poppedmusic

I Forget Where We Were

Released 20th October 2014

Upon the first listening of I Forget Where We Were I felt that many of the things that first drew me to Ben Howard were lacking.  There is no denying that his music has progressed and matured but I fear those looking for some more Old Pine, The Wolves or Only Love  type tracks, with their passionate, upbeat and youthful abandon, might feel a little disappointed. The best thing to do is to try and wipe everything from your mind. Try and think of this as a new Ben Howard.

Rivers In Your Mouth is closest to bringing the up tempo sound that fans might be more used to. It feels so uplifting that I find myself coming back to it rather a lot. There is certainly still passion and life to be found on I Forget Where We Were.  The title track itself  is a prime example of this. It’s a very slow burner but you can feel that passion when he sings; really hear it and really connect with it.

The beauty of the guitar plucking in In Dreams is reminiscent of that in Diamonds. It’s quite something and gives a huge lift to the album’s sound. The added bowed strings provide a depth that gives real gravitas to the lyrics in this track. It might all feel very serious but it’s also seriously good. The musical pace is much quicker than the lyrical melody and driven ever forward by the guitar and percussion. All of that set against those long drawn out notes from the strings creates something with a real sense of majesty.

Ignoring the fact that I said to wipe everything clean, End Of The Affair is the Black Flies of I Forget Where We Were. It’s epic, intelligently phrased, both musically and lyrically, and moves in incredible and unexpected ways creating ever changing spaces in time with its sound. It’s the kind of track that makes me want to crawl inside the speakers; the close vocal, those husky tones and the simplicity followed by complexity in tone and pace, the darkness and light. The track takes such incredibly unexpected turns that I rejoice in the perfection of it all.

There are some down sides to this album for me. Quite frankly I find She Treats Me Right to be down right boring. It’s far too repetitive with a lyric that really irks; “I’ve got a woman at home, she treats me well”. To top it off it’s followed by Time Is Dancing. A track that, in my mind, could be so much more than it is. Where as before, the use of strings have played a part in creating magic, here they make this song feel worn and slow. With lyrics of “all fired up on you” and “let’s go dancing I do believe we’re only passing through” you’d expect a little more life and soul. This song, I’m sorry to report, does not much life breathe.

This is an album  that has been well thought out, not thrown together, not hurried and despite my distinct lack of enjoyment for some of the songs , as a whole this album has certainly grown on me. Overall it’s dark and murky, serious and controlled unlike the thrill of his debut. There is something to be said for an album that requires time and patience though. There’s also much to be said for an artist, for that is what Ben Howard is, to step away from the tried and tested and still bring a beautifully constructed collection to the floor. We have what has come before and now we have this.  We might have both forgotten where we were along the way but I think the question now is more… where to next?

 Listen to End Of The Affair here:

 Listen to I Forget Where We Were  (single) here: