Album Review: Keaton Henson, Parader

It is always a reward stepping into Keaton Henson’s world and letting him get under your skin. The English singer-songwriter – who with Parader is now onto his ninth album – has been keeping the introspective folk-acoustic flame alive, when it seems to have all but faded elsewhere.

On Parader, he reminds you how consistently strong he is at what he does; each song brings you in so close that you sink into his music.

The sound is bigger than many previous Henson albums; several songs have full band accompaniment, and on the likes of ‘Loose Ends’, he introduces distortion and reverb. All of it is relatively understated and ultimately works very well - even with everything else going on, your ear also bends to hear his yearning voice and quietly powerful lyrics.

The album has many excellent songs, but perhaps the most memorable is ‘Conversation Coach’, a playful, self-reflective number about how Henson struggles during social situations. Also superb are the anthemic ‘Insomnia’ and the requiem-style closer ‘Performer’ – rounding out a thoroughly satisfying listen.

8/10