Ben Heyworth’s comeback with Creatures is a quiet success. These three songs shine with thoughtful sadness, warm humor, and gentle musical skill. After being away from music for a while, the Manchester songwriter comes back not as a completely new artist chasing trends, but as a wiser, sharper version of himself.
This is folk music made for city life – or “urban folk,” as Heyworth calls it. City stories and personal thoughts mix with acoustic sounds, playful organs, and art-pop touches. He’s not trying to bring back old folk music. Instead, he’s asking what it means to carry those traditions through the busy streets and waterways of modern Manchester.
The first song “Narrowboat” sets the mood with smooth, slow-moving beauty. Heyworth’s voice feels like an old friend sharing a memory – about the forgotten stories of the city’s canals and its people. The song drifts like a boat through thoughts and quiet watching, gently showing us that beauty doesn’t need to be loud.
“Image of Roads” changes pace but keeps the same feeling. It’s still gentle and full of space, but this time it’s about traveling – or maybe dreaming about it. We don’t know where the journey leads, maybe it’s not even real, but the emotions are true. There’s wanting, confusion, and questions about how much of our memories are just stories we’ve told ourselves too many times.
Then there’s the wonderfully odd “Creature Double Feature”, which gets strange without losing its emotional heart. It’s part show, part self-examination – looking at yourself through a funhouse mirror. “When I look in the mirror, do I recognize myself?” Heyworth asks, and the question hits hard, even as the song dances with carnival energy. It’s the EP’s strangest moment and also its most honest.
Throughout Creatures, you can hear influences from artists like Crowded House, Damon Albarn, and Tori Amos, but they never take over. The influence is there, but the voice is completely his own: gentle, self-aware, and musically rich without showing off. These songs are clearly personal, but they reach far enough to connect with all of us – especially those who’ve wandered through late-night doubts or romanticized their own half-forgotten past.
In a music world often chasing big moments, Creatures stands strong with quiet confidence. It’s not trying to sell you a quick sound bite. It’s inviting you in – to listen, to remember, and maybe to see something of yourself in what you hear.
Listen to Creatures EP below
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