Singer-songwriter Keaton Henson makes a return with a new, unrestrained sound on his latest single 'Lazy Magician' featuring Ratboys' Julia Steiner. 'Lazy Magician' is Henson's first work since his 2024 instrumental album Somnambulant Cycles; a complete antithesis to his collection of somber orchestral arrangements. The track sees Henson come out of the musical safe space that has led to him developing the persona of the quiet, reclusive artist throughout his career. But the rock-tinged duet turns this notion on its head. While still retaining a controlled fragility through his vocals and a deprecatory, introspective quality to his lyricism, Steiner brings out a new depth to this with her complementary responses. Their voices weave through one another through subconscious conversation in a way that Henson describes as "...two lonely souls singing next to each other, but sometimes over each other, like we’re so lost in our own self-reflection we’re unaware we’re in a duet.” Henson's knack for composition translates to the instrumental, which amplifies steadily before reaching a crescendo of cutting garage-grunge tones, just in time for the resolution of the final lines during which Steiner and Henson converge: 'I'm an old and failing failing fortune teller/But I can see a future where I'm fine.' Although this more forward-facing soundscape feels progressive, Henson is taking a page out of old books - referencing the music that he listened to in his youth and his early years playing in emo bands, now filtered through the lens of where he stands today. As a multidisciplinary artist, it's difficult to guess where Henson's creativity might lead. But ultimately, 'Lazy Magician' feels like a catalyst towards a reimagined version of Henson, who is now balancing vulnerability with a greater openness to being seen. -Kayla Sandiford