During the summer of 2013, it seemed that every time one turned on TV festival coverage, there was Ben Howard. “Only love! Only love!” he’d be crooning to a sea of mellow, Boden-clad revellers, seemingly the very model of the Waitrose indie-folk-songwriter. So his second album comes as a surprise: darker in hue, with hints of experimentation and songs that stretch beyond radio-friendly length – End of the Affair runs to nearly eight minutes, though perhaps not all of them are needed. Still, his ear for a melody hasn’t deserted him, and he won’t be scaring off fans of his debut. He’s still not much of a lyricist, preferring non-specific faux profundity – “Clearly calm I’m keeping terrorised/ The ageless thaw of winter/ Alone but by your side” – to clarity. But taken as a mood piece, I Forget Where We Are is actually rather lovely.
