Howler, hailing from Minneapolis, seem to have all the ingredients for rock stardom. Young, fresh-faced and buzzing with creative tunes, it may well be that this band will still be on the map in the years to come.
"Back of Your Neck", from the album "America Give Up", would be equally at home blasting from speakers on a surf beach as it would be live in a grungy bar in London. The chorus is a little jem, and is in a similar vein to the Kooks. The band's use of guitars is a stand-out for m.e
Howler are just about to kick of a 2012 US tour which should well and truly launch their career. Watch this space.
This latest collection from label Record Kicks is easy on the ear.
If it doesn’t have you dreaming of better days in the snap of a second, there is something wrong with you. This record is an aphrodisiac for the modern workplace.
From "The Young Patter" by the Baker Brothers and "Prophets Bound to Christ" by William Joseph Fowler & the Disciples, DJ Smoove mixes up a storm on record Act II. With the types of sounds that would be at home at a funk club in the funkiest of cities in the funkiest of countries, there is no denying that DJ Smoove is, for want of a better description, a cool cat.
A particularly favourite track of this reviewer is "Rags to Riches" by the Liberators, a fresh afro-funk act hailing from Sydney, Australia. The track is so rich with the sounds of Africa, it is a wonder it was not produced in, ummm, Africa.
The Diplomats of Solid Sound have been on my radar for a while, and so have Lack of Afro. So it does not surprise me that the Lack of Afro remix of the Diplomat’s tune "Give Me One More Chance", is an outright classic.
Similarly to a lot of the new releases from the team at label Record Kicks, this is highly recommended!