Rowland S. Howard in Melbourne, 2007. Credit: king51ey flickr

By David Bowden:

Let’s get the history lesson out of the way first. Rowland S. Howard is famous primarily for two things – firstly for writing “Shivers” in the band Boys Next Door, which gave us our first glimpse of a young Nick Cave, but more importantly for his role in the band they grew into – the Birthday Party.

The Birthday Party were chaotic, a wild and brutal post punk force of nature, a bunch of literate, drug-fuelled, ex-private school kids determined to rip up everyone’s conception of what music could be and to dive headlong through society’s shackles, beyond politics, beyond fashion, beyond anyone’s expectations, including probably their own. There was an arrogant cocksure bravery in their attitude which quickly won them legions of fans among those disaffected with punk’s imploded wasteland and briefly they became the darlings of the all-too-fickle British indie music press. Howard’s role in that band was as guitarist. And in his hands the guitar seemed able to destroy buildings, render your mind useless, bury the dead you could not bury yourselves….

So, a quarter of a decade after the Birthday Party’s dissolution, here I am listening to Howard’s latest solo album, “Pop Crimes”. Does it live up to the hyperbole? Well folks, the good news is yes, this is a powerful and compelling release. Where do I start? Maybe with Howard’s persona…..

Being primary songwriter (there are a couple of covers) you get a much stronger sense of his world view than was ever possible from his many collaborative projects. And it’s a revelation. Howard comes across as an intriguing blend of world-weary cynic and romantic, with that oddly puritanical streak you often get in lifelong “outsiders,” with a deliciously rich vein of black humour to bring it all to life. His cavernous voice sounds like it has smoked a forest of cigarettes but conversely has that rare power which comes from a sense of having really lived. I recommend that you do yourself a favour and have a look at Howard’s influences listed on his MySpace site.

OK, so how about the songs..? The opening track “(I Know) A Girl Called Johnny”is a sexy surreal duet with HTRK’s Jonnine Standish flavoured with 60s organ and beat. It’s a good start but by no means the strongest track. Next comes “Shut Me Down,” a deeply romantic melancholy piece and the first taste of the truth of Howard’s telling; you feel the hurt of his loss. Then we have a bass heavy rendition of the Talk Talk classic “Life’s What You Make It”; not quite on a par with the original but better than any of the many cover versions I’ve heard. Following that is the album title track  which is where the record really takes off.

Over a thrusting, propulsive bass, Howard’s guitar sounds positively apocalyptic in its incisive power and scope and then he begins to sing “Are you Stalin’s secret daughter? Did you murder history? Your twin pals genocide and slaughter were born in Calvary,” in all more than 7 minutes of unrelenting disgust with the world, somehow cleansing in its authority. Then we have a dark, dark rendition of the Townes Van Zandt song “Nothin”, an original “Wayward Man” which seems to be at once an apologetic & yet unrepentant acknowledgement of the author’s personal shortcomings, then “Ave Maria” a tender, haunted love song.

However the final track “The Golden Age Of Bloodshed” is my personal favourite. This track is an absolute blinder, bleak, loud, vicious and very funny. Catholic girls with Uzis obsessed with fame? Wives in ejector seats? Its all here in this “worst of all possible worlds on this planet of perpetual sorrow” which Howard pulls off beautifully.

Howard was joined by long time colleague & former Birthday Party/Bad Seed Mick Harvey and JP Shilo. The whole album is loud, clear, beautifully recorded and perfectly paced. If you like your music lightweight, humourless, unchallenging and relentlessly happy, give this one a miss. But if you’re not afraid to stare into the abyss, laughing at the world’s lunacy while opening your heart to the reality of loss as a guitar slices through to cerebral cortex, then acquire yourself a copy of “Pop Crimes” and bathe in it’s magnificent, withering force. It’s in my top 5 for 2009.

Out on Liberation Records.

David is a music writer and producer and has worked in the Australian music industry for many years. Check out his full biography at his site at MySpace.

Tags: album review, australian music, bad seeds, birthday party, liberation records, nick cave, post punk, rowland s. howard