Collections from the Whiteout

The lead single from the album, "What a Day", premiered on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show on 26 January 2021.{{cite web|last=Skinner|first=Tom|title=Ben Howard shares new single 'What A Day' and announces fourth album|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/ben-howard-new-single-album-what-a-day-listen-2865223|work=NME|date=26 January 2021 |access-date=24 March 2021}} A second single "Crowhurst's Meme" was released 2 February 2021.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ben-howard-crowhursts-meme-1122442/|title= Ben Howard Drops Nautical New Single 'Crowhurst's Meme' |magazine=Rolling Stone|date=2 February 2021|access-date=24 March 2021}} The third and fourth singles, "Far Out" and "Follies Fixture" were released on 26 February 2021.{{cite web|url=https://diymag.com/2021/02/26/listen-ben-howard-far-out-follies-fixture|title=Ben Howard shares two new songs 'Far Out' and 'Follies Fixture'|work=DIY|date=26 February 2021|access-date=24 March 2021}} The fifth single, "Sorry Kid" premiered on Annie Mac’s show on 22 March 2021.{{cite web|title=Ben Howard Shares Melodic New Single 'Sorry Kid'|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/ben-howard-sorry-kid-single/|date=22 March 2021|access-date=24 March 2021}}

{{Album ratings

| ADM = 7.2/10{{cite web |url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/12796/Ben-Howard-Collections-From-The-Whiteout.aspx |title=Collections From The Whiteout by Ben Howard reviews |publisher=AnyDecentMusic? |accessdate=23 August 2021}}

| MC = 69/100

| rev1 = The AU Review

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|title=Album of the Week: Ben Howard's Collections From the Whiteout is a surprising return to form|url=https://www.theaureview.com/music/album-of-the-week-ben-howards-collections-from-the-whiteout-is-a-surprising-return-to-form/|work=The AU Review|last=Marshall|first=Dylan|date=25 March 2021|access-date=25 March 2021}}

| rev2 = DIY

| rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|last=Lynch|first=Ben|title=Ben Howard - Collections From The Whiteout|url=https://diymag.com/2021/03/25/ben-howard-collections-from-the-whiteout-album-review|website=DIY Magazine|date=25 March 2021 |access-date=25 March 2021}}

| rev3 = The Independent

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|title=Ben Howard – Collections from the Whiteout|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/for-those-i-love-review-david-balfe-death-from-above-b1821320.html|work=The Independent|last=Brodsky|first=Rachel|date=25 March 2021|access-date=25 March 2021}}

| rev4 = The Line of Best Fit

| rev4score = 7/10{{cite web|last=Milross|first= Hayley|title=Ben Howard's fourth album Collections From The Whiteout is a reinvention powered by slick production|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/ben-howard-collections-from-the-whiteout-album-review|date=24 March 2021|access-date=25 March 2021}}

| rev5 = Mojo

| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{Cite magazine |last=Doherty|first=Niall|title=Devon singer-songwriter mesmerises with quiet complexity|magazine=Mojo |edition=April 2021 |page=81}}

| rev6 = NME

| rev6score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|last=Kemp|first=Ella|title= Ben Howard – 'Collections From the Whiteout' review: too many ideas, if anything|date=25 March 2021 |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/ben-howard-collections-from-the-whiteout-review-2908021|publisher=NME|access-date=25 March 2021}}

| rev7 = Pitchfork

| rev7score = 6.9/10{{cite web|last=Jocelyn|first=Hannah|title= Ben Howard – 'Collections From the Whiteout'|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/ben-howard-collections-from-the-whiteout/|website=Pitchfork|access-date=26 March 2021}}

| rev8 = Uncut

| rev8score = 5/10{{Cite magazine |last=Price|first=Andrew|title=A disorienting stew of experimental folk yields meagre sustenance|magazine=Uncut |edition=April 2021 |page=30}}

