Keaton Henson has shared two new singles from his highly anticipated new album Parader – the achingly beautiful, open-hearted, meta-track, ‘Past It’ and the incisive garage rock earworm ‘Loose Ends.’ The tracks will be the last to come ahead of the albums release on 21st Nov via Play It Again Sam.
Parader marks the enigmatic polymath’s ninth solo album; his first since 2024’s Somnambulant Cycles. It also follows his recent return single ‘Lazy Magician’ (co-written by Ratboys’ Julia Steiner), which was released in July, earning universal support from the press heralding a new chapter in his musical path beginning to shed the ‘quiet boy‘ persona that has defined much of his career.
Henson has composed for film and theatre, had an electronic side project, classical offerings, illustration and writing work. The new album sees him fully embracing the grunge-infused sounds of his youth. This was expanded upon with his last single ‘Insomnia,’ which was announced alongside the new album and saw Henson entwining aching self-observation with a defiance he terms as “musical snark”.
Today’s new songs ‘Past It’ and ‘Loose Ends’ capture the two ends of Henson’s journey both personally and musically across the forthcoming record. The first, a nostalgia-soaked evaluation of his career as a musician, is delivered through a crackling, lo-fi hum reminiscent of Christian Lee Hutson or Phoebe Bridgers. While awash with self-doubt, the self-reflective daydream is permeated by an understanding of his own needs. “This one’s a bit meta,” says Henson. “It’s me looking at ageing and growing older as a musician. But also reflecting on the whole idea of a 37-year-old man singing the kinds of songs I sing, especially the way I am on this album. Sometimes you can catch your reflection while writing songs and I have these thoughts, usually ending with wondering if anyone will even hear it.”
The latter of the two tracks ‘Loose Ends’ , sees him once again revisiting that musical snark from the last single, carrying a American garage-rock undercurrent in the lurking distortion and its combative rhythm, the taunting cry of “Oh me, oh my” bears an argumentative edge in its sardonic dark tone. “It’s referential of music from my youth,” continues Henson. “The kind of early 2000s rock bands from America. It’s pretty sarcastic. It’s about feeling like you’re guilting someone into staying with you. It’s pretty snarky, self-loathing and dark, maybe contrasting the fun of the music”.
Those acquainted with Henson’s work will surely be familiar with his well-worn reputation as a softly spoken, introverted figure who rarely performs live. In a 15-year career he’s performed less than 40 times. Since emerging with his debut record Dear… in 2010, Henson has garnered critical acclaim for his mastery at weaving heart-on-sleeve vulnerability into emotionally poignant, folk-tinged outpourings. No stranger to anxiety’s heavy weight, he’s earned a devoted fan base from a self-imposed distance – shying from the spotlight to offer up the finite part of himself he’s willing to give away. “Sadness I suppose” he once confessed, “is a feeling of which I have an excess of.”
What unravels across Parader’s 12 tracks is an introspective autopsy of time as it distorts and folds to alter and inhabit the songwriter’s present. “There are these disjointed snapshots,” he explains, “memories across time popping up amongst this collection of thoughts about what it feels like to be this age and a musician.”
These glimpses of Henson’s past, whether channelled in his lyrics or musically exposed in sneering riffs, might start to defy preconceptions of our reclusive balladeer. In a nod to his tender tone, Henson’s oft-met comparison to Elliott Smith, while The Independent once dubbed him the “British Jeff Buckley”, but, like the aforementioned pair, his early beginnings also took root in far heavier sounds. “Prior to being a mostly quiet musician I played in hardcore and emo bands,” he shares. It’s these snapshots of time that run amok on Parader, nostalgic distortions splintering the timeline’s once-linear path.
Parader is out on 21st November via Play it Agian Sam- Pre-order: HERE
Credit: Danielle Fricke
HEAR/SHARE “PAST IT” AND “LOOSE ENDS” HERE
WATCH/SHARE THE LYRIC VIDEO FOR “PAST IT” HERE
