Listening to this new EP 1 on an extremely moody, beautiful and drenched in colour day in May really made me forget my immediate surroundings and how ordinary and uneventful the day at work has been.
It all started with that “Carousel” tune I heard on Radio 1 the other day. I caught the words “Ben Howard” somewhere in between and wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Was it Ben Howard? Was it not? What is “A Blaze of Feather”?
To be clear, EP 1 is not a Ben Howard EP. It is A Blaze of Feather EP. If you google it, A Blaze of Feather turns out to be an intriguing mystery, an enigma if you like. Then, if you keep digging, however, the pieces start coming together. It’s a new band comprised of Ben himself, Mickey Smith, India Bourne, Nat Wason, Rich Thomas and Kyle Keegan. In other words, it might not be all that new. We have the usual suspects you’ve seen out and about touring with Ben for quite some time now, working their magic once again.
The EP itself sounds like something you’ve heard before. The reference with Ben is unavoidable. It fits like your favourite sweater right from the first listen. It’s warm, peaceful and reminds you of home; of a vast grey and green coastline and home - where it was all recorded, as I came to know later.
But then, it is a different thing. You don’t have the Bond brothers. It’s centred more around Mickey than around Ben and you can tell not only by the lyrics but by the emotion you get. It’s like looking at a painting from another angle and twisting and turning that same creative energy into something fresh and new. It’s a bit darker than the stuff we know from this collective so far, in both lyrical themes and musically. EP 1 sounds like an enchanting underwater ocean symphony. It’s been kept simple and quiet in terms of production and melody. A Blaze of Feather has basically no media presence. The social media posts and the few interviews are so concise and obscure, they can’t shed any more light on the project or distract you from the music. Even the title of the EP itself tells you nothing specific. You have to hear it because it is all about the music. And family.
Still, can we have the tour dates at least, please?
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