Henry Fool are an English progressive rock band that use elements of jazz and post-rock in their music.
The core members of the band are Tim Bowness (vocals, guitars) and Stephen Bennett (keyboards, guitar). Other members - at various times - have been Michael Bearpark (guitar), Peter Chilvers (bass guitar, keyboards, guitar), Myke Clifford (saxophones, flute), and drummers Fudge Smith (Pendragon/Steve Hackett Band), Huxflux Nettermalm (Paatos), Andrew Booker, Richard Osbourne and Diego Mancini. The band is named after the Hal Hartley film.
The musicians in the band are generally associated with other projects, most notably Bowness' work as singer of No-Man and Bennett's as keyboard player with LaHost. Other associated projects are Darkroom, Samuel Smiles, Fire Thieves, Improvizone and the Tim Bowness/Peter Chilvers duo.
Henry Fool's music draws on 1970s British progressive rock but with other influences drawn from 1980s art-rock, 1990s post-rock and elsewhere.
The band has released one album to date - 2001's self-titled, Henry Fool. The album received generally positive reviews in the progressive rock press. It was tagged as "highly recommended" by New Horizons [1] and Axiom Of Choice described it as "quite a feat (with) plenty to offer..."[2] Planet Mellotron praised the band for being "that rarest of things, a contemporary UK progressive act who don't want to be Marillion or It Bites" and described Henry Fool itself as a "damn' good album, modern but with traditional touches...wholeheartedly recommended."[3] The Dutch Progressive Rock Pages described the band as "a psychedelic version of Porcupine Tree or Echolyn" and the album as "an album for experienced listeners... complex, jazzy and psychedelic." Noting the slow-burning nature of the music, the DPRP also commented "Somehow, this music is like those French artistic movies. On the one hand you don't like them, on the other hand they grasp your attention and before you know it, you have enjoyed it."[4]
Henry Fool played at the 2002 Whitchurch Festival minus Stephen Bennett and Fudge Smith, with bass player Peter Chilvers doubling on keyboards and Tim Bowness playing more live guitar than planned. The performance went well enough for New Horizons to dub it "a superb and atmospheric set ... a real treat."[5]
A second album (consisting of a double CD) is almost finished.