Hendra
For more than 30 years after his last solo album, Ben Watt kept busy with Everything but the Girl—the stylized duo he fronted with his wife, Tracey Thorn—and with writing books that further testified to his superior observation powers. As part of EBTG, he introduced the kind of atmospheric adult synth-folk-pop that’s being imitated more than ever in the \'10s by indie groups and well known acts such as The xx. For this 2014 solo album, Watt settles into a muted sound where the dance rhythms have been exiled and the electric pianos make their way onto a song called “Matthew Arnold’s Field,” which sounds much like the approach Duncan Sheik has used since turning away from mainstream pop-rock. Guests here are kept to a minimum, with producer Ewan Pearson and Suede guitarist Bernard Butler the common collaborators. David Gilmour makes a desirable but not Pink Floyd–like appearance on the atmospheric “The Levels.” For an uptick in tempo, “Young Man’s Game” offers a standard band arrangement with solid drums, organ, and electric guitar accompaniment on a tune that addresses how Watt isn\'t the cat he used to be.
On a beautiful, bittersweet solo LP, Watt embraces themes of disillusion and personal loss to echo a countrywide solemnity.
Calling Hendra Ben Watt's first solo album in 31 years is true but it's also misleading.
There's an affecting honesty to these unassuming songs about life, loss and the like, writes <strong>Molloy Woodcraft</strong>
Ben Watt's 'Hendra' sounds like an adult contemporary/folk crossover album that could have been released in 1976.
<p>Ben Watt follows up his debut solo album 31 years later, and it's a thoughtful, skilful set of English alt-folk with a strong sense of place, writes <strong>Jon Dennis</strong></p>
Perennial sideman Ben Watt moves into the spotlight with flowing melodies and woven instrumentation, says Neil McCormick