* En anglais uniquement
Continuing the lineage of fuzzed-out guitar pop bands that stretches from
the Ramones to
the Strokes and
the Drums, Minneapolis'
Howler is the brainchild of vocalist/guitarist Jordan Gatesmith. Before forming the band, Gatesmith was a fixture of the city's music scene, playing in bands as diverse as Gay Animals' noise-rock to the folky indie pop of Total Babe. However, it wasn't until he wrote what became
Howler's first song, "This One's Different," at age 17 that he felt he was making music that was authentic. Gatesmith continued writing in this vein and hooked up with guitarist Ian Nygaard, bassist France Camp, keyboardist Max Petrek, and drummer Brent Mayes, completing
Howler's full-band lineup. The group released its debut EP, This One's Different, in 2011; that year, a journalist who had interviewed Rough Trade founder Geoff Travis about the 10th anniversary of
the Strokes' debut album
Is This It? sent a copy of
Howler's demo to Travis, who signed them to the label.
Howler continued to earn buzz in the U.K., touring with
the Vaccines and being named one of NME's best new bands of 2011 as well as one of their Top 100 bands of 2012. In January of that year, the band's debut album
America Give Up, was released. Later that year, Camp departed
Howler to work on his own music. As the band began writing songs in earnest for their second album in 2013, they added a new drummer, Rory MacMurdo, to the fold. Working with
America Give Up producer Chris Heidman,
Howler drew inspiration from the Replacements, the Smiths, Hüsker Dü and Thin Lizzy on 2014's eclectic-yet-scrappy World of Joy. ~ Heather Phares