Following the release of his debut album Dear in early 2012 Keaton Henson made a name for himself for his heart wrenching lyrics, smouldering vulnerability and fragility accompanied by the raw production of the album. This man clearly has felt a lot of pain and this translates beautifully throughout the whole album.
As a little taster of what’s to come in his much anticipated new album Birthdays, due to be released in February 2013, Keaton Henson has released his EP Sweetheart, What Have You Done To Us?. The lead track of the same name maintains the same heart felt lyrics sprinkled with the slightest hint of bitterness. He has developed his sound to achieve a much richer production that builds subtly throughout the track. This never retracts from the fragility of his signature combination of vulnerable vocals and beautiful guitar melodies. The climax of the song feels like one huge swell of emotion as he cries ‘God you were the one who told me not to be so English’.
The other two tracks show a different side to Keaton that gives us a taste of what we can expect from the new album. ‘Kronos’ shows a darker side, exuding sheer anger that harks back to the likes of Nirvana. It is the perfect antithesis to ‘Sweetheart, What Have You Done To Us?’. The exploration of such dark lyrics like ‘are you gonna let me take your soul? My god you really are I’m gonna eat you whole’ are truly chilling.
The last track ‘Corpse Road’ brings us back to classic soul searching Keaton. He laments about ‘fixing to die’ with vocals on the verge of breaking. If this EP release is anything to go by I await the new album Birthdays with baited breath.
7/10
