Ben Howard review, Hammersmith Apollo, London: New album Noonday Dream is brought to life

Singer-songwriter sticks resolutely to material from his best album to date

(Getty)

★★★★☆

Ben Howard has put something of a small orchestra together, with a band made up of nine musicians (him included) for his first of two sold-out shows at Hammersmith Apollo in London.

It's surely the most ambitious set he's performed in a career spanning 10 years (so far), with a stunning backdrop using white squares of material where Howard's longtime collaborator Mickey Smith's cinematography (performing tonight on keys and guitar) is projected; arranged in a way recall a painting by Rothko, upon which a projector casts flickers of lightning; a murder of crows; dark clouds and shadowy figures wandering across a sparse stretch of land.

Taking a seat with his guitar, Howard opens with two of the strongest tracks off his new album Noonday Dream. On "Boat To An Island On The Wall" the audience is able to witness how the band build those intense layers of sound to create a thrilling tension, always maintaining that back-and-forth rhythm that evokes the rocking of the boat against the waves. There's a moment of exquisite calm as the cellist holds a note and Howard's vocals suddenly become more distinct, before the synth comes in and the instrumentation builds back up in one crashing wave.

"Towing The Line", by comparison, is quiet, warm and intimate, with Howard using voice distortion for a slightly haunting effect on the poignant: "Down here I'll crow for you, you'll crow for me."

Throughout the set he sticks resolutely to songs from his breathtaking third album Noonday Dream - his best to date - only conceding to play "I Forget Where We Were" - the title track from his second album - then "Small Things" and "End of the Affair" from the same record, and "Promise": the closing song from his debut Every Kingdom. And even while those are some of the best picks from his previous two albums, it only makes the quality of this new material ever clearer - only suffering when the mixing muddles some of the sound on "Someone In The Doorway" and "What The Moon Does".

There's no complaint from the audience at the lack of early favourites "Old Pine" or "Keep Your Head Up": on the new album Howard takes another step away from the sound of Every Kingdom to explore a vast, beautiful landscape that stretches beyond his home in the southwest of England - it's hypnotic to watch the songs come to life on stage, and - in a rare or near-extinct occurrence at a gig - barely anyone has their phone. Asides from a softly-delivered comment about not realising until the day what it means to play a venue like the Apollo, Howard remains engrossed in the music too.

(PA (PA)

It's almost disappointing when the band return for an encore after "Murmurations" - it's such a perfect closer with the way his voice drifts away on the line: "I could see for miles, miles..." but "Promise" still ends the night on a high point as a deeply emotional rendition: there are tears in the eyes of several audience members as he sings: "Who am I, darling to you?/Who am I?/Going to be a burden/Who am I, darling to you? Who am I?". As the final few notes of the song play out Howard stands again and takes a bow, gesturing to his band as a way of urging fans to applaud them too - and exits with a final wave and a shy smile.