Keaton Henson is known for being a ‘quiet boy’ introvert but his new single is grungy, loud and unflinchingly honest. What gives? Let’s explore his new lo-fi, garage rock album together.
Keaton Henson’s new single, Operator
Keaton Henson’s single is one of the loudest tracks on his new album Parader, infused with thick distortion and a rhythmic chorus of “I don’t wanna make do/I don’t wanna hate you/but I do.” Here, Henson is grappling with deep, dark questions.
“It is a song about the id and self-loathing. It is an apology letter to me for how much I hate myself sometimes. The “operator” can be tied to the “parader” of the album title, a part of yourself outside of your control; either the part you wish you could conquer and change, or just a version of yourself that is perceived by others. I wish I wasn’t always this guy, basically, but I’m apologising to him for feeling that way.
I wrote it with some of my heavier youthful influences in mind, so reaching out to Alex Farrar felt like an obvious step in realising that sound. I think as a song it has its poorly printed zine rolled up firmly in its worn and be-badged jacket pocket.”– Keaton Henson
Keaton Henson’s background
Those familiar with Henson’s recent musical output might be surprised at the grungy loudness because he’s gained a reputation as a softly spoken ‘quiet boy.’ He’s often compared to Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley.
However, his polymath output – including composing for film and theatre, an electronic side project, classical offerings, and illustration and writing work – always held clues.
He was first noticed in London as a visual artist for heavy acts like Enter Shikari, Dananananaykroyd, and Oli Sykes’ Drop Dead.
More directly, in the musical space, the background was obvious: “Prior to being a mostly quiet musician, I played in hardcore and emo bands,” Henson explains.
The introvert reputation is not unwarranted, however; he’s performed live less than 40 times in 15 years. His fans understand his self-imposed distance, and why. “Sadness, I suppose, is a feeling of which I have an excess of,” he confirms.
It’s not surprising he feels more comfortable living a quiet life chopping wood in the country than in busy cities like London or L.A.
Keaton Henson’s new album, Parader
Henson’s varied experiences, skills and emotions have coalesced on his new record, Parader.
“It’s definitely pulling from the things I listened to when I was a young, but they’re being spat out through the lens of me and my career now. The album is like a weird ‘me’ version of that stuff musically.”
– Keaton Henson
He sees aspects of self-observation and defiance – which he terms “musical snark” – unifed by an overall sense of aching exasperation.
“There’s a lot of frustration in the record at not having conquered life or my often mutinous brain.”
– Keaton Henson
This has resulted in the lo-fi single Past It, the garage rock sound of Loose Ends, and the grudging realisation that “I am the parader. The person who parades around showing their wounds for a living.”
“There are these disjointed snapshots, memories across time popping up amongst this collection of thoughts about what it feels like to be this age and a musician.”
– Keaton Henson
Production duties were shared by Luke Sital-Singh (who “grew up in a similar area at a similar time, so our reference points were the same”) and Alex Farrar (Wednesday/Snail Mail) who Henson describes as “the king of that loud, snarky American DIY sound.”
Other collaborators include Henson’s wife, artist and musician Danielle Fricke for a first-time co-write on the song Furl, and Julia Steiner (Ratboys) on the downtrodden daydream duet Lazy Magician.
“Julia’s voice is so evocative of that sound to me, it reminds me of when I first heard Rilo Kiley. She has a lot of the suburban magic-realism of the American bands I loved back then.”
– Keaton Henson
Parader by Keaton Henson is out now on Play It Again Sam.
Parader tracklist
- Don’t I Just
- Insomnia
- Lazy Magician (ft. Julia Steiner)
- Past It
- Conversation Coach
- Furl (ft. Danielle Fricke)
- Loose Ends
- Operator
- Tell Me So
- Tourniquet
- Day In New York
- Performer
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