Like pizza pies, garage-rock is very hot right now – so hot that the relatively easy-to-make style of music is overstuffed with acts; the trouble is separating the wheat from the chaff, the original from the retread. One hot act is Minneapolis’ Howler, who were recently named #3 in the NME‘s ‘Best New Bands of 2011’. On debut full-length America Give Up, they’re not wholly original or inspired, but are so much fun you won’t really care.
Howler aren’t trying to do anything new or avant-garde with garage on America – they’re no Crystal Stilts (QRO live review). But right from the jangle-garage hepstepper opener “Beach Sluts”, they’re catchy and enjoyable. Also, they don’t stick to just one style of garage, but go from ooh-ooh swing (“Back To the Grave”) & sweet (“Free Drunk”) to darker, harder, and pushier (“Pythagorean Fearem”). Their best is when they’ve got energy – sadder sway “Too Much Blood” is only so-so, but the energetic pressure to “This One’s Different” and cheery catch to “Told You Once” do nothing but hook you.
In the future, Howler will have to expand and/or deepen their sound, but for now, America Give Up is a great slice of enjoyment. And it gives them a shot at a future.
MP3 Stream: “Told You Once“
