Howl (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club album)

Howl is the third studio album by American rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. It was released on August 22, 2005 in the UK, August 23 in the US, and September 21 in Japan. The record was released in the UK and Europe by The Echo Label and by RCA in the US, Australia, Japan, and the rest of the world.

Howl
Studio album by
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
ReleasedAugust 22, 2005
Recorded2005
Studio
  • Sandbox (Los Angeles, CA)
  • The Cobb (Philadelphia, PA)
Genre
Length54:47
Label
ProducerBlack Rebel Motorcycle Club
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club chronology
Take Them On, On Your Own
(2003)		 Howl
(2005)		 Baby 81
(2007)
Singles from Howl
  1. "Shuffle Your Feet"
    Released: July 19, 2005
  2. "Ain't No Easy Way"
    Released: August 15, 2005
  3. "Weight of the World"
    Released: October 18, 2005

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[3]
The Guardian[4]
Los Angeles Times[5]
Mojo[6]
NME7/10[7]
Pitchfork7.0/10[8]
Q[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
SpinB[11]

Many critics noted that Howl took a different direction from earlier BRMC releases.[1] Critics were generally polarised with the album.[12] While most agreed that their 2001 debut was the better of the first two records, and the follow-up had been rushed and lacklustre, opinion of the third offering was not so unified.[12] Many critics saw the album as an innovative departure from the band's homeground, and the record that affirmed them as the "Kings of Cool" once again, while others professed the record dull, and a last-minute attempt at restoring a flagging career by an album of acoustic tracks that should have ended up as b-sides.

The title of the record is a direct reference to Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl".[13]

In an August 2018 issue of NME dedicated to great "lost" or "cult" albums, Howl was selected by Guy Garvey of the band Elbow as his favorite "lost" album.[14]

Singles

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club had claimed that they signed to The Echo Label in order to release more singles from their albums, having only been allowed to release two from their previous album, Take Them On, On Your Own. Despite this, their first single from Howl, album opener "Shuffle Your Feet", was a download-only single, therefore (at the time) not eligible to chart. Following this, they released "Ain't No Easy Way", the most recognizable and popular song from the record. Noticeably after this, the proposed third single from the album, "Weight of the World", never materialized, with only a limited number of copies surfacing, again non-chart eligible.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Peter Hayes and Robert Levon Been.

No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."Shuffle Your Feet"Hayes2:53
2."Howl"Been4:20
3."Devil's Waitin'"Hayes3:50
4."Ain't No Easy Way"Hayes2:36
5."Still Suspicion Holds You Tight"Hayes4:24
6."Fault Line"Hayes2:57
7."Promise"Been4:46
8."Weight of the World"Been3:41
9."Restless Sinner"Hayes3:11
10."Gospel Song"Been4:31
11."Complicated Situation"Hayes2:37
12."Sympathetic Noose"Been4:17
13."The Line" (contains hidden track "Open Invitation" at 5:09)Been/Hayes8:14

The Howl sessions EP

An additional six-song EP was released in 2006 featuring unreleased tracks from the Howl sessions:

  1. "Grind My Bones"
  2. "Mercy"
  3. "Wishing Well"
  4. "Steal a Ride"
  5. "Feel It Now"
  6. "Pretend"

References
  1. "Reviews for Howl by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club". Metacritic. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  2. Sendra, Tim. "Howl – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club". AllMusic. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  3. Brod, Doug (August 19, 2005). "Howl". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  4. Sweeting, Adam (August 19, 2005). "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Howl". The Guardian. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  5. Jollett, Mikel (August 14, 2005). "They're better without the buzz". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  6. "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Howl". Mojo (142): 94. September 2005.
  7. Murison, Krissi (August 24, 2005). "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club : Howl". NME. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  8. Petrusich, Amanda (September 1, 2005). "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Howl". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  9. "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Howl". Q (230): 114. September 2005.
  10. Hoard, Christian (August 25, 2005). "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Howl". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  11. Crain, Zac (September 2005). "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Howl". Spin. 21 (9): 101. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  12. "Critic Reviews: Howl - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club". Metacritic. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  13. "Howl: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club > Product Description". Retrieved August 31, 2011. Turner has said that Howl is intended as a tribute to the city's Beat generation.
  14. Garvey, Guy (August 30, 2018). "100 cult albums to hear before you die, chosen by your favourite rockstars". NME. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
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