Review: Howlin' Threads - Of The Sea EP (Meinshaft Records, 2022)

 

Born after experience in various bands, the most important of which was that of The Fools, chosen by Radio Birdman as a backing band for their Australian concerts, at the time of the first reunion that led to the release of the album "Ritualism" (Crying Sun, 1996), Howlin' Threads settled into a trio line-up with Dylan Webster on guitar, Matt Houston on bass and Adam Fermo on drums.

Since their self-titled debut EP and single 'Edge Of The World', both released in 2020, the trio have made it clear that they draw on the best tradition of Australian rock born on that Detroit-Sidney axis that we have all come to love on the records of Radio Birdman, The Celibate Rifles, The Saints, The New Christs, Deniz Tek, The Stooges, MC5, and the great Sonic's Rendezvous Band of Scott Morgan and Fred 'Sonic' Smith.

It's all about Webster's excellent songwriting, which is confirmed in these four new songs that each boast prestigious guests. Starting with Penny Ikinger (Sacred Cowbys/Wet Taxis) chosen as lead or backing vocalist, as the case may be, on all the tracks on the record which, according to Webster in a recent interview, "...really took a different and much better course than I could have planned".

The Ep opens with the enveloping blues rock of "Gotta Get", rich in saturated guitars, then chiselled by the slide guitar and harmonica parts played by James McCann of Harpoon, a little-known aussie band, at that time in our country, aussie band who played in the mid-1990s. (only one ep and one album to their credit), which perfectly convey the mood of the record.

The title track "Of The Sea" is pure mid-eighties Sidney sound, and would fit well in the catalogue of any post-Radio Birdman band, with the superlative presence of Deniz Tek embellishing the track with perfect surf guitar breaks.

The following 'Chain' is a piece of high-energy rock'n'roll where the guitar leads are filled with multiple interventions by Kent Steedman (TheCelbate Rifles) that make the track absolutely superlative.

To close the album on a high note comes "Tick Tock", a rock'n'roll ride in the pure Detroit sound, opened by a Stooges-esque riff that after a while gives way to an immersive mix of piano and Hammond organ played by Brent Williams (The New Christs) and with Penny Ikinger's vocals that make the song practically perfect.

"Of The Sea" is a small summa of the most overwhelming rock born in Sydney in the 80s, which grafts itself onto the proto punk of Detroit in the late 60s, picking up the legacy in the right way without ever giving the feeling of being faced with the spectre of a derivative band. A truly excellent piece of work. 

The record can be purchased on their Bandcamp

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