Skip to main content

Ben Howard: The Burgh Island EP

Ben Howard, a 25-yeard old West London native has been writing music since he was a child. And while he has been repeatedly compared to Mumford & Sons, he also resonates with Bob Dylan and Ray LaMontagne, gaining him a rapid rise in popularity in today’s music scene.

Ben leaped onto the music scene in 2010 with hits like The Pines and Only Love, and has just released his second collection, The Burgh Island EP. The new album doesn’t disappoint, taking listeners through darker turns than his first 2011 album, Every Kingdom.

Recommended Videos

Howard has been praised for sounding even better in concert than in recordings, often performing with only his guitar and a soft spotlight. But his soulful voice connects powerfully with the violins and percussion that join him in the studio. His videos are similarly crisp, often shot outdoors in golden-hued fields and beaches.

The lyrics and videos from the first album’s tracks like Old Pines and Keep Your Head Up take on playful, exuberant tones: He and his friends cliff-hop on black rocks beside the ocean and jump through waves. In another, they cruise down a giant water slide in the middle of a forest.  They slide past a field full of grazing cows. Even the cows look happy. Nature is as beautiful and friendly as Howard’s notes.

But the songs on his new album are stark, even mournful. In Esmerelda, Howard sings low and heavy, “Oh, poor me, she fell beneath the wheels to help me out. Black sea, the monster killed the melody you love.” The black-and-white video features Howard on the shores of an angry, howling sea, without friends and definitely without a giant waterslide.

This time around, we hear more electronics, straying from the predominantly acoustic melodies of his past. One thing is for sure when it comes to The Burgh Island EP: with or without wires, Howard is as electrifying as ever.

Lindsay McCormack
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Lindsay McCormack is a contributing writer to TheManual.com. Previously, Lindsay studied book and magazine publishing at the…
10 cigar myths the internet won’t let die
The cigar 'facts' shared in every lounge that are actually complete BS
two men enjoying cigars

The internet has been such an asset to the cigar world. It allows us to look up obscure brands, communicate with fellow fans across the globe, and access a greater amount of information than ever before. There's a downside, though: rumors catch on like wildfire, and once they're out there, they're nearly impossible to get rid of.Visit any cigar lounge or read online forums, and you'll find the same tired myths that have been making the rounds for decades. While a few are harmless pieces of folklore, others are robbing you of your hard-earned cash, ruining your smoking experience, or just flat-out lying to you about health hazards.Let's burn down those stubborn misconceptions once and for all.

Myth #1: Darker (Maduro) cigars are always more powerful

Read more
Cigar etiquette 101: Dos, don’ts, and modern manners
Please don't be that guy. Here are the cigar etiquette mistakes that scream 'amateur'
well-dressed guy smoking on a couch in the dark

Walking into a cigar lounge for the first time feels like crashing somebody's secret club. They've got this unspoken language, weird rituals, and enough unwritten rules to make your head spin! But here’s the thing—cigar etiquette is not some gatekeeping nonsense to try to make you look dumb. It's about respecting the process, the experience, and not being the person who ruins everyone else's vibe.Whether you're new to this or have been faking for years, this guide will sort you out because there's nothing more likely to ruin a good smoke than someone who clearly has no idea what they're doing.

The basics: Respecting the ritual

Read more
The first movie from Materialists director Celine Song just found a new streaming home
The movie is a brilliant look at the roads not taken.
The cast of Past Lives

Few directors have a debut feature that's as splashy as Celine Song's. The director, who now has Materialists in theaters, had a breakout hit at Sundance called Past Lives that took her all the way to the Oscars. Now that Materialists is in theaters and doing quite well, you might want to catch up with Past Lives, which was one of the best movies of 2023.

The film stars Greta Lee and is told in episodes that span more than 20 years. It starts in South Korea, and follows two Korean children who are clearly close friends and may even have a romantic spark as one of them prepares to move to Canada. Then, we follow their story over decades as they come into and out of each other's lives until they're both in their mid-30s and they reunite for a day in New York City.

Read more