Howler - The Next Big Thing

On Monday 30th January, Howler dropped in to the MMU Students Union to do a few acoustic songs before their show later that evening at The Deaf Institute. We were excited about their arrival here at MMU Radio after hearing that they were the album of the week earlier in the month on BBC 6Music and their debut album, 'America Give Up', was given the approval of several publications, including both The Guardian and NME. Unsurprisingly, they are often compared to The Strokes, but their fresh sound is somewhat of a change compared to the gritiness of the latter - it's definitely an unfair comparison to make. When two members of the band, turned up at the Students Union a crowd had eagerly gathered around the stage which stood in the bar area.

Ian Nygaard (left), took a relaxed approach to the short acoustic set whilst frontman, Jordan Gatesmith (right), made an instant rapport with the audience - making jokes about the Abduls fast food chain in Manchester, "who is the Abdul guy? Is he the mayor?" Gatesmith quipped. At first it became evident that a few members of the audience did not know that the band are from Minnesota and a few confused faces appeared when Gatesmith first spoke with an American accent. This was largely amusing and they didn't seem to mind. After some light banter with the crowd they continued to perform 'I Told You Once', the first single from their debut album. A full video of this acoustic performance is available on our youtube channel and at the bottom of this post.

Later at the Deaf Institute, the energy levels were high for the sold out show. It was a 14+ gig, but looking around the average must have been about 30. This might be something to do with their extraordinary response from critics and fellow musicians - at the gig the night before in Sheffield, they were praised by Johnny Marr (of Smiths fame). At a few minutes past nine the band took to the stage and the ever enthusiastic Gatesmith asked the excited audience "do you like to steal things?" before the start of their live set in the Music Hall of the sophisticated Manchester venue. As he later explained, this was a reference to one of the many 'theives operate in this area' signs on the street. The band were also surprised to see so many people out on a Monday night, but then again live music is worth staying out for. The set finished around 40 minutes later with the catchy tune 'Back of your Neck' - I'm sure everyone at the Deaf Institute that night were singing this one all the way back home. In perhaps one of the shortest gigs I have ever been to, Howler's performance was polished yet explosive. The duration couldn't really be helped if you think about it, the band only have their debut album and an EP in their discography - but it still felt like I had witnessed a band that had been touring for years. These young musicians exhibited lots of potential. Fun was had by all.









Words: Zach Roddis
Photo: Alex Bell
Video: Peter Cinnamond