Ben Howard - I Forget Where We Were (Album Review)
Tuesday, 21 October 2014
Written by Huw Baines
In general terms, to describe an album as ideal background music is a grievous insult, just a step removed from dismissing it altogether. ‘I Forget Where We Were’, the second full-length by Ben Howard, puts a new spin on the phrase, though, so content is it to exist in the shadows, playing with shifts in tone and melody rather than laying itself bare.
Given the proliferation of lighter-waving nonsense currently besmirching the good name of singer-songwriters its drawn out approach is a welcome one, even if it does test the patience at times. Only one song - the quite lovely In Dreams - clocks in at single length, with End Of The Affair pushing eight minutes.
That, it must be said, is a little bit of a rock and a hard place complaint. The meandering nature of many songs on ‘I Forget Where We Were’ add to its atmospheric power, with Howard’s hooks cropping up after assorted diversions. And, particularly with the title track, some of those melodies are pretty special.
Small Things, the opener, sets the scene immediately, wandering from its arresting opening vocal line into a subdued bridge before diving into Howard’s percussive guitar playing at its denouement.
Like much of the record, the production favours echoes and gives space for the song to unfold, a device that that creates a peculiar drive; a sense that as the album progresses we’re stepping further from the track.
Howard takes us to some dark, anxiety-riddled places, his metaphor-driven lyrics revealing pieces from the intervening years between this record and ‘Every Kingdom’ blowing up. It’s not an album to cut you to the core with its words, rather one that hangs them from musical movements in hope that they burrow beneath the skin.
‘I Forget Where We Were’ shows Howard’s desire to progress with each release. It’s a determined, often excellent record that’s lacking the occasional spark. Still, we have a songwriter on our hands who can pair mainstream acceptance with a desire to challenge the norm.
Ben Howard Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Wed December 03 2014 - MANCHESTER O2 Apollo
Thu December 04 2014 - WOLVERHAMPTON Civic Hall
Sat December 06 2014 - EDINBURGH Usher Hall
Sun December 07 2014 - DUBLIN Olympia Theatre
Mon December 08 2014 - DUBLIN Olympia
Wed December 10 2014 - LONDON O2 Academy Brixton
Thu December 11 2014 - LONDON O2 Academy Brixton
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