Sometimes the songs we love can make us feel excited when we hear them coming up in a playlist or when we’re out and about doing our thing. ‘The Fear’ by Ben Howard, from 2011’s album Every Kingdom is such a song for me. During its 4 minutes and 20 seconds, it dynamically builds with such beautiful intensity that you can’t help but feel uplifted.
We begin with what sounds like some low level guitar drone and what I suspect is another electric guitar layer, which crescendos to sits under a slightly frenetic acoustic guitar playing the verse riff. Ben starts singing, he voice has a slightly husky quality. The first verse has some lovely imagery:
My, my cold hearted child
Tell me how you feel
Just a blade in the grass
A spoke unto the wheelMy, my cold hearted child
Tell me where it’s all gone
Oh the lustre of your bones
Those arms that held you strong
The verses that follow keep to the same pattern with the first two lines of each repeating. I like this technique as it makes everything feel cohesive. During the verse, the drums are used just as incidental fills, which gives your ear a little refresher, but hints as to what’s coming in the chorus. For me, this song illustrates what it is to hold something back and not feel like every space must be filled up with instruments.
This subject matter is interesting to contemplate. I don’t think anyone really likes acknowledging that they are afraid of things. We think that once we grow up and stare down our childish fears that we will be unaffected by such things. But it is natural to fear things like the unknown, as it may be the very instinct that preserves us. However, as some who has struggle to free myself from my mental fear prison, I hate the idea of letting fear stop me. I value freedom to choose and do what I want and fear is a definite buzzkill if you let it set the agenda.
The chorus hits with another drum fill, adding some more guitar (gorgeous!) and strings. The end of the chorus drops back slightly to the single guitar and drums under the line ‘That we all live our lives in the confines of fear’. This leads into a short instrumental with some atmospheric guitar and another drum fill, then we’re back in the verse riff with a bit of piano making an appearance.
The strings are back again along with some backing vocals on the line “Tell me where it all falls”. You can hear the intensity building, even though its subtle, it’s clear when we hit the chorus again. I am having trouble isolating what is so good about the drums in this song, the reverb or bass has been tweaked to give it this woody sound. In some places I think the kick drum has been put in the back and treated to some distortion or effects. The drums are quick and kind of sparse to me, but they cut through the mix and do the right amount of work to keep the song going.
The chorus brings in a tambourine which is the perfect addition, the chorus drops back again at the end and we’re in the bridge. After a few bars, the lyric “I’ll become what I deserve” repeats, with backing vocals adding more and more layers as the strings and the drums become even more intense. All of sudden, the music stops and the chorus starts again – the first lines solo before the most perfectly placed, perfectly sounding drum hit that I love so, so much brings the band back in. Before recording my album, I had a limited appreciation for what a good drum sound can do for a song. Now I can see examples of it everywhere.
The song winds down shortly after the last vocal line, the vocal melody slightly different with the return of the atmospheric sounds of the intro. If you’ve not heard this song, give it a listen, I hope it brings as much excitement to your ears as it does to mine.