Tracks:
Beach Sluts
Back to the Grave
This One's Different
America
Too Much Blood
Wailing (Making Out)
Pythagorean Fearem
Told You Once
Back of Your Neck
Free Drunk
Black Lagoon

Performer Notes:

• Three-minute blasts of guitars, drums, bass, and attitude may be among the simplest kinds of songs to make, but they're also some of the hardest to make truly distinctive. The Strokes did it by evoking the heyday of New York's punk and new wave scene, infusing it with emotions that veered from too cool for school to unbridled glee; the Ramones did it by subverting the sounds of '50s and '60s innocence with tales of sniffing glue and being sedated; and the Libertines did it by harking back to the Beatles and the Clash while adding their own debauchery and poetry. Howler obviously hold these sounds and bands in great reverence: they've got the handclaps, the strutting riffs, and the backing vocals in just the right places. Jordan Gatesmith's voice -- which is surprisingly deep for a guy still in his teens when these songs were recorded -- hovers somewhere between a sleepier Julian Casablancas and a less excitable Joey Ramone, and "Wailing (Making Out)"'s impatience and singsong verse melody play like a rewrite of the Strokes' "The Modern Age." There's plenty of fun to be had in the rave-up "Black Lagoon," and songs such as "Beach Sluts" would have freshened up Angles. "Too Much Blood," with its wall-of-sound beats and dreamy melody, hints at untapped depths to the band's sound, as does "Free Drunk," which finds Gatesmith singing in a more natural -- and original -- voice. ~ Heather Phares

Producer: Chris Heidman, Jeff Lorentzen

Format: CD (1 Disc)

Country: USA

Release Date: 17 January, 2012

Label: ROUGH TRADE RECORDS

Dimensions: 13.3 x 1 x 14.6 centimeters (0.06 kg)