work and pays homage to this departure in sound.
With ‘Is It?’ Ben Howard has surpassed expectations with his latest records, and has firmly demonstrated that sometimes, experimentation and writing purely for yourself, pays off.
‘Is It?’ is pensive without overt melancholy and gives a rarely seen peek into Howard’s personal life.
Words by Lana Williams
