The Howlers are an up-and-coming indie rock band from London. Their music and style, which they have coined Desert Rock, taps into the iconography of The Wild West and Cowboys.
But underneath the Cowboy showmanship of the band are three lads from a working-class background who use their lyrics to highlight the message of men’s mental health struggles, working class struggles, and familial aspects of being in an indie band. The Howlers may be showmen on the stage, but their lyrics are haunting and tap into the organic storytelling of songwriting.
DARKUS' very own James Reeves sits down with front man Adam Young to find out more.
I've been listening to your music, and I love it! I'm originally from the states, but I live in England, so I really have a special affinity for Americana and Country Music. So I really am fascinated to have discovered you all. So the first thing I wanted to ask was where does the name the Howlers come from in terms of what was the inspiration behind that?
Adam: Like, well, quite originally, it's from a pub in East London. There used to be, where me and Gus used to live, on a council estate in Hoxton. The other side of the estate is Hoxton St. and on at the top, Hoxton St. there's a pub called The Howl at the Moon and we were sat outside that pub one day trying to think of band names. We had a really bad name at that point and we were just like, it's not good man. A few pints in, we were just kind of sat there and we were like, oh, well, what about this? And, you know, that's kind of where it came from. It's not like a great name, but like, no band names is great name until it what it is. You know what I mean? So our name has a bit of a story behind it.
It invokes a bit of wolf symbolism, but it also invokes a lot of crooning symbolism, like and it harkens back to rockabilly and Southern rock.
Adam: Yeah, I think we were just desperate to change our name. And we ended on it. But you know it's not like a new name. There's so many bands over the years that had that name, but it's all about kind of taking it and making it your own! Put it this way, if you Google us, if you Google that name, we are the first thing that comes up !
What I wanted to say is after listening to your music for quite a bit, is that I feel like it transcends genre. In terms of, it's hard to nail down exactly what genre it is, which is a good thing because I think it transcends being boxed into one particular music genre. If you had to classify yourself as a genre, if you wanted to be boxed into a genre What would you classify The Howlers as being?
Adam: If you think, in terms of traditional genres, we're definitely garage rock in the rock. But we've coined the term desert rock. Because there's two ways of looking at it. One, it plays into the iconography of the band that we've been tapping into since day one, playing small venues in in London and just starting out, we were walking out on stage, dressing like how we do now, like cowboys, when you're when you're starting out, you've got to have the balls to do that.
So the genre name from that and sort of the iconography associated with that. But also, the area of London that we started the band in was quickly becoming a bit of a cultural. There's a bit of a cultural wasteland. A lot of venues were closing down, a lot of the scene was dying. So it kind of took on a sub meaning of that. So yeah, we're doing our own thing and we're proud to be doing it.
I feel like you all are on the pulse of something that's been bubbling underneath the UK surface for a while. As a Southern American coming to this country, I feel like you all are on the tapping into something they like call Americana. But I think it's just truly a return to form and a return to storytelling in music. It's more organic in terms of the instruments, in terms of the lyrics, in terms of the way of singing. Musicologists like to call it Americana, but I feel like you all are part of something that is happening in music. In terms of music artists that are returning to the storytelling method of songwriting,
Adam: As a songwriter, our songs are based on our experiences and the stories we have to tell are associated with that. All the pain and trauma that we went through to put that album out and to even write those songs. One of the things that we've always prided ourselves on is authenticity. There's no gimmicks and we are not pretending to be something we're not. When we walk out on that stage, I often get comments that I appear aloof. That's just who I am. I am not a character on stage, that's who I am.
That's what people come to see. Authenticity. We are just working-class lads from the South Coast of the UK. I never really had any ambition to be on the stage, but it was just something that called to us. On stage, I'm trying to get in the zone. And I think, like the storytelling aspect of our music, It only works if it comes from a place that people can connect to.
On your new album, there are songs such as El Dorado and Cowboys don't Cry that completely contain the storytelling element of songwriting and. It's very visual. And it sort of merges the music experience with the visual experience . As you called it, desert rock. But it does invoke this Country-Western type of storytelling. And you all’s song Cowboys Don’t Cry it is not only reinventing the trope of the cowboy and Americana music, but you're also saying something quite profound about men's mental health.
Adam: Yeah! Our whole thing has always been that we're family. We look after each other and being 3 white men in an industry where there's a real shift going on, which is great in terms of exclusivity. But at times you get the bulk of everything and that does have a detrimental effect on your mental health. Men in this country in particular are not very good at opening up and talking about our problem. So my way of dealing with it is to sing about it and write a song about it. If somebody can connect with that and understands our songs and that helps them in that moment, that's all that matters to us. That's all that's really matters to us. Cowboys Don't Cry is based upon family friend who was breaking up with his wife at the time the lyrics of the song actually really connected with him. And that's a beautiful thing to us.
