Send "Howler " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pastemagazine |
 Forget about all the comparisons to The Strokes or the hype-factor that NME and various music blogs have perpetuated. They’re just down to have a good time—or at least with song titles like “Free Drunk” and “Beach Sluts,” it seems like that’s what they want us to think.However, when asked about musical influences behind their band in 2010 by NME, frontman Jordan Gatesmith admitted that they did, in fact, have an agenda behind all their music: “There’s not really been a great rock record, or even a punk record, in ages. I keep hearing a lot of witch house stuff, chillwave, shoegazey keyboards with Casio drums. But not rock, so we wanted to make it dirty rock ‘n’ roll.” Although I’d love to point Gatesmith to a few recent records, since The Strokes now make hip indie music like that mentioned by Gatesmith, what’s the harm in picking up the slack a bit? That was my thought going into America Give Up and with that mindset intact, there’s a lot here to like. The album opens with “Beach Sluts,” a delightful little tune that goes back and forth between some really chill verses that reminded me of songs off Surfer Blood’s 2011 EP and an unexpected high-octane punk-pop chorus that seemingly comes from nowhere. Howler saves the real gems for later on in the album though. “Told You Once” and “Back Of Your Neck” feel like instant singles and are surely catchy enough to stay around all year. In particular, “Back Of Your Neck” features a falsetto hook so memorable and confident that it might as well have been taken right out of an Arcade Fire song....full text |
| Avclub |
| Although the title of Minneapolis quintet Howler’s debut full-length suggests weary resignation, America Give Up practically glows with youthful energy. Frontman and songwriter Jordan Gatesmith hasn’t even turned 20 yet, and America steamrolls through its 32 minutes with a brash and undeniably exhilarating vitality. Howler’s buzz-creating EP from 2011, This One’s Different, created a huge wave of next-big-thingitude in England, where raves from NME led to a tour slot opening for The Vaccines and a deal with legendary U.K. label Rough Trade. Which almost certainly means a backlash is coming in six months or so, but until then (and even afterwards) America has plenty worth enjoying. Comparisons to The Strokes have been flung at Howler repeatedly, enthusiastically, and accurately, though it’s fair to note that Howler reaches deeper into the past for its influences, snaring the good bits of high-energy punk guitar combos like The Jesus & Mary Chain and The Buzzcocks, and ultimately drawing from the old-school rock rebels of the ’50s. Which is ultimately both the most endearing thing about Howler and the precisely defined shape of the space it’s boxed itself into. The surf-punky “Beach Sluts” could be a lost Ramones B-side, both for its rough-edged, infectious garage-rock enthusiasm and its inescapable shallowness. ...full text |
| Pitchfork |
| It may upset folks rooting for Howler that they continuously get compared to the Strokes, but it's not like the band doesn't deserve it. After all, these affable Minnesotans offer the sort of spry and strummy "no bullshit" rock music that made tons of folks spring for the more expensive and less tastefully covered version of Is This It more than 10 years ago. That Howler's transformation from local faves to darlings of the international music press was aided by favorable write-ups in both The New York Times and the NME, as well as the breathless, semi-mythic pursuit of Rough Trade Records-- the storied UK label reportedly flew overseas to sign the band based on its unsolicited demo-- only help strengthen the spiritual bond between these two groups. It also helps (or hurts) that Howler frontman Jordan Gatesmith often offers his thoughts about love and loneliness in the same sort of laconic faux-macho groan that Julian Casablancas should've trademarked. But while Gatesmith, at the ripe age of 19, isn't much younger than Casablancas was when the ink dried on the Strokes' first contract, he's not nearly as comfortable striking the same disaffected poses. If anything, Howler suffer the more Gatesmith resembles Casablancas, partially because he's not pitching the same kind of game. Howler's hearts are firmly affixed on their sleeves, right below a magic-marker version of the Weezer "flying W." When Gatesmith's yawp collides with Howler's more sensitive sentiments-- for example, his shirt-rending complaints about necking on "Wailing (Making Out)"-- it's not a good look. Howler are better off when Gatesmith veers towards flattering another New York City music icon, Joey Ramone (as on "This One's Different"), or simply making sure that he doesn't get too excited. At this point in their ridiculously young career, though, Howler's best look is when Gatesmith isn't on the mic. As mentioned, Howler have got a little Strokes in their music as well, though any semblance of post-punk cool's been swapped out for some truly old-time rock'n'roll vibes. Gatesmith might still be playing catch up with the Rolling Stones (according to this interview with the Minnesota Post), but the group's deployment of Chuck Berry-esque licks and various Spectorian flourishes (including yet another "Be My Baby" drumbeat nod) shows they at least have a cursory knowledge of the classics. They also have a way with dynamics; I wouldn't be surprised if the two-tiered guitar assault essayed on the chorus of "Beach Sluts" was the result of someone wanting to approximate what the 11 on the volume knob would sound like....full text |
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