Keaton Henson's 'Parader': too much of a dark thing?

Keaton Henson is a master of dark introspection and unashamed vulnerability, a 21^st century manifestation of what used to be called bed-sit blues. There isn’t a shred of extrovert joy in his latest album, where he explores, with forensic authenticity and a gift for poetic lyrics, a miasma of self-doubt, regret and resignation. “Don’t I just know how to fuck things up” he sings, almost mantra-like.  It’s very British, this gentle and almost whimsical self-deprecation, but unless you’re seeking a homeopathic remedy - in which like cures like– for you own despair, this might be an album to avoid.

This isn’t to say that Henson’s vibe is toxic in any way, for there are several gems here, in a collection of songs which take a new turn for this songwriter who has favoured delicate folky acoustic guitar textures that have well suited his wonderfully sensitive high tenor voice.  Although graced by characteristic acoustic guitar intros, most of the new songs are feature a gloriously murky guitar sound, which takes Henson into a realm at times reminiscent of Phoebe Bridgers or Bon Iver.

The production is mostly by fellow-indie Luke Sital-Singh, whose recently-released album Fools Spring (2025) displays a similar magic touch when it comes to blurring the edges of the electric guitar, exploring every shade of distortion in a way that delights the ear. “Past it” is a stand-out track, with great hooks and a beguiling bridge that lifts the song pleasingly from the generalised feeling of doom. Electric guitars were once used as macho accessories, phallic vehicles for macho posturing. None of that here, the seductive intricacy of soft-focus guitars has a magical feel and works perfectly in the context of songs that evoke a resigned acceptance of impotence and the disorientation of the 'new man'.

There are backing vocals from Henson’s wife Danielle Fricke and a vocal from Julia Steiner, but this is very much a songwriter’s solo confession, as disarming as anything he’s ever done, though undermined by the almost narcissistic self-obsession The change of tone is welcome, there are moments of great beauty, as on the single “Insomnia” and the closing number “Performer” which brings mastery to Henson’s central concern, the need to “pretend”, as he sings, ”to be better than he is”.