Travel Tunes: Ben Howard - Evergreen
Happy Saturday!
Here on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, it's pretty overcast and rainy. It's for this reason that I thought of the perfect song to listen to on relaxed days like this.
Today's song is by my all-time favorite artist Ben Howard, and it's titled Evergreen. It can be hard to explain what I feel whenever I listen to any of his music, but it's especially hard with this song in particular.
I discovered Ben Howard on a camping trip I went on with some friends quite a few years ago. My friend Kyle brought a speaker, put on some Ben, and my life was forever changed. That may seem a little extreme, but it totally fits in with the extreme emotion all of his music elicits from me.
Back in 2014, a few friends and I went to see Ben Howard in concert at a venue in downtown Austin. I found myself completely overwhelmed by feelings of bliss as I stood front row, gazing at the unparalleled performance I was witnessing. That experience forever cemented his place as number one in my ranking of musical geniuses.
Ben Howard's music can vaguely be described as folk-inspired alternative soft rock. That's quite a title, but his music is simply too unique to be labeled by traditional means.
He grew up in South Devon, England, but eventually moved to Newquay, which is considered the "surfing capital of the U.K." It's very easy to realize that his music, with emphasis on his first album Every Kingdom, would be very popular with the England surfing community. Some people say that his sound is reminiscent of Jack Johnson, but I feel that each artist has a completely different sound to them that shouldn't necessarily be compared to each other.
Anyway, without further ado, here's the song for you to listen to.
There's been a few times that I have shared some of Ben's music with someone, and there first reaction being that it's "rather boring" and "kind of depressing". Well, I guess that is sort of the musical climate we're in today, where every song has to be upbeat and "pop-y" for anyone to actually enjoy it.
I know that I may sound like an old man that's defending his generations real music, and I try not to take it too far, but with my deep attachment to this artist it can be hard to set aside my personal beliefs and allow others to not give Ben a proper try. If someone doesn't like this type of music, that's okay! I completely understand that everyone has their own preferences when it comes to music.
Well, there's this week's Travel Tunes! I hope you gave the song a listen. If you did, make sure to let me know what you think of it down below, whether positive or negative. If you found this song as intoxicating as I do, make sure to give the rest of the album, I Forget Where We Were, a listen.
And if you have any suggestions for songs that I should give a listen, I would absolutely love to hear your taste in music, so let me know!
Peace :-)
I've had the same reaction when sharing Ben Howard's music with people; until you get them to see him live... i discovered Ben Howard @ an open mic in east Putney England while on vacation... before he got big, and he blew me away so much i followed his career ever since... the dude puts massive energy into his music, it can be boring at the first listen for some folk unless you really hear the depth behind it... if you really like his style of music i suggest listening to some of his older stuff..
like depth over distance
Cheers!
Thanks man! It’s good to know that there’s at least one person on Steemit with my same music taste haha. Whenever Ben puts out new music, I’m definitely buying tickets to his album tour. Nothing compares to experiencing the power of Howard live :-)
Nice post. I saw him live too, but I knew the power from his videos beforehand. He's got a new album out in a few days, and looks to be on form. Will post about it.
Rare authenticity these days.