}}

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.{{cite web |title=Reviews for Collections from the Whiteout by Ben Howard |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/collections-from-the-whiteout/ben-howard|website=Metacritic |access-date=25 March 2021}} 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."{{Cite web |date=2021-03-25 |title=Ben Howard - Collections From The Whiteout |url=https://diymag.com/review/album/ben-howard-collections-from-the-whiteout-album-review |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=DIY |language=en}} 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."{{Cite web |date=2021-03-25 |title=Album reviews: Ben Howard and serpentwithfeet |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/for-those-i-love-review-david-balfe-death-from-above-b1821320.html |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=The Independent |language=en}} 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."{{Cite web |title=Ben Howard: Collections From the Whiteout |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/ben-howard-collections-from-the-whiteout/ |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}

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."{{Cite web |last=Murphy |first=John |date=2021-03-26 |title=Ben Howard - Collections From The Whiteout {{!}} Album Reviews |url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/ben-howard-collections-from-the-whiteout |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=musicOMH |language=en-GB}} 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."{{Cite web |date=2021-05-17 |title=Ben Howard: Collections from the Whiteout {{!}} Album Review |url=https://www.popmatters.com/ben-howard-collections-whiteout-review |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=PopMatters |language=en-US}}

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).{{cite web|url=https://www.musicweek.com/labels/read/island-s-louis-bloom-on-ben-howard-s-truly-exceptional-no-1-album-campaign/082972|title=Island's Louis Bloom on Ben Howard's 'truly exceptional' No.1 album campaign|access-date=3 April 2021}} Unusually for a number one album, it recorded no other weeks in the chart.

{{Track listing

| headline = Collections from the Whiteout track listing

| title1 = Follies Fixture

| writer1 = Ben Howard

| length1 = 3:59

| title2 = What a Day

| writer2 = {{hlist|Howard|Aaron Dessner}}

| length2 = 5:15

| title3 = Crowhurst's Meme

| writer3 = {{hlist|Howard|Yussef Dayes}}

| length3 = 3:44

| title4 = Finders Keepers

| writer4 = {{hlist|Howard|Dessner}}

| length4 = 2:49

| title5 = Far Out

| writer5 = {{hlist|Howard|Dessner}}

| length5 = 4:18

| title6 = Rookery

| writer6 = Howard

| length6 = 2:31

| title7 = You Have Your Way

| writer7 = Howard

| length7 = 4:25

| title8 = Sage That She Was Burning

| writer8 = {{hlist|Howard|Dessner|Dayes}}

| length8 = 4:17

| title9 = Sorry Kid

| writer9 = {{hlist|Howard|Dessner}}

| length9 = 4:59

| title10 = Unfurling

| writer10 = {{hlist|Howard|Dessner}}

| length10 = 3:40

| title11 = Metaphysical Cantations

| writer11 = {{hlist|Howard|Dessner}}

| length11 = 4:21

| title12 = Make Arrangements

| writer12 = {{hlist|Howard|Dessner}}

| length12 = 4:25

| title13 = The Strange Last Flight of Richard Russell

| writer13 = {{hlist|Howard|Dessner|Dayes}}

| length13 = 4:23

| title14 = Buzzard

| writer14 = Howard

| length14 = 0:55

| total_length = 54:01

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Vinyl extra tracks

| title15 = Rumble Strip

| length15 = 3:00

| title16 = London Portrait

| length16 = 2:29

}}

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

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Musicians

• Ben Howard – primary artist, guitar, producer
• Aaron Dessner – producer, guitar, piano
• Mickey Smith – acoustic guitar, dulcimer
• Nat Wason – electric guitar
• Richard Thomas – keyboard, synthesizer
• Ryan Olson – sound effects
• Rob Moose – viola, violin
• James Krivchenia – drums, percussion
• Yussef Dayes – drums
• Kate Stables – vocals
• Thomas Bartlett – synthesizer
• India Bourne – cello
• Jason Treuting – drums, percussion
• Kyle Keegan – drums

{{col-2}}

Production

• Jonathan Low – engineer, mixing
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Roddy Bow – artwork

{{col-end}}

{{reflist}}

{{Ben Howard}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2021 albums

Category:Ben Howard albums

Category:Island Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Aaron Dessner