{"id":1499,"date":"2023-05-30T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/?post_type=music-news&p=1499"},"modified":"2023-05-16T23:36:22","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T23:36:22","slug":"is-it-it-is-get-to-know-ben-howard-with-these-5-tracks","status":"publish","type":"music-features","link":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/music-features\/is-it-it-is-get-to-know-ben-howard-with-these-5-tracks\/","title":{"rendered":"Is It? It is. Get to know Ben Howard with these 5 tracks"},"author":10,"template":"","tags":[],"category_post":[],"acf":{"intro_copy":"It\u2019s that wonderful time of year again. ","smudge":false,"section_news":[{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image_full":{"ID":1500,"id":1500,"title":"Ben-Howard@2000x1270","filename":"Ben-Howard@2000x1270.jpg","filesize":"246823","url":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270.jpg","link":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/music-features\/is-it-it-is-get-to-know-ben-howard-with-these-5-tracks\/ben-howard2000x1270\/","alt":"","author":"10","description":"","caption":"","name":"ben-howard2000x1270","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1499,"date":"2023-05-16 20:07:10","modified":"2023-05-16 20:07:10","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2000,"height":1270,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-300x191.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":191,"medium_large":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-768x488.jpg","medium_large-width":525,"medium_large-height":334,"large":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-1024x650.jpg","large-width":525,"large-height":333,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-1536x975.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":975,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270.jpg","2048x2048-width":2000,"2048x2048-height":1270,"twentyseventeen-featured-image":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-2000x1200.jpg","twentyseventeen-featured-image-width":2000,"twentyseventeen-featured-image-height":1200,"twentyseventeen-thumbnail-avatar":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-100x100.jpg","twentyseventeen-thumbnail-avatar-width":100,"twentyseventeen-thumbnail-avatar-height":100}},"caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy","copy":"

The days are getting longer, people are smiling again. Flowers are in bloom and everywhere, the sound of plans being made is noticeably audible.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is to say that, summer is here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And today we\u2019re talking about an artist that could well soundtrack your summer.\u00a0 It is, of course, British musician Ben Howard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Howard is known for his heartfelt folk and indie rock sound, the perfect company for a sunny afternoon. His fifth studio album <\/span>Is It? <\/span><\/i>Is set for release on June 16th, and given that the material he\u2019s already previewed from it is among his very best – we wanted to take a look into his discography.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, without further ado, let\u2019s get to know Ben Howard through 5 of his very best songs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"video","video_platform":"youtube","video":"UjYvS26-xe0","facebook_video":"","video_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy","copy":"

1. \u2018Couldn\u2019t Make It Up\u2019.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no finer place to begin to get acquainted with Howard\u2019s discography than with his most recent single \u2018Couldn\u2019t Make It Up\u2019. An utterly infectious, deep-lying groove-filled tune. All re-pitched guitars and lush synth basses, it has all the hallmarks of an artist at the peak of their powers.\u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The track, and the album it heralds, was written in France over a 10-day period and detail the songwriter’s experience of having two mini-strokes (TIAs).<\/span> Howard is quoted in NME as saying<\/span><\/a> \u201cI found it impossible not to dwell on the absurdity of it, that with one tiny clot, one can lose all faculties. It really ate into the writing of the record\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"video","video_platform":"youtube","video":"OWlKZ6C7cDY","facebook_video":"","video_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy","copy":"

2. \u2018Only Love\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even those totally unfamiliar with Howard\u2019s oeuvre will recognize \u2018Only Love\u2019 by broad strokes. Released a shocking 11 years ago, talk about feeling old, as part of his massively breakthrough first album <\/span>Every Kingdom, <\/span><\/i>\u00a0the track is one of the most beloved indie-folk tunes of the decade past. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u2018Only Love\u2019 spent a total of <\/span>37 weeks on the UK singles chart<\/span><\/a> and helped earn the musician a diehard fanbase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"video","video_platform":"youtube","video":"NzcV8HXE_EI","facebook_video":"","video_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy","copy":"

3. \u2018Nica Libres At Dusk\u2019\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong>Never short in terms of depth of artistic expression, \u2018Nica Libres At Dusk\u2019 is the opening track from Howard\u2019s third LP <\/span>Noonday Dream. <\/span><\/i>The track offers something totally different sonically, a more somber, introspective feeling piece than the previous two entries on our list. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The track was a critical smash, so much so that it won the British artist a prestigious <\/span>Ivor Novello award<\/span><\/a> for Best Song Musically and Lyrically back in 2019<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"video","video_platform":"youtube","video":"TpeK3zvmx2c","facebook_video":"","video_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy","copy":"

4. \u2018I Forgot Where We Were\u2019
\n<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/a>Following up a commercial smash like <\/span>Every Kingdom <\/span><\/i>is no small task. Yet, in 2014 Howard set out to do just that with \u2018I Forgot Where We Were\u2019, the title track from his second full-length album.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Indeed, these worries wore heavy on Howard\u2019s mind during the recording of his second album. Speaking to <\/span>Hunger Magazine in 2014<\/span><\/a> he said \u201cSo there\u2019s that whole weight that goes on to making a second record and it took a bit of time out to get rid of that, to get rid of those feelings that I owed anyone anything or that I had to please a certain demographic of people that would have liked the old record but perhaps might not like the new one. \u201c<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>And while the single did not reach the auspicious heights of commercial acclaim \u2018Only Love\u2019 did, <\/span>I Forgot Where We Were <\/span><\/i>debuted at number 1 on the UK album charts<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"video","video_platform":"youtube","video":"Wu2_12GGHKY","facebook_video":"","video_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"copy","copy":"

5. \u2018What A Day\u2019
\n<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/a>\u2018What A Day\u2019 is the lead single from Howard\u2019s fourth, and most recent, album <\/span>Collections From The Whiteout.<\/span><\/i><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Released during the throws of the pandemic in 2021, the album rings in a marked sonic shift from Howard. Gone are the larger-than-life indie folk swells of yesteryear. Streamlined, purposeful arrangements are very much the order of the day here.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The album is perhaps Howards\u2019 best (with all eyes excitedly fixed on this coming June), and <\/span>was co-produced by The National\u2019s Aaron Dressner<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/i>It Is? is out on June 16th.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n"}],"block_type":"image-content","thumbnail_size":"height-1","image_thumbnail":{"ID":1500,"id":1500,"title":"Ben-Howard@2000x1270","filename":"Ben-Howard@2000x1270.jpg","filesize":"246823","url":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270.jpg","link":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/music-features\/is-it-it-is-get-to-know-ben-howard-with-these-5-tracks\/ben-howard2000x1270\/","alt":"","author":"10","description":"","caption":"","name":"ben-howard2000x1270","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1499,"date":"2023-05-16 20:07:10","modified":"2023-05-16 20:07:10","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":2000,"height":1270,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-300x191.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":191,"medium_large":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-768x488.jpg","medium_large-width":525,"medium_large-height":334,"large":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-1024x650.jpg","large-width":525,"large-height":333,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-1536x975.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":975,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270.jpg","2048x2048-width":2000,"2048x2048-height":1270,"twentyseventeen-featured-image":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-2000x1200.jpg","twentyseventeen-featured-image-width":2000,"twentyseventeen-featured-image-height":1200,"twentyseventeen-thumbnail-avatar":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ben-Howard@2000x1270-100x100.jpg","twentyseventeen-thumbnail-avatar-width":100,"twentyseventeen-thumbnail-avatar-height":100}},"display_tag":false,"related":false,"tag_color":"","meta_description":"","social_share_image":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/music-features\/1499"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/music-features"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/music-features"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1499"},{"taxonomy":"category_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/umusic.ie\/backend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_post?post=1499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}