Review: Heyward Howkins | Be Frank, Furness

While the year in music from Philadelphia will be best remembered for exceptional indie punk from ex-bandmate twins, the close of 2013 -- the release of Swearin's awesome Surfing Strange notwithstanding -- belongs to two remarkable folk-rock recordings from a different set of former bandmates, the scene veterans John Howkins, who performs under the nom de rock Heyward Howkins, and Joey Sweeney. We hope to deal with the latter's album another day, before the calendar turns over again.

It seems a rare occurrence that the contemporary music fan can sit back and remark with satisfaction at the maturity of a favorite artist or band. Gone are the days where artists had the financial support to work a masterpiece into the middle of their seven-album deal with, well, whoever. But the outmoded label system isn't even the problem. If anything, maturation itself -- and the tendency of the process to dim or extinguish that lightning-in-the-bottle, the je ne sais quoi, the piss, sex and fire of young acts -- tends to fuck up bands in the end. Often artfulness seems to fall by the wayside as songwriters inevitably want to take a shot at communicating more directly and plainly. Maybe certain fans want that from their favorite artists; this reviewer wants none of it, as such a desire seems to diminish or discourage lively abstraction, musical derring-do, vitality, the very rock and/or roll itself. There are exceptions to this, thankfully, and it is with great satisfaction we listen again and again to Heyward Howkins' latest offering, the fanciful and finely appointed sophomore collection Be Frank, Furness.

We're not sure which is more surprising, that the sophomore set from Howkins has come so quickly on the heels of his 2012 collection The Hale & Hearty [review], or that it is so very good. Mr. Howkins heretofore was best known to many as a guitarist in notable turn-of-the-century indie pop outfit The Trouble With Sweeney, which was ably fronted by the aforementioned Mr. Sweeney. But from a musical standpoint, Howkins was all-but-invisible after that combo folded in the mid-oughts. The release of The Hale & Hearty, however, seems to have opened a floodgate of creativity, such that Be Frank, Furness, is an even stronger, more vividly realized collection. On top of which, Howkins routinely posts additional music in the form of demos and oddities to his Soundcloud page. Whatever is fueling the onslaught, we'll take it.

Be Frank, Furness is balanced, pristine, and filled with bright, melodic and deftly composed pop. The productions are lush, with elements including horns and piano arranged around, but not ruled, by Howkins' guitar work. Mannered lyrics evoke images of chronologically remote, fantastical places, and highlight both Howkins' facility as a story-teller and his yen for regional history (the album's title is a play on the name of renowned Victorian Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, and Howkins is a man who traces his ancestry straight back to a signer of The Declaration Of Independence). The lyrics scan like memoirs from The Gilded Age: the last verse of the lush strummer "Sweet Tea Oleander" opens with the line "let's take a rumble seat up to Maine, we'll brush our teeth with champagne." Howkins' lilting voice and precise but occasionally curious diction limn the songs with an other-worldly flavor, even as the rootsy foundations of the songs reinforce a traditional vibration. Tunes like "Nogales" and "Praline Country" bounce with such a lightness they feel like they'll levitate despite their adornment with horns, harmonies, hand percussion and tremelo. Nearly every element -- the tastefully treated, always glistening lead guitars, the horns, the melodica -- convey a lyrical quality, supplying counter-melody and texture in ways that present almost as strongly as (but without overwhelming) Mr. Howkins' limber voice.

Howkins co-released Be Frank, Furness with BITBY last month; he plays a full-band release show in Philadelphia Thursday at Johnny Brenda's. Supporting acts include Needle Points, Christina Nietzsches. Be Frank, Furness is available as a digital download and in a very limited edition of 200 LPs, both of which can be acquired via Howkins' Bandcamp, which can be accessed by clicking through the stream of the album embedded below.

Heyward Howkins: Bandcamp | Internerds | Facebook

Today's Hotness: The Superman Revenge Squad Band, Joey Sweeney, Heyward Howkins

>> The brilliant Ben Parker doesn't owe us a damn thing, of course, but jeepers it is hard to keep up with his various enterprises. Our admittedly weak recollection was Croydon, England-based Mr. Parker had lately been working within the band The Jonbarr Hinge [link] and having his plays produced in various theaters. So imagine our surprise to learn that the assumedly moth-balled Superman Revenge Squad project has over the past year been resuscitated once more, expanded, and rebranded The Superman Revenge Squad Band. The act, which features Parker's brother and former Nosferatu D2 bandmate Adam as well as a host of others, will release via Audio Antihero Oct. 14 a new collection titled There Is Nothing More Frightening Than The Passing Of Time. The eight-song set will be on offer in a limited edition of 140 compact discs, and a promotional track has already made its way to the Internerds. The song is "A Funny Thing You Said," and it is something of a Parker classic, as different versions of the tune were released on Superman Revenge Squad's self-titled 2007 EP (which, actually, we can't prove ever existed -- maybe these were just songs we got off MySpace?) and a bootleg, Live At The Green Dragon, released the same year. While those older iterations of the song were spare and raw, the arrangement of the new version practically bursts with melodic ideas thrumming off of tense accordions and wandering saxophones. In one way it sounds like Parker has gone off the deep end finally, but in another it is pure genius. You may recall we've done things like proclaim Parker England's greatest contemporary lyricist, or characterize him here as "startlingly talented," all of which still holds true. You can pre-order There Is Nothing More Frightening Than The Passing Of Time via SRS's Bandcamp wigwam right here. The official release date for the digital single is Sept. 16, but it is a pay-what-you-like download already at Bandcamp, so why delay? While you're listening, read the rest of this blog post, then read this interview we did with Parker five years ago.



