★★★★★
Ben Howard's follow up to his successful debut album Every Kingdom is this lush and spookily wondrous little EP Burgh Island. And, despite the brevity, it is a little gem. By putting the acoustic guitar aside and going electric, Howard's new songs have a mysterious quality to them; things are familiar yet somehow different. It's unsettling, yet exciting and exhilarating at the same time...
- music.thedigitalfix.com
2012-12-07
★★★★★
Goto commentsLeave a commentShare The Next Big Thing? Communion has an ear for talent. The London label, co-founded by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons, has a knack for spotting rising stars - Ben Howard being no exception. The English singer-songwriter has made waves on both sides of the pond with Every Kingdom, which arrived in the US just this past week. As illustrated by his packed SXSW gigs and numerous sold-out shows, though, Howard fever has been growing for quite some time...
- www.mxdwn.com
2012-04-09
★★★★★
Many of us have likely had some iteration of the following conversation, usually at a trendy, Starbucks-loathing, independent coffee joint: Person A: Have you heard that new songwriter? Person B: Which one are you talking about? Person A: You know, the one from England. He's got this indie, folky, Elliot Smith-esque vibe. He's huge in England, but not many people know him in the States. Person B: Well, you know what this means, don't you? Person A: Record store run...
- www.popmatters.com
2012-04-05
★★★★★
Being on the same label as Anglo folk-rock greats Nick Drake and John Martyn has raised expectations around young English songsmith Ben Howard, an artist clearly influenced by those two legends. The label has even given this debut disc the three-CD/DVD bonus edition treatment, clearly hoping for the kind of breakthrough the overrated Mumford and Sons scored on this side of the Atlantic...
- exclaim.ca
2012-04-02
★★★★★
"Hot sand on toes, cold sand in sleeping bags/I've come to know that memories were the best things you ever had," opens Ben Howard on his debut LP, which receives stateside release next month. The rousing acoustic clip that breaks upon the revelation of "Old Pine" sets the tension between nostalgia and progression, and after earning accolades for the LP last year, the UK singer-songwriter finds himself in a similar position...
- www.austinchronicle.com
2012-03-15
★★★★★
Buy it from Buy the CDBen HowardEvery Kingdom (Digipack)Island2011 The success of Jack Johnson and (non-surfing but Cornwall-affiliated) Newton Faulkner has created an inviting niche for beach-bum strummers. Ben Howard, 24, is more earnest and a touch artier than most. His acoustic style recalls Faulkner but his preoccupations are anxiety and faltering relationships, and his wistful croon is closer to Devendra Banhart and Ray LaMontagne...
- www.guardian.co.uk
2011-10-03
★★★★★
He describes himself as a "keen surfer", and recently gave a series of beachside gigs in aid of keeping Britain's shores "barefoot-friendly", but if you're about to parkour your way to any conclusions, don't. most certainly isn't the "UK's answer to ". What he is, on the evidence of this impressive debut album, is a gifted and immediately involving singer-songwriter...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2013-04-23
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