Risking arriving a little too late to the party, Devon-born 23-year-old
Ben Howard is yet another young troubadour whose sound appears indebted to the '70s pastoral folk of
John Martyn and
Nick Drake. His debut album,
Every Kingdom, therefore, has its work cut out for it from the offset if it's to make itself heard above similar recent efforts by the likes of
Marcus Foster and
Benjamin Francis Leftwich. But it's clear from the opening track, "Old Pine," a slow-burning epic that begins with some hushed choral harmonies before building into a strident slice of nu-folk, that this is a more intriguing affair. Indeed, considering that much of the album features nothing more than
Howard's intricate fingerpicking guitar skills with the occasional flourishes of cello and percussion, it's remarkable that it's only toward the closing minimal acoustic balladry of "Gracious" and "Promise" that the evocative autumnal vibes begin to lose their appeal. That's partly down to
Howard's versatile and intense vocals, which manage to capture the understatement of
Jose Gonzalez, the gruffness of
Ray LaMontagne, and the soulfulness of
James Morrison, without ever sounding like a tribute act, and partly down to the inventiveness displayed throughout its ten tracks, whether it's the military beats, sea shanty melodies, and howling wolf calls on "The Wolves," the burst of grandiose post-rock that interrupts the somber breakup song "Black Flies," or the buoyant campfire singalong of "The Fear." It's not clear whether
Howard's stripped-back approach will cross over to the mainstream, as other than "Keep Your Head Up," a slightly more energetic rebel-rousing slice of folk-pop that found its way onto the Radio 1 playlist, its charms are more slow-burning than immediate. But it's an impressively timeless debut that suggests
Howard should have no problem standing out from the overpopulated nu-folk crowd. ~ Jon O'Brien
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