By Zhanet Stamatova
Ben Howard’s long awaited second studio album is now out, bearing the title I Forget Where We Were. The English indie-folk singer has been enjoying success and recognition since the release of his debut album Every Kingdom back in 2011. In 2013 he won two BRIT awards (British Breakthrough Act and Solo Male artist), and has played at various music festivals, including Glastonbury, where he performed on the famous main stage.
Title track: I Forget Where We Were and End of the Affair were the first songs to be released from the album, and were played for the first time on the radio back in August. In September Ben Howard appeared on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge as part of Even More Music Month, performing the title track from his new album and a cover of Kiesza’s “Hideaway”. The same day he also made a special appearance at the Maida Vale studios session with Zane Lowe, performing all ten of the songs from his upcoming album live on BBC Radio 1.
“I Forget Where We Were” was produced by Ben Howard and drummer Chris Bond. It possesses a complex, mysterious and melancholic sound, which is achieved mainly through the usage of guitar and percussions, making the album easy to listen to as the music flows smoothly from one song to the next.
Ben Howard shared an insight into the new album during an interview recently; “It’s about an overall confusion … I think this record was about seeing how widescreen we could go. Definitely “grand” is a word I’d use, I think the interesting thing is that there’s not a whole lot of instrumentation, mostly a guitar record really, experimenting with tones.”
The lyrics on each song are profound and most of the tracks are above the 5-minute mark. The album begins with the song “Small Things”, which sounds like a prelude to the rest of the album. The percussions in the album are used to give additional structure to the songs and further emphasize the guitar sound. Some of the most prominent songs on the record are the opening and the title tracks, as well as End of the Affair, which is also the longest and in my opinion, most complex, track on the album.
I Forget Where We Were brings in new sounds, showcasing Ben Howards’ talent and his desire to experiment with sound, in order to differentiate himself from similar artists. The album does not disappoint and is definitely worth the listen, and another listen, and one more.
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