John Holden - 2024 - Proximity & Chance

(53:49; John Holden)

In 2024 John returned with his fifth album, and while he again used some of the same people from ‘Kintsugi’ (for example Peter Jones, Sally Minnear and Vikram Shankar) we also get some new key players in singer Shaun Holton (two songs), guitarist Luke Machin and flautist John Hackett. As expected, we get wonderful performances, arrangements and lyrics, as John yet again takes us on a journey unexpected. I do need to make mention of Moray Macdonald whose trumpet on “The Man Who Would Be King” is a key element (along with an exceptional performance from Shaun): this is the only track on which he plays and it would have been very easy for John to replace that melody with a synth, but having a real trumpet makes a significant difference. This is actually the longest song on the album at 10:38, perhaps fitting as it is the telling of the story of Alexander the Great, and is wonderfully cinematic and visual in its approach.

There are a few times on this album where rock guitar is more to the fore, and while it is mostly used for emphasis, it seems somewhat out of place and for the first time ever I found myself having some difficulties getting fully inside this release. To put it into context, John has released six albums since 2018, and I have given all the others 10/10 which makes him the most consistently highly rated artist reviewed by me since the heady days of Galahad and Spock’s Beard, yet while there are again some massive highlights there are others where (at least for me) it doesn’t really gel. However, there is no doubt that pieces like the instrumental “A Sense of Place” are a highlight in his canon, delicate and wonderful orchestration and piano which is a delight as it takes us on a gentle journey.

"Burnt Cork and Limelight" is both a massive success and a song which also feels very much out of place for me. This has a wonderful vocal performance from Peter Jones, beautiful underlying piano with sympathetic keyboards, yet it has such a theatrical feel that on one hand it is a masterpiece, yet on other totally at odds with the rest of the album. This is a song which needs to be turned into a full musical in a similar vein to Clive Nolan’s ‘Alchemy’, yet to me here it jars a little with the rest of the material.

That this is a good album is never in doubt, but for the first time I am not sure it is totally essential. However, like all other reviews it is just this writer’s opinion and given that music is subjective you may hear it very differently. All of John’s albums are easily available through Bandcamp and he is one of our most consistent and wonderful songwriters and arrangers who really does sound like no-one else around, writing proper songs where orchestration is embedded as opposed to an afterthought. If you have yet to investigate his material than I urge you to do so at your earliest opportunity, you will not regret it. 

Kev Rowland, January 2026

Links:
https://johnholdenmusic.com/