Hailing from Sardinia, King Howl are something unusual. Italy is not the first place that comes to mind when thinking of heavy blues, stoner rock. However, over the last decade, King Howl have established themselves as a band who produce natural, organic music which displays consistently high levels of song writing and understanding of structure.
Homecoming (their third full length album) builds on their established sound percolated through a range of influences including psychedelia and 70s classic rock. The album tells the tale of a youthful protagonist in 1960s America who flees from a quiet and uninspiring rustic homelife and embarks on a train journey. During this time, he encounters compulsion, change and a range of challenges.
Opening track, The Rooster, is an infectious and irresistible song and King Howl’s blues influences are palpable from the outset. Sprightly and energetic guitar and insistent harmonica meld perfectly as the tale unwinds. Lyrically, it dives straight into the action and we are introduced to our central character, his world weariness and his desire for excitement or exhilaration of any kind to relieve the boredom he deals with on a daily basis. Vocalist Diego Pani delivers each line with a persuasive vivaciousness. Like the songs life is on repeat / Put in work and praise the lord for something to eat / Different day with the same song / Waking up to a fucking rooster screaming on.
The effervescent momentum is maintained (the opening three songs all last less than three minutes) during From The Cradle and The Train as our hero continues to question his life to this point and eventually escapes from his monotonous existence and begins his adventure. Running is like dreaming but you’re flowing with it / Watching from a distance that old life I quite / This wagon seems to fly out, I’m kerosene / This train is my new kingdom, I don’t want any king. Boarding the train gives him instant detachment and tremendous, resolute and repetitive drum work by Alessandro Seda elucidates the train rolling ever onwards.
Travel is a recurring theme in King Howl’s music and they draw their inspiration from a range of sources. Several tracks on Homecoming have drawn inspiration from The Never-Open Desert Diner a mysterious noir novel by James Anderson in which a man is on the verge of losing his small trucking company. The single, thirty-eight-year-old truck driver’s route takes him back and forth across one of the most desolate and beautiful regions of the Utah desert. The band distil elements of the narrative through their own, blues-drenched filter and there is an ongoing feeling of spontaneity throughout the album. While King Howl have undoubtedly put much thought into the album, none of it feels overworked and the pace of the journey is wonderfully constructed.
John Henry Days, Motorsound (in deference to the reverberations of a big truck and more classic rock in feel) and Slowly Coming Down steadily bring the pace down. The third of these tracks has a wonderfully meandering slow blues / stoner rock style with a darker, foreboding atmosphere. Marco Antagonista’s guitar wails bring an anguished, tormented pain as our protagonist contemplates his journey thus far. Slowly coming down watch me passing through your eyes / Don’t turn on the light, just let it die.
As this meditation on his current perceptions progresses, there is comparison with the freedom, