Keaton Henson – Parader

Folk | Alt Rock

71%

 

When I think of Keaton Henson my mind immediately conjures up an incredibly fragile and delicate folk number. A sparse yet expressive arrangement, vocals both hushed and strained, like a whispered truth so hard to speak aloud that it takes all your will to form even the faintest sound. The kind of song you feel compelled to hold your breath for, or else risk disturbing the moment. That’s the Keaton I’ve come to expect, and I think for that very reason some of the most striking and memorable moments from his career are those that do the unexpected. It’s like that old adage that tells you to fear the anger of a gentle man. The few moments when things get loud warrant sitting up and paying attention.

Moments like the finale of ‘Don’t Swim’ on Birthdays, when the quiet tenderness of the album so far is shattered by a squalling post rock eruption. Or the triumphant close of ‘While I Can’ from Monument – written from the perspective of Keaton’s late father, its uplifting brass representing his resolve to live his final days to the fullest. There’s a lot of power inherent in breaking away from the norm, which these tracks deftly wield to great effect. 

Parader feels like Keaton’s alt rock record. There’s nothing here especially heavy, no spikes in energy that will reach out and grab you, it’s more a case of his usual singer/songwriter fare having a tad more meat on its bones. An angsty bass line chugging away in the back, some fuzzy riff to accompany the chorus etc. Just small threads woven into the fabric of each track. There’s less disparity and contrast between moments of austere confessional folk and raw bursts of energy. Parader contents itself with finding a middle ground and ticking along at a steady pace. It ends up being probably his most accessible record, meaning you don’t need to mentally brace yourself to have your heart ripped out every time you press play, but it also results in the album struggling to manifest any truly arresting moments. 

That’s not to say this record doesn’t have its charms. ‘Insomnia’ brings a lot of Phoebe Bridgers vibes to the table, ‘Day in New York’ is home to some dreamy steel guitar that gives way to a more squalling reverb-heavy sound, while album highlight ‘Tourniquet’ has a light and jaunty romanticism to its arrangement that elevates its already deeply charming chorus (“I’d die to lay beside you, No one can wait like I do, I kinda hate my life, how about you?, I’ve kinda made it, now I found you“). As ever it’s the lyricism that proves to be the icing on the cake, with lines like “If you beat me, I will bleed out your name” on ‘Loose Ends’ and “I’m full of holes, So I fill them with hopes, That I might leave behind, Someone better than me” on ‘Performer’ tugging particularly hard at my heartstrings. 

Everything on Parader is done well, but almost all of it is done better elsewhere in his discography. There are plenty more haunting moments of fragile folk balladry, gutsier rockers than those found here, more tattoo-worthy lyrics, more emotion bubbling away beneath the surface. However, what this particular record does have to set it apart, are its two duets: ‘Lazy Magician’ and ‘Furl’. The slacker rock of the former finds Keaton trading verses with Julia Steiner of Ratboys, while the glitchy folk of the latter is home to some gorgeous harmonies with Danielle Fricke. Beyond reigniting my longing for a Keaton collab with Julien Baker, these tracks act as this album’s one big swing. For an artist so notably shy and secretive, with songs as intimate as diary pages, to invite other artists to share this space feels quite striking. Though I my mind may gravitate towards the stereotypical Keaton Henson sound, in truth he’s always been one to branch out and experiment. This is one case where I would have liked him to step a little further out of his comfort zone, as a full album of duets would have been a far bolder and more interesting record than the one we ended up with.