And I think not only does it call into question our treatment of men's mental health issues, but also when you're playing upon the Americana aspect, it really is like a response to songs like Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys, and takes the very masculine archetype of the cowboy and says “it's OK to have feelings and it's OK to cry. There's no weakness in crying".
Adam: You know, there's been many a tears in this band. We come from a working class background, so our families are not stereotypically the type to support that notion of “it’s ok for boys to feel and to cry”. For all three of us, we kind of had to break that stereotype and be like, no, there's no weakness in feeling. It just means that I'm reassessing things we’ll come back stronger. It's been really nice actually to see how our families, in particularly our dads, have reacted to our openness because then they've become more open in themselves.
You are basically saying that music has the power to break the cycle and break the generational chains.
Adam: Yeah, 100% ! Without music as an outlet, I would probably not be as open and honest with myself and ourselves. Music is a way of speaking without actually speaking, and it's a way of understanding and hearing without actually having a conversation.
What does each person in the band contribute in terms of the creative process?
Adam: We're like a three-way Venn diagram. We are all individual characters. There's no unified character in this band. We will have our different influences, we will have different things we listen to, and the little sweet spot in the middle is kind of like where we come together with our sound and our influences. So how our creative process kind of works is that if somebody really has to take the lead and you know as the as the songwriter, that's kind of me, I will, I will write a song. Based on my experiences, and our experiences. Everyone leaves their mark. Everyone in the band contributes equally.
Method wise for you being a singer-songwriter, what comes first? A song title or a rhythm or a tune?
Adam: Yeah, it's a mixture really. Like I've got notes on my phone of words that I've seen on billboards, or I've walked down the street and seen graffiti, or I've been in like a toilet and I have seen graffiti on the wall. So I am inspired by everything! Melody wise, I get inspired by what I hear, or like Noel Gallagher says he believes that there's no such thing as a songwriter, as songs are in the instruments and you're just there to bring it out of the instrument. I’m a big believer in that because every time I get a new guitar or pick up a new guitar, I write something different. So it's in the instrument. I am inspired by everything!
So you're inspired by a plethora things. Words and sounds and experiences, but also things that you just imagine?
Adam: Yeah! One of the things I love doing is listening to random records. We used to go to the record shop and pick a random record. And sometimes they would be beautiful, or horrible. But I was still inspired by them! That's the beauty of music, it is the interpretation of somebody else's work that inspires you.
Who were you inspired by music wise? Who are the greats or even the lesser-known artists that you're inspired by that inspires your songwriting?
Adam: I'm not obsessed with one artist, as I kind of go through these little stages. It's kind of linked to my autism, where I get hyper obsessive about one artist and I will follow them for like 6 months, then I will move onto the next thing. I take a lot of stuff from like Northern Soul and Soul Records particularly. Those R&B and Motown and Soul records that came over in the 50s to the UK and then became like this sort of Northern Soul movement. I am also inspired by diverse genres like 90s hip-hop, a bit of country, and a diverse set of genres and musicians.
So you all have a new album out you're touring to promote this album. What do you hope is in the pipeline for the near future in terms of creativity and your band?
Adam: We're always looking to grow and be better, put another album out, keep touring and selling records, and stay creative. It's all we ever wanted to do. And along the way make a small difference to people's lives. That's all we can really ask for.
And the last question is, I have watched all of The Howlers shows on YouTube. You all connect with the audience and they connect with you. And how does that feel to be a singer-songwriter and a band to have the audience connect with you at the level that they do?
Adam: I think it's all too easy for a band to let that go to their head. And we're just not like that. We're just not built that way. I like having a joke with people on stage and I like when people shout out things. I love it, and I love to play it up! It's just nice to have people engaged and to hear that roar after every song and hear people singing along. It’s great and touching.
We did a little secret show in London back in June, a tiny little venue and I think the venue was like 100 max. But I think like 500 people tried to get in. You could hear people shouting the lyrics back to songs. It was a really sweet moment where we all kind of looked each other on stage and went “what is happening?”. It was a surreal and touching moment. And those moments make it worth being in a band.
Sending our thanks and well wishes to Adam, Guus and Tom. The Howlers debut album WHAT YOU'VE GOT TO LOSE TO WIN IT ALL, is out now on all major platforms. Also make sure you don't miss out on the band's upcoming UK tour.
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Article By James Reeves
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