ALBUM REVIEW: Ben Howard – Is It?

For fans of indie folk, Ben Howard needs no introduction. In his 15-year career, he’s released four successful studio albums and a handful of EPs, with The Burgh Island EP massively helping his upward trajectory to world-class status on the indie stage. Howard gained deserved attention not only for his ability to write and craft simply beautiful songs but also for his unique guitar skills—his ‘pick and go’ technique being one such example, becoming an inspiration for numerous YouTube how-tos.

Howard’s last album, Collections from the Whiteout, saw him shift lanes stylistically, placing more emphasis on electronic elements. Howard is certainly not averse to switching up styles. Indeed, The Burgh Island EP carried a much heavier quality than the critically acclaimed Every Kingdom album that came before it. So, with that said, what should listeners expect from Howard’s latest album.

Those aware of Ben Howard’s personal life will immediately understand the album’s theme based on its opening track and debut single, ‘Couldn’t Make It Up’. In March of last year, Howard was sitting in his garden when he suddenly suffered a TIA (mini-stroke). Then a month later, he experienced a second attack. The lyrics on ‘Couldn’t Make It Up’ talk very plainly, but very intimately, about Howard’s frightening experience and coming to terms with what was happening to him physically and by way of this, mentally too. The song has a catchy melody and certainly stands out when forming an initial impression of the album. It’s light and breezy, contrasting against the rather morbid lyrical theme. It also clarifies that Howard has elected to build on the electronic sound that appeared on Collections from the Whiteout. ‘Couldn’t Make It Up’ would be a memorable opener for any record of this genre.

The record’s next track, ‘Walking Backwards,’ sees Howard make even more use of electronic components. So much so that instrumentally, the song is virtually all electronic. There are a lot of dreamy pop elements present, too. There’s even a very pop-styled reverb employed for Howard’s vocals, which adds to the reflective mood of the track. ‘Days of Lantana’ brings back Howard’s characteristic vocal style, layers acoustic sounds over electronic drums and a backdrop of various subtle effects. While Is It? is an extremely personal album in its entirety, ‘Days Of Lantana’ is one of its most deeply profound songs. On it, Howard talks about getting the most out of life, especially with his partner Agatha, when confronted with the idea of death or serious illness. It’s deep in that sense, yet its bright sound also means it projects a lot of positive energy.

‘Life In The Time’ has been released as another single from the album, and it’s almost a very good song. Almost. It would likely feel like a more complete song if it were stripped back to its bare essence and composed as a piece with traditional instruments. However, with a heavy electronic focus on Is It?, ‘Life In The Time’ understandably had to receive the same treatment. The result is that it feels overburdened with effects that, once noticed, sound unpleasantly jarring, not all that dissimilar to nails on a chalkboard. They get in the way of Howard’s beautiful voice, too. It’s a shame because ‘Life In The Time’ has the potential to be an absolutely gorgeous song.

Following this is ‘Moonraker’, which works much better. It’s a song about how we can do seemingly meaningless and unproductive things, yet if they help our emotional well-being, they can be of more value than people realise. According to Howard, the name ‘moonraker’ comes from an 18^th-century Wiltshire folk tale about rake-wielding smugglers trying to retrieve barrels of rum they’d hidden in a pond. A customs officer noticed their unusual behaviour, but when he questioned them, they told him they were collecting cheese from the moon’s reflection in the water. Howard liked the story’s message that there can be a method to your madness, so they developed it into this nicely motivational song.

Most of the tracks on Is It? are slow and reflective in nature. ‘Richmond Avenue’ takes this approach to another level, with a slow-tempo first three-and-a-half minutes. The pace picks up after this point as the song introduces a solid beat and ghostly vocals. It’s a beautifully luscious track that sums up the album well. ‘Interim Of Sense’ sees a change of direction, with an irregular beat and whacky effects. The catchy chorus is a contrast to this, but it’s a contrast that works nicely, never sounding out of place. The next track, ‘Total Eclipse’, is an interlude. It features repetitive layering and vocal snippets likely arranged to give a hefty impression of Howard’s confusion and loss of his faculties triggered by his TIAs. Its inclusion is perhaps a little unnecessary, given that the album’s subject is a strong one, yet it’s still powerful enough to add something.

Is It? begins its conclusion with ‘Spirit’, another dreamy, ethereal song that very much follows the album’s theme. It’s another well-crafted song but perhaps doesn’t offer much to distinguish it from several of the record’s other tracks.

Just as Is It? opens strongly with ‘Couldn’t Make It Up’, it closes equally solidly with ‘Little Plant’—a song reminiscent of the earlier ‘Richmond Avenue’ in that it consists of two distinctive parts. The slower, majestic first half evolves wonderfully into a rhythmically rich second. There’s much more acoustic guitar on ‘Little Plant’, and beautiful guitar work gives it a classic Ben Howard touch.

While musically, Is It? isn’t entirely a new era for Ben Howard (Collections from the Whiteout laid the electronic-focused foundations that Is It? builds on), it shows the singer-songwriter in a more playful light than on his last couple of releases. The events that led to the record’s theme may have been far from desirable, but they seem to have lifted a weight from Howard, allowing him to be more artistically free. The emotionally deep yet melodically lively Is It? gives a genuine sense that Howard has found renewed joy in his work, making it a refreshing listen.