Johnny Flynn - Been Listening

Any music lover’s most likely said these exact words at some stage in their lives: “Why isn’t [band/artist] more well-known? They really should be!” Fans of Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit (to give his band some recognition) would seem to have more right to complain than others.

Over the last two-and-a-bit years, the London nu-folk scene’s picked up more plaudits than you could shake a stick at. Laura Marling picked up a Mercury for ‘Alas I Cannot Swim’, and Noah and the Whale and Mumford and Sons released albums last year, to acclaim and differing degrees of commercial success.

These three have overshadowed the rest to such an extent that they are refusing to budge and allow others to step into the limelight, which is disappointing. ‘Sigh No More’ is good, but the fact that it’s been whored around to within an inch of its life his ensured that many of us who fell from them in the first place have gone off them to various extents. It’ll be interesting to hear that second album, that’s for sure.

In the meantime, what you can do is enjoy ‘Been Listening’, Flynn and band’s second album. It’s not going to sell all that well (though we cannot fathom why; it’s accessible as they come, and quite consistent), certainly not in comparison to the aforementioned acts, but we’re of the opinion that it’s easily the equal of ‘Sigh No More’, and in many areas the better of the two.

An album like this is going to achieve critical acclaim, sure enough, but if ever there was a record that had the potential to be a sleeper hit, it would be ‘Been Listening’. Straight away, Flynn signifies that he’s not afraid to try new things; ‘Kentucky Pill’ has calypso overtones, and there’s a decent amount of brass in there, too. Musically it’s about as far as away from his debut (‘A Larum’) as you can get.

While it would suggest that he’s forsaken his folk roots, it’s misleading, as we are back into familiar territory with ‘Lost and Found’. Expansion and development are the order of the day on this album. Clarinets and muted strings envelop ‘Barnacled Warship’; ‘Sweet William, Part 2’ finds Flynn playing Marcus Mumford and company at their own game.

There are lots of ideas brought to fruition on ‘Been Listening’, but its highlight is the most stripped-back song on the album. The six-minute ‘Amazon Love’ is carried by a simple yet oddly affecting piano part, proving that Flynn’s every bit as comfortable with creating that kind of song as he is, say, writing upbeat, infectious folk-rock like ‘Agnes’. Those two songs sit side-by-side in the tracklisting, and are polar opposities, but provide a brilliant contrast.

With this record, diversity is the name of the game. From the tender balladry of the title track to the sumptuous climax that graces ‘The Prizefighter and the Heiress’, and everything in between, ‘Been Listening’ is a real treat, and rather unexpectedly so: it has staying power to burn, something that certain contemporaries can only dream about for now.