~|Get distracted by my music
Think of nothing else but art
I'll write my loneliness in poems
If I can just think how to start|~

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Okay, first off let me begin by saying I'm sorry for vanishing from steemit so suddenly! I got stuck with a huge work period,

slaving away for the machine; and just didn't have the energy to provide quality content! With that being said, I am now back with new thoughts and ideas for the future, and I've tried to update my format a little bit on this series, I hope you like the changes(to make up for lost time we've got some bonus clips today!). Now then let's begin with todays artist, Keaton Henson.

This is a remarkable singer/songwriter solo artist, and his music has this unique ability to bring forth a wave of emotion over you; almost to the point that it makes you feel guilty for the apparent trauma he has gone through. His musical style started out with pretty much just him, a guitar and some light percussive elements playing some folk/rock. This has evolved to working with a symphony orchestra and even introducing some more electronic elements.

MEMBERS

Keaton Henson(vocals/guitar)

Since 2010 Keaton has released 5 albums and several EPs, all with the same gentle melancholy that feels like it could disintegrate at any moment. For our first record today we'll check out his debut record, "Dear..."

Dear...

Tracklist

1. Prologue
2. You Don't Know How Lucky You Are
3. Charon
4. Oliver Dalston Browning
5. Sarah Minor
6. Small Hands
7. Flesh And Bone
8. Nests
9. Not That You'd Even Notice
10. Party Song
    Released in 2010

The opening track on this album feels like a mixture between an orchestra tuning up, and the sinking feeling that appears inside your guts when you make a disturbing discovery. The second track finally introduces us to the familiar sound of a gently driven electric guitar, twinking away at a melody is almost like the alarm waking us up from the previous fever dream. However once the vocals enter you understand that this is a morning just as bleak as any other.

All of the lyrics on this album feel deeply personal and meaningful, giving it a feeling of honesty that sucks the listener in, wanting to find out more of his story. Tracks like "Charon", feel very much like that never ending spiral feeling you can experience during spells of depression and existential crisis.

This record holds a very special place to me, and I love coming back to it despite how it makes me feel. It's like Bob Ross says "It's like in life, you gotta have a little sadness once in a while, so you know when the good times come"

For our first track in forever and todays first treat, we're gonna listen to a track that really shows off the breaking point and how close can be. This is "Small Hands".

Small Hands

Bonus Live Version!

Birthdays

Tracklist

1. Teach Me
2. 10am Gare Du Nord
3. You
4. Lying To You
5. The Best Today
6. Don't Swim
7. Kronos
8. Beekeeper
9. Sweetheart, What Have You Done To Us
10. In The Morning
    Released in 2013

Following the descent into depression that is the previous record, this one reveals a growth in the music, introducing more instrumentation and even a drum beat at one point. Still, it the feeling of impending disintegration looms over the scenery.

The opening track "Teach Me" slowly moves along an empty path, followed only by a ghostly choir and a solemn six string. The soundscape invokes a feeling of anxiety, and a feeling of hopelessness to changing your ways. Once again this theme of lost love permeates this record. Just like on "Dear..." we dive deep into a spiral of despair focused around the loss of something precious, and a cynical distrust in anything that seems good.

For this record I chose a track that I feel encompasses the core of Keaton Henson's sound, it has a opening movement that invokes a feeling of hope in the middle of all this dread. However in unison with the lyrics the chords move to a darker place, unraveling the hope into that familiar void. This is "Lying To You".

Lying To You

Bonus Music Video!

Kindly Now

Tracklist

1. March
2. Alright
3. The Pugilist
4. NW Overture
5. No Witnesses
6. Good Lust
7. Comfortable Love
8. Old Lovers In Dressing Rooms
9. Polyhymnia
10. Gabe
11. Holy Lover
12. How Could I Have Known
    Released 2016

Between "Birthdays" and this record, Keaton recorded a record that was more focused on classical music in collaboration with Ren Ford. However I prefer this record, as it is more similar to his earlier works. If you're interested in it the classical album is called "Romantic Works", and I still like it even if it didn't make the cut!

Opening up with "March", we get an intro that is very different from what we'd expect. Keaton has has different parts of what sounds like his tracks chopped up, making up a different beat that becomes an overture for the record.

We are finally back in familiar terrain with the next track "Alright". This song seems almost like a letter to someone who will never read it, almost like it was mostly written to soothe his own insecure neuroses. This track and others on this album further reveals the truth that most of his followers know, that his lyrics actually are based on real life relations with a singer that left him.

With that it's time for todays last song. We'll end it today by checking out "Alright". And remember that if this music left you feeling a bit down, take some time to embrace it. We need to go down to get back up again!

Alright

Bonus Live Version!

And with that we're done for now! I hope you enjoyed this edition of Alphabetical Order, a music review blog where I review different artists I like, in no particular order other than the english alphabet! Until next time, keep on swimming steemians!

You can get more info or support the artist by checking out these links:

https://www.discogs.com/artist/2234062-Keaton-Henson
https://keatonhenson.bandcamp.com
http://keatonhenson.com