Ben Howard has always been an absolute legend in the folk sound. His arrangements, intertwined with his eloquent guitar playing and soulful singing, have always been a source of warmth in cold fields.

With his new single, What A Day, he seems to bring us the heat not just with his talent, but also with the theming and overall feel of the track. As it opens up, listeners who were all-too familiar with albums like 2011’s Every Kingdom might be surprised to be introduced by a sequenced electric drum beat. However, it only takes a few seconds for the familiar layers of guitars to show face, and immediately will bathe the listener in an odd summer vibe (despite being released in the middle of winter). Though taken aback, I was definitely pleased all throughout the track’s runtime.

What A Day has more electric elements, like the aforementioned drum machine as well as some low synths and electric guitars layered in effects taken straight out of The Division Bell by Pink Floyd. It strays a bit away from his usual sound, which is nothing but excellent. His vocals, barely touched by production gimmicks, sounds as good as ever for the British singer. His melodies traverse the backing track as effortlessly, yet as impressively, as you might expect from a Ben Howard song.

The song stretches at five minutes, which can be considered quite long for a song of its style, but it was very welcomed as the tune came to a close. Every part feels necessary, all important pieces of the machine that is What a Day. The track is also garnished with some light strings and various woodwind instruments slowly building up as the song reaches its climax, all the more giving it the epic feel a five-minute track would hold. Ben Howard was also very clearly inspired by old progressive and psychedelic rock songs of old, and he does a beautiful job giving them homage with the various instrumentation tricks and sound-scaping done throughout the track.

What A Day isn’t what I expected from a Ben Howard track, and I have been admittedly oblivious to his music past Every Kingdom, but this song did a wonderful job reminding me of my love for his craft, and I will absolutely be going back through the singles and albums I’ve missed over the years, and I truly hope this does the same to all who are discovering the artist through this song.

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.