“Station Road” by Ben Holton

Although Ben Holton has released plenty of solo music, most notably as Birds in the Brickwork, he’s never released a proper solo album under his own name. But the upcoming Flowers Made of Light changes all that. Recorded in his childhood home after his father’s death, Flowers Made of Light finds Holton adopting a simpler, more straightforward approach to songwriting that’s largely devoid of his usual post-rock and dream pop embellishments.

Of course, as “Station Road” makes plainly obvious, that doesn’t make the music any less lovely. Holton’s acoustic guitar always remains at the song’s core, and it’s as lovely and pastoral as you’d expect. But Jim Sutton’s (Maurice and the Minors) gentle fretless bass lends the song a softer focus, as do the dreamy synth filigrees that shimmer during the bridge.

Flowers Made of Light will be released by Wayside & Woodland Recordings on September 29, 2025.