Enigmatic polymath Keaton Henson shared details of his new album Parader. Out 21^st November via Play It Again Sam, the announcement came alongside the release of a sardonic single titled “Insomnia.”

Whereas that last single nodded to Henson beginning to shed the “quiet boy” persona that has defined much of his career – if we’re to omit his myriad efforts composing for film and theatre, an electronic side project, his classical offerings, his illustration and writing work – the new album sees him fully embracing the grunge-infused sounds of his youth. Across the record, the elusive songwriter melds emotional darkness, melancholy, and simmering frustration as he reckons with the hauntings of his past. Lacing fuzzy distortion and surging guitars amongst the confessional vulnerability that has long been a hallmark of his offerings, Henson explains, “I was nervous about being too loud, but then it sort of just came out.”

The new single “Insomnia” expands further on this new direction, entwining aching self-observation with a defiance Keaton terms “musical snark”. Rife with an American heft in its fuzz-laden instrumentation, echoes of his past are creeping into frame. As he sings, “the haunted 7-Eleven’s open all night,” Henson’s timeline is fragmenting, pulling him back more than a decade to the year he lived in California. “I’ll be singing about the fact that I can’t sleep from my bedroom in West Sussex, looking out over the fields, but then there’s a 7-Eleven in the middle of the field,” he explains, recalling insomnia-induced night walks around Los Angeles. The single is accompanied by a stunning animated stop motion video made by Henson himself which reflects the frustration and surrealism that comes with those long nights.

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