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Howl Griff – The Hum
After the acclaimed Welsh-language debut, Howl Griff speak in tongues with their first English-language album. The Hum is released on November 8th.
Recorded in Cardiff next to a knackers yard for taxis just a goal kick from Ninian Park, the 13 songs cover an astonishing array of musical styles and lyrical subjects.
From the Krautrock opener Bluebirds to the epic closer Lies & Facts – imagine Neil Young fronting Doves – the album displays Howl Griff's ever-eclectic but always interesting musical influences, from the Delgados to Dr Feelgood, Traffic to Teenage Fanclub and Steely Dan to Slade.
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1. Bluebirds
(watch video here)
Krautrock-flavoured opener drives along with the oddly haunting tale of a prisoner plotting a new life beyond bars.
2. Crash & Burn
(watch video here)
The wheels have fallen off the wagon and the world plunges into economic meltdown. As horns blare in a ska-inflected singalong ending, Howl Griff ask: Who's running the show?
3. Devotion
(watch video here)
Supremely jangly singalong, all Rickenbackers and love. And Love, come to think of it.
4. Giving it the Always
(watch video here)
The music: Steely Dan meets Tooting Afrobeat. The lyrics: a neurolinguistic analysis of what makes a song catchy.
5. Back to Normality
(watch video here)
Prepare to be hooked. Huge chorus and coda for an intensely memorable plea for a better future.
6. Unselfish
Calming you down with a plaintive reflection on life's vagaries. That is what we do.
7. Uduhudu
(watch video here)
When your brain breaks, you don't always need a doctor. But Thomas Alva Edison's inventions are always at hand.
8. Hideaway
Meditative reflection on all the atoms in the universe, and a desire to escape them.
9. Jean's Therapy
(watch video here)
Two-minutes-odd of raucous garage punk, with nods to The Cars and Dr Feelgood. Mentions not only opthalmology but also the Zuider Zee.
10. Dark Energy
It's the scientifically inexplicable force that surrounds us. And there's something else within us, too.
11. Sunrise
(watch video here)
Addictive as crystal meth, sunny as a smile from a child. You'll be singing it within seconds.
12. Surreal
(watch video here)
Chirpy Buffalo Springfield music belies a dark lyric about, er, radiation poisoning. As you do.
13. Lies & Facts
The album's closer, featuring a private detective and the shady lady who becomes his obsession. |
