7/19/12 If You Like, Then You'd Like: Bon Iver and Ben Howard
A year or two ago Bon Iver was still the stuff of small clubs and All Songs Considered, skirting mainstream music and shunned by Billboard charts. But after two Grammys and months of buzz you now have no excuse to be ignorant of Justin Vernon’s singular crooning on Skinny Love (I mean, Pitchfork gave their self-titled second album the No. 1 spot on their Best of 2011 list. Come on! Not that it stopped the confused American masses). That’s why the indie folk outfit is the If in this resurrection of If You Like, Then You Like (as a bonus, my money’s on Ed Sheeran for a similar rise to stardom, just saying). The Then this time around is the much smaller and equally talented Ben Howard, English singer-songwriter who’s only just begun to sell out American rooms. His May show at the Bowery was incredible—don’t think twice the next time he’s in town. So there you have it: If you like Bon Iver, then you’d like Ben Howard.
Reducing Bon Iver to lonely woodsy piano isn’t fair. There’s more to the dude than the heartsick sighing that put some people off For Emma, Forever Ago. Lyrically and musically Justin Vernon knows what he’s doing, and has clearly begun to gain the recognition he deserves. Zoning out or falling asleep to Bon Iver has become daily ritual for thousands of listeners. But if sweet and slow doesn’t hold your interest, Ben Howard’s a brilliant next step. His voice is louder, his drums are unmissable, and his debut Every Kingdom is rich, original, and sincere. While Justin Vernon might mostly be confined to bedroom headphones, Ben Howard is perfect with the windows down and the volume turned up. Both are sparse, poetic, a bit strange, and well worth a listen.
Here’s the definitive evidence that this IFLTYL was made to happen: Bon Iver’s “The Wolves (Act I & II)”…
…and Ben Howard’s wildly infectious crowd-pleaser “The Wolves.”
And what I'm forced to admit is a more comparable quieter track, “Gracious” (live):
-
Posted under
Music
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments: