Long overdue for a Payweek Pick, so here it is without further ado… Ben Howard – Every Kingdom (Deluxe Edition is a bit hard to track down now).

Ben Howard is a young English folk singer-songwriter, surfer, and seemingly all-around cool dude with tons of talent. His music reminds me a bit of Jack Johnson and Damien Rice mashed together with a hint of Iron and Wine, John Mayer and other pop-folk/blues influences. Though he’s had several earlier self-releases dating back to 2008, Every Kingdom is his first full-length studio album (recorded in 2011).

This album shines. He has a unique tempo and voice and pairing those with his acoustic guitar mastery and an array of other interesting instruments, the vibes produced are catchy and addicting and it’s lyrically engaging. This has certainly become one of my favorite albums for the listening room as of late.

Howard worked alongside India Bourne playing cello, keyboards, ukulele, bass and contributing vocals and percussion and Chris Bond playing guitars, bass, double bass, drums, percussion, keyboards, accordion, contributing to vocals, and also producing the record. This Deluxe Edition includes two CDs and a DVD. Disc One is Every Kingdom, Disc Two features 5 bonus tracks (3 live), and the DVD contains an assortment of official music videos, a live jam session and behind-the-scenes footage of the making of Every Kingdom. I really enjoyed the behind-the-scenes footage because you get a glimpse into the time and emotion that goes into creating this music along with a peek at the lives and livelihoods of Howard, Bourne and Bond.

This is an album you must buy. Or, at least check out his website and sample some of it for yourself: http://www.benhowardmusic.co.uk/

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