Keaton Henson - Kindly Now Album Review
From the shy boy in a bedroom Keaton Henson has always been a compelling artist. In the four years he's been making 'Kindly Now' he's changed an unprecedented amount, what remains is the often agonising emotion and frail humanity Henson endures for his work.
This album builds on various elements he's begun exploring in other parts of his career, it has much more electronic aspects ('March') and takes his classical elements to new lengths too ('The Pugilist'). He intertwines them with ease to accentuate his voice at just the right moment. For a record concerned somewhat with the artist and legacy "I'm so scared of death I try to leave parts of me here", it's a fine addition to an already sacrosanct body of work.
Henson is a private being, that we know. He rarely tours and when he does it's in small venues, museums and churches. 'Kindly Now' is then an open book into the most private recesses of his mind and it's this dissonance between the two that perturbs Henson endlessly. "I hear the crowds adore you so, but I'm still here I hope you know, don't talk to them about me" he sings on 'Alright' which acts as an open letter to himself. As Henson notes here everything has changed so quickly for him career wise, but his anxieties haven't changed much at all.
Continue reading: Keaton Henson - Kindly Now Album Review