Collections from the Whiteout

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Collections from the Whiteout
Studio album by
Ben Howard
Released26 March 2021
Studio
  • Long Pond, New York
  • La Frette, Paris
  • Devon
GenreIndie Rock, Folktronica[1]
Length54:01
LabelIsland
Producer
Ben Howard chronology
Noonday Dream
(2018) 		Collections from the Whiteout
(2021) 		Is It?
(2023)
Singles from Collections from the Whiteout
  1. "What a Day"
    Released: 26 January 2021
  2. "Crowhurst's Meme"
    Released: 2 February 2021
  3. "Far Out" / "Follies Fixture"
    Released: 26 February 2021
  4. "Sorry Kid"
    Released: 22 March 2021

Collections from the Whiteout is the fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter Ben Howard, released on 26 March 2021.[3][4]

Singles[edit]

The lead single from the album, "What a Day", premiered on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show on 26 January 2021.[2] A second single "Crowhurst's Meme" was released 2 February 2021.[5] The third and fourth singles, "Far Out" and "Follies Fixture" were released on 26 February 2021.[6] The fifth single, "Sorry Kid" premiered on Annie Mac’s show on 22 March 2021.[7]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.2/10[8]
Metacritic69/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
The AU Review[10]
DIY[11]
The Independent[12]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[13]
Mojo[14]
NME[15]
Pitchfork6.9/10[16]
Uncut5/10[17]

The album was met with positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100, the album was scored a 69, which indicates generally favourable reviews.[9] Ben Lynch of DIY Magazine gave the album 4 stars, calling the album "Melancholy, meticulous and achingly grand", elaborating that "His dialling down the traditional guitar/vocal folk and diving deeper into a range of electronics, whether the harsh distortion of ‘Sage That She Was Burning’ or the bright, tactile ‘Metaphysical Cantations’, is a primary deviation here. ‘Follies Fixture’, the opener and a highlight, expresses this newfound path from the onset, its entrancing swirl likely to divide fans while potentially turning a few new heads his way. Make no mistake though, Collections From The Whiteout remains in the truest sense a Ben Howard release."[18] The Independent's Roisin O'Connor and Rachel Brodsky say that "instead of a too-many-cooks situation, which this easily could’ve been, [producer Aaron Dessner] and Howard find cozy nooks for everyone. The singer’s reedy voice is the drawstring that ties it all together."[19] Hannah Jocelyn of Pitchfork gave the album 6.9 out of 10, saying that "Whiteout doesn’t always sound like a revelation, but it allows Howard to open up, letting in new lyrical and musical ideas that complement his own without overwhelming them."[20]

Other reviews were less positive. John Murphy of musicOMH.com gave the album 3 stars, explaining that "there’s certainly a lot to take in on Ben Howard’s fourth album – not all the ideas work in fairness, and there’s a few too many moments which feel like half-sketched ideas. Yet Dessner makes a decent foil for him and for those who have joined Howard on his career journey to date will be more than happy to continue travelling with him."[21] PopMatters' Brice Ezell gave the album 6 out of 10, saying that "if Whiteout is an imperfect album, it is one that also evinces Howard’s refusal to stay in a single musical lane."[22]

Commercial performance[edit]

Collections from the Whiteout spent its first week of release at number one on the UK Albums Chart (with first-week sales of 15,621 copies, including 1,759 from sales-equivalent streams).[23] Unusually for a number one album, it recorded no other weeks in the chart.

Track listing[edit]

Collections from the Whiteout track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Follies Fixture"Ben Howard3:59
2."What a Day"
5:15
3."Crowhurst's Meme"
  • Howard
  • Yussef Dayes
3:44
4."Finders Keepers"
  • Howard
  • Dessner
2:49
5."Far Out"
  • Howard
  • Dessner
4:18
6."Rookery"Howard2:31
7."You Have Your Way"Howard4:25
8."Sage That She Was Burning"
  • Howard
  • Dessner
  • Dayes
4:17
9."Sorry Kid"
  • Howard
  • Dessner
4:59
10."Unfurling"
  • Howard
  • Dessner
3:40
11."Metaphysical Cantations"
  • Howard
  • Dessner
4:21
12."Make Arrangements"
  • Howard
  • Dessner
4:25
13."The Strange Last Flight of Richard Russell"
  • Howard
  • Dessner
  • Dayes
4:23
14."Buzzard"Howard0:55
Total length:54:01
Vinyl extra tracks
No.TitleLength
15."Rumble Strip"3:00
16."London Portrait"2:29

Personnel[edit]

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Collections from the Whiteout
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 14
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25] 78
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[26] 9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 19
Irish Albums (OCC)[28] 17
Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 81
UK Albums (OCC)[31] 1

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Collections from the Whiteout by Ben Howard". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b Skinner, Tom (26 January 2021). "Ben Howard shares new single 'What A Day' and announces fourth album". NME. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Ben Howard announces new album 'Collections From The Whiteout'". DIY. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Collections From The Whiteout: Standard CD". Ben Howard.
  5. ^ "Ben Howard Drops Nautical New Single 'Crowhurst's Meme'". Rolling Stone. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Ben Howard shares two new songs 'Far Out' and 'Follies Fixture'". DIY. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Ben Howard Shares Melodic New Single 'Sorry Kid'". 22 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Collections From The Whiteout by Ben Howard reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Reviews for Collections from the Whiteout by Ben Howard". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  10. ^ Marshall, Dylan (25 March 2021). "Album of the Week: Ben Howard's Collections From the Whiteout is a surprising return to form". The AU Review. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  11. ^ Lynch, Ben (25 March 2021). "Ben Howard - Collections From The Whiteout". DIY Magazine. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  12. ^ Brodsky, Rachel (25 March 2021). "Ben Howard – Collections from the Whiteout". The Independent. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  13. ^ Milross, Hayley (24 March 2021). "Ben Howard's fourth album Collections From The Whiteout is a reinvention powered by slick production". Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  14. ^ Doherty, Niall. "Devon singer-songwriter mesmerises with quiet complexity". Mojo (April 2021 ed.). p. 81.
  15. ^ Kemp, Ella (25 March 2021). "Ben Howard – 'Collections From the Whiteout' review: too many ideas, if anything". NME. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  16. ^ Jocelyn, Hannah. "Ben Howard – 'Collections From the Whiteout'". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  17. ^ Price, Andrew. "A disorienting stew of experimental folk yields meagre sustenance". Uncut (April 2021 ed.). p. 30.
  18. ^ "Ben Howard - Collections From The Whiteout". DIY. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  19. ^ "Album reviews: Ben Howard and serpentwithfeet". The Independent. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  20. ^ "Ben Howard: Collections From the Whiteout". Pitchfork. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  21. ^ Murphy, John (26 March 2021). "Ben Howard - Collections From The Whiteout | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  22. ^ "Ben Howard: Collections from the Whiteout | Album Review". PopMatters. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  23. ^ "Island's Louis Bloom on Ben Howard's 'truly exceptional' No.1 album campaign". Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – Ben Howard – Collections from the Whiteout" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – Ben Howard – Collections from the Whiteout" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  26. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Ben Howard – Collections from the Whiteout" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  27. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Ben Howard – Collections from the Whiteout" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  28. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  30. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Ben Howard – Collections from the Whiteout". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  31. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
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