Is It?


Is It? is the fifth studio album by the English singer-songwriter Ben Howard, released on 16 June 2023 via Island Records.

Background and recording

The album was created before and after Howard suffered two transient ischaemic attacks in 2022. The strokes, which affected his memory and speech, influenced Howard's songwriting on the album. Created with DJ-producer Nathan Jenkins, the album features a distinctly electronic leaning. Glitches and loops populate the mix alongside "radiant" guitar ripples. The album combines treated vocals and atmospheric drum machines, to "create the story" of Howard's experience. The opening track playfully recalls this experience. The interlude "Total Eclipse" features manipulated language to render the effect.
The album was recorded at Le Manoir de Léon in Léon, Landes, France; and at Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, England.

Release

The lead single from the album, "Couldn't Make It Up", was released on 20 April 2023, with the album announced the same day. A second single "Walking Backwards" was released 19 May 2023. The third single, "Life in the Time", was released on 7 June 2023.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 84, based on 4 reviews.
Stephen Dalton of Uncut commended the album's experimentation and deemed it "gloriously scrambled avant-pop", comparing Howard's vocals to those of Arthur Russell.

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.