Ben Howard, Hackney Empire, gig review: An arresting performance

Howard tries hard to shake off teenage rapture over his debut album

Ben Howard gives an arresting performance at Hackney Empire (Getty Images)

Often dismissed or sneered at for his open dislike for celebrity and spotlight, Ben Howard has gone to lengths to shake off the teenage rapture over his debut, Every Kingdom.

For the first half of the performance he spends most of the time hunched over his guitar, at times literally turning his back on the audience.

During lengthy renditions of "Small Things" and "Evergreen", Howard can appear a tad self-indulgent when he dwells for too long over a particular hook. For others ("Conrad", "I Forget Where We Were", and "All is Harmed") the live vocal performance works in the same way as one by Bon Iver or John Martyn: quietly reflective, with the addition of stark drum beats and lonely guitar notes that linger for seconds at a time.

It's almost disappointing when Howard bends to the will of his audience and performs three songs from Every Kingdom for an encore, but perhaps this is deliberate: the new LP will certainly be less appealing to the mainstream folk-pop crowd.

"End of the Affair" is beautifully performed - the first half is pure yearning in the simple lyrics - an increase of pace in the second half and his pained cries of "this is it" and "what the hell" sends shivers through the audience.

It's an arresting performance from a musician who, at times, is capable of being quite exceptional.