Noonday Dream

by Ben Howard

Overview

Rolling in like fog on the Atlantic, the aptly named Noonday Dream is an inward-looking and unassuming batch of ambient folk songs that still manages to invoke huge vistas. The Brit Award-winning singer/songwriter's third full-length outing, and his first collection of new material since 2014, the ten-track set was recorded by Howard and frequent collaborator and bandmate Mickey Smith over a two-year span in South West France and South West England. The electronic flourishes that were introduced on I Forget Where We Were are pushed a bit more to the forefront, but Howard's laconic, deadpan delivery and elegant guitar work constitute Noonday Dream's foundation. This is widescreen bucolic pop that demands both patience and, if available, a quality set of headphones, as Howard and company have upped their cinematic game. Each song is permitted the legroom to grow organically, and with the exception of "All Down the Mines," which is billed as an interlude, they clock in at around five to seven minutes long, allowing plenty of time for the listener to succumb to the sonic anesthetic. Opener "Nica Libres at Dark" is the most instantly accessible of the bunch, employing a hypnotic yet engaging melody that suggests the Church by way of James Blake, with the breezy "There's Your Man" coming in a close second. Elsewhere, the over seven-minute "A Boat to an Island on the Wall," with its murmuring ambient noises and occasional bursts of background conversation, would almost give off a Final Cut-era Pink Floyd vibe if it weren't so subtle, and the heartfelt and hazy "Towing the Line" delivers one of Howard's most engaging melodies to date. Noonday Dream can feel ephemeral at times, but never is it unpleasant, even when it's fishing for emotional truth in unstable waters. Introspection rarely feels this inclusive. ~ James Christopher Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	06/01/2018
Label:	Republic
UPC:	0602567665427

Tracks

1. Nica Libres at Dusk
2. Towing the Line
3. A Boat to an Island on the Wall
4. What the Moon Does
5. Someone in the Doorway
6. All Down the Mines (Interlude)
7. The Defeat
8. A Boat to an Island, Pt. 2/Agatha¿¿¿s Song
9. There¿¿¿s Your Man
10. Murmurations

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ben Howard   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals,Vocoder,Drum Machine,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Guitar (Synthesizer),Guitar (12 String Acoustic)
Mickey Smith   Vocals,Harmonium,Synthesizer,Tin Whistle,Drum Machine,Guitar (Bass),Moog Synthesizer,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Baritone),Guitar (Electric)
Nat Wason   Guitar (Electric)
Richard Thomas   Piano,Synthesizer,Fender Rhodes,Guitar (Electric)
Gillian Maguire   Viola
Owain Davies   Vocals
India Bourne   Cello,Piano,Vocals
Kyle Keegan   Drums,Percussion
Agatha Lintott   Vocals

Technical Credits

Chris Elms   Mixing
Mickey Smith   Composer,Producer
Ben Howard   Composer,Producer,Field Recording
John Cornfield   Engineer
Huntley Miller   Mastering
Nat Wason   Composer
Richard Thomas   Composer
India Bourne   Composer
Roddy Bow   Artwork
Kyle Keegan   Composer
Danny Fox   Drawing
Steve Gray   Studio Technician
Guillhame Delor Aprile   Studio Technician
Thibault Laisney   Studio Technician