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Henry Green is a young electronic musician best known for his stripped-back cover of MGMT’s breakout 2008 hit ‘Electric Feel’. Norwegian superstar DJ and vibe-master Kygo remixed that track and gave Green a signal boost that he has now ridden through to his second album, Half Light, a clean, crisp, and palatable offering of strings and downtempo beats. Bonobo is an obvious influence, while Green’s voice is eerily similar to that of Rhye’s Mike Milosh.
Green produced all of Half Light himself with serious attention to detail. That care comes through on each of the nine songs, which all have a sense of depth and balance that reward repeat listens. Green has evident technical chops – the way he mixes the album’s strings, in particular, lend his music an undeniable elegance. But often his smooth production and dulcet tones leave too little of an impression. You can imagine hearing this in restaurants – not a French bistro but a trendy wine bar – recognising it from your date three weeks ago but not quite placing it. I’ve no doubt many people would have exactly this experience this summer had coronavirus not shut the world down.
Green’s greatest asset is his voice, so it’s ironic that Half Light’s highlight is its instrumental interlude, a lovely piece called ‘Yoyuu’ (a Japanese word for the calm before a big event). ‘Tide’, where Green enjoys strong vocal chemistry with Flying Lotus collaborator Andreya Triana, is another standout. But more often than not, Half Light glides by like melted butter.
