I expected the album to be much stranger based on the cover to be honest, I mean it is strange, but only in bits and pieces

Album Rating: 4.0

Yeah this is a 4

Album Rating: 4.5

For the ‘whole feel’ this is a 4.5 for me



It’s unique

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

I like the back half way more



Closer is probably my fave song on here

Album Rating: 4.0

I'm all in on like 4 songs on this thing but couldn't crack the rest yet. Or the rest couldn't crack me hm

Album Rating: 4.5

The closer is out of this world for sure @ Pika. Definitely my favorite here, followed by Lantana, Richmond Ave, then Interim

Album Rating: 4.3

Little Plant is so cute but the second half is ridiculously better than the first

Album Rating: 4.0

I feel like the twitchiness and quirkiness of certain parts of songs such as Interim doesn't actually do a lot for the record. It's almost as if they exist to intentionally sabotage and hinder the beautiful movements from expanding across entire songs, which he's so obviously capable of.



That being said, I'm very glad to see Ben not remain stagnant in any one genre or style, instead giving us tidbits of his entire career along with a dash of something new here. It's a bit more of a mixed bag than I had first anticipated, will have to give it a bit more spins to see if I change my mind, but so far looks like a 3.5. Incredible highs, but some really forgettable shit too. It being short makes it very relistenable though, which is awesome cuz I fucking love this guy's music

Album Rating: 4.0

Can't get over how Days of Lantana is so beautiful

Album Rating: 4.3

Yes its ridic

Album Rating: 3.5

This has made me listen to IFWWW and ND again (I consider Every Kingdom just too "early Ben" and never bothered with Whiteout) and I think it's a notch below those two.

Album Rating: 4.0

This is still in rotation.

Really need to go back and check IFWWW…

Album Rating: 4.0

Musically IFWWW feels like it was 2 lifetimes ago compared to Ben's contemporary sound

I Fucks With Wonder Wall

Album Rating: 4.5

'Musically IFWWW feels like it was 2 lifetimes ago compared to Ben's contemporary sound'



Still can't reeeeaaaaaly get into his earlier style.



Someone said somewhere that early on he could have moved in a direction to end up a contemporary of Ed Sheeran and that scared me too.

Album Rating: 3.5

oh yeah, Every Kingdom isn't very far from your Sheerans, Tom Odells and James Bays



The dark turn is clearly taking place on the Burgh Island EP, then IFWWW is still primarily a guitar album, and from ND we've entered current era Ben

Album Rating: 4.0

Ummm haven't listened to Tom Odell or James Bay, but calling anything of Ben's Sheerany is a fucking disgrace and fallacy and I won't have it



The Burgh Island is probably my favorite of the early 3 records / eps, IFWWW is great still, but I'm glad he veered into something quite more diverse and expressive



To digress toward actually discussing this album, I've been thinking how Spirit can be considered is the "title track" and how he could've probably easily named this album Spirit and went with Is It? instead. If Ben thinks of songs as fleeting moments, gestures or something to that extent, then he mastered that notion on this album. I still can't get behind a lot of the songs on the album, but something keeps pulling me back in as I've been listening to this almost every day for a month now

Album Rating: 3.5

We need an entry in Sputnik for the Heave Ho single. Gorgeous track.

Album Rating: 4.0

Checking out Ben live tomorrow, assuming the trains don't completely implode

At the Alexandra Palace? Quality!