After releasing celebrated debut album “Ark” late last year, Sam Howard aka Halls made a short appearance in the fashion world, modeling for Hedi Slimane in Paris. Now, 12 months later he is back with the first track from his second album, Forelsket.
London-based Halls announces that long-awaited follow-up album “Love to Give” is due in February next year on label No Pain in Pop. Multi-talent Howard claims to have taken a new direction and shifted his musical focus slightly. Whereas “Ark” had an “evocative sound yet an isolationist sentiment”, “Love To Give” is more hopeful and as he says set “in the real world”.
Big parts of the album are recorded in the main hall of a Woolwich theatre which allows some noise from the street outside to be heard on the album. Maybe an attempt to let the “real world” be more than an abstract reference when it comes to the sound. The intro of first preview, Forelsket, lets Howard’s naked vocals be in focus, gradually shifting into an orchestral sound explosion with an abrupt ending. I want to hear more. It is a stunning track and if the album follows the same route, I for one can not wait to hear more.