>> In the early days of August we dropped knowledge about the forthcoming solo set coming from Philly indie rock lifer Joey Sweeney. To review, Mr. Sweeney's new collection is titled Long Hair and it will be released this fall by Delaware Water Gap, Penn.-based label La Société Expéditionnaire. We now can add to this knowledge base by sharing with you the first full preview track from Long Hair, a nostalgic, piano-punctuated, mid-tempo ballad called "Kate Moss Hologram." The tune -- which we know will be track two of nine, based on this Facebook post -- kicks off with a tossed-off, funny lift from Elton John (you won't miss it), and its rich reverbs and sway-inducing organ evoke memories of long-gone days at the dusty roller rink in the suburbs. But "Kate Moss Hologram" quickly catches up to a relatively more modern remembrance of watching MTV's "120 Minutes" and wanting to get out of town. The latter sentiment is a fairly universal one for kids, and the former for kids of a certain (approaching middle) age. Sentiment and sentimentality -- fortunately always far shy of schmaltz -- have always played a big role in helping Sweeney land emotional punches with his music. Long-time readers will recall our previous reportage indicating Sweeney previously helmed acts including Barnabys, The Joey Sweeney Rock Band, The Trouble With Sweeney and Arctic Splash. There has still been no release date announced for Long Hair, but we imagine that will be coming along soon. While you sit around waiting, stream the excellent "Kate Moss Hologram" early and often via the Soundcloud embed below. We would be remiss if we did not also mention here Sweeney's former The Trouble With Sweeney bandmate Heyward Howkins, who is preparing the release of a beautifully conceived sophomore set of baroque folk rock titled Be Frank, Furness. While a stream of the record was available for a short amount of time earlier this month, presently the only track publicly available is the gentle pop strummer "Nogales," which we highly recommend to your attention. Howkins' solo debut The Hale & Hearty was issued in June 2012 and we reviewed it right here. Stream the new winner "Nogales" via the second embed below.

Today's Hotness: Joey Sweeney, White Reaper, Sky Larkin

>> Delaware Water Gap, Penn.-based label La Société Expéditionnaire disclosed late last month it will release new music from Philadelphia indie rock legend Joey Sweeney later this year. The label, home also to Clicky Clicky faves Arc In Round, will issue Mr. Sweeney's Long Hair, a collection that was recorded earlier this year with input from multiple producers; a video trailer for the album -- featuring what we suspect is the collection's title track -- is posted atop this item. There is a very nicely produced live video featuring another new song, "When You Say My Name," that you can watch right here. Over the last 20 years Sweeney fronted such notable concerns as Barnabys, The Trouble With Sweeney, The Joey Sweeney Rock Band and, most recently, the bar band Arctic Splash. A show celebrating Sweeney's two decades in rock was held in Philadelphia last fall, and a career-spanning digital compilation Joey Sweeney Your Life Is Calling was released around the same time. The comp is packed with classic jams aplenty, including "Losers From Rodman Street," "Tiny Ships," "My Name Is Rich" and "The Snitch," as well as some newer acoustic tracks recorded with Kurt Heasley on an island in 2010. While we bemoan the absence of brilliant tracks such as "Gargamel," "The Lever" and "Park Slope" from the set, we recommend you make time for the entire jawn, which you can stream via the Bandcamp embed below. No specific date for the release of Long Hair has been made public yet, nor is there a pre-order presently in place, but we'll certainly bring you that news in due time.



>> You will learn just how well your head is bolted on to your body after just the first 10 seconds of Louisville duo White Reaper's new A-side "Conspirator." Basically, if the head-bolting folks did a good job, you'll still have your head after the verse explodes into your ears. The tune's raucous guitar cacophony and infectious, classic UK-style punk energy charge out of the gates and never let up, an impressive feat as the song approaches four minutes in length. The guitar tracks are distorted to the point of crumbling, the spirited drumming bashes holes through the near white-out onslaught, and fronter Anthony Esposito guides the melody with shouty sloganeering. It's gut-level, immediate rock and roll, tougher and grittier than other popular pairs of the contemporary indie era such as Japandroids or England's Playlounge, but just as appealing to the senses. "Conspirator" is backed by the equally energetic, albeit mildly psychedelic B-side "The Cut;" both tunes were recorded in February at Louisville's Tree House Audio. The single is available Monday via Earthbound Records on black or limited-edition, translucent blue vinyl 7" vinyl (although Earthbound's Facebook indicates the single was available in late May if you knew where to look). White Reaper previously released an EP titled White Aura last October, and it is now available as a name-your-price download at Bandcamp right here. White Reaper is planning to release a forthcoming full-length via Karlsruhe, Germany's Red Lounge Records, but there are no other details about the release available presently. Stream "Conspirator" and "The Cut" via the Bandcamp embed below. And, while we're on the subject, we think you will find this video for "Conspirator" quite enjoyable, as it looks like it was both filmed and edited via a shoulder-mount S-VHS camcorder in 1991.



>> Big news last week out of Sky Larkin's camp, as the Leeds-based indie rock quartet announced it will release later this year a new long-layer titled Motto. Wichita Recordings will do the honors in the UK, and the release date is Sept. 16. The new record, Sky Larkin's third and first since 2010's fantastic Kaleide which we wrote about here, is being promoted with a cracking, but brief new single "Loom," which will be released a week prior to the full length. The title track to "Motto" was unveiled in late spring, and you can still hear the dense and tense rocker right here. Stream "Loom" via the Soundcloud embed below. Pre-orders for Motto -- which was recorded in Seattle with John Goodmanson -- are being taken now; the set is available as a clear vinyl LP in gatefold sleeve with CD, as a CD only, and of course digital download, which includes an as-yet unidentified bonus track. Sky Larkin will tour the UK for two weeks in late September, starting with a London date on the 17th; we advise North Americans to keep their fingers crossed for U.S. dates.