Aside from a rawk-tastic title and album cover,
the Catheters' third full-length,
Howling...It Grows and Grows!!!, also delivers the band's most consistent set of ferocious garage punk yet. This is not to say that this is a perfect album; as on
Static Delusions and Stone-Still Delays and, to a lesser extent, their self-titled debut,
the Catheters don't care much for subtlety or diversity, even within the confines of their genre. However, even though the bandmembers still like volume and attitude more than melody or hooks, on
Howling...It Grows and Grows!!! they do a better job of creating a sense of ebb and flow between their onslaughts, which are inspired by the usual suspects, including
the Stooges,
Sonics,
MC5, and
Mudhoney. The album's opening tracks, "No Natural Law" and "Reaction," reaffirm that
the Catheters are the most powerful in small doses, but songs like "Ravenous Animal," "Between the Creases," and "We Are So Cold" add some hints of accessibility without taking away from the band's gutsy attack.
Howling...It Grows and Grows!!! also features
the Catheters' most complex song to date, "Red Flags to White." Beginning with a swampy opening that owes as much to
Led Zeppelin as it does to the band's other influences, the track switches to scorching punk and then back again to its heavy beginnings. The intensity and energy get a little too repetitive toward the end of the album, but the returns aren't as diminishing as they have been on
the Catheters' previous work. While they may never be the most tuneful of garage punk bands, on
Howling...It Grows and Grows!!! the Catheters show that they can do more than just bluster. ~ Heather Phares