Howl at the Moon
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | SELF
Music
Press
Let the Mainsheet Down, My Love is grim and angular, an interesting new single from Melbourne's Howl at the Moon. They walk a careful line between theatricality and melodrama, with psycho sexual lead vocals and jagged guitar riffs that stalk their way through the song. It works, though. All that wailing and gnashing of teeth makes for one cool single. - Beat Mag- Simone
“Howl at the Moon have been treading the boards around Melbourne for some time in a variety of band and solo line-ups, slowly building a respectable following playing small and medium venues the length and breadth of town. Which is why it’s always fantastic to see such a band take to the stage of venue the size of the East Brunswick Club and for one night, utilise, enjoy, relish and cherish it so profusely. It’s as though the band have been playing in large venues for months (but without the pretension and lethargy of bands who really have) – their sound, stage craft, professionalism and emotion filling the stage with a captivating charm that is hard to ignore, even drawing a few randoms in from the rain to see what’s happening. Singer Katie Scott sings like her life depends on it, visibly drawing heartfelt, genuine emotions from within her depths. Guitarist Matt Storey conjures licks and solos with the greatest of ease, as if they were as simple as something like breathing, yet they are all so perfectly timed and musically complimentary.
Howl at the Moon’s set passes in the blink of an eye and the captivated crowd want more. … For the band it’s back to the normality of playing gigs every other weekend, and for the crowd, band to the incessant rain and damp, humid trams. But for moments like tonight, it’s all worth it.”
- -Inpress Magazine: November 2010
"Howl at the Moon have marshalled the rolling, dead-eye groove of Sonic Youth on Janet Leigh, and other more melodic echoes of 90's rock. Singer Katie Scott stirs the brew with a sultry, pouting voice while the guitars lap and distort around her."
- - Beat Magazine: 24/11/2010
"Howl at the Moon have marshalled the rolling, dead-eye groove of Sonic Youth on Janet Leigh, and other more melodic echoes of 90's rock. Singer Katie Scott stirs the brew with a sultry, pouting voice while the guitars lap and distort around her."
- - Beat Magazine: 24/11/2010
Discography
Squalls - LP- March 2012.
Janet Leigh - Single, Oct 2010.
Wolves and Crows- EP, 2008
Photos
Bio
Howl at the Moon’s LP 'Squalls' is the culmination of five years of stretching and honing their live set in to a succinct but satisfying collection. A Howl at the Moon show will often see crowds stopped in their tracks, absorbed by songs that are played with tireless commitment and passion.
After the release of their debut album to ecstatic reviews and a sold out launch, the band embarked on a national tour supporting Mark Lanegan on his most recent visit to Australia.
Founded in 2005 by principal songwriter Katie Scott (vocals/guitar) and Mark Renall (bass), the current line up has remained since 2007 when Michael Brennan (drums) and Matthew Storey (guitars) were recruited and began working through an extensive back-catalogue of Scott’s unrecorded material.
The nine songs captured on 'Squalls' are in essence a band in the making. With tracking occurring over five days at Northcote’s Soundpark Studios, the band along with engineer and producer Myles Mumford (Lamplight, The Tiger & Me) set out to open up the songs and let the stories and perspectives contained within dictate the scope of the album. The result is as diverse as their live show, with the song-writing being showcased and augmented beautifully by the band’s arrangements.
From an outside perspective, the songs are very much an urban exploration of personal but universal themes – romantic disintegration, violence, self-sabotage. Yet in the face of such stormy weather the album remains truly hopeful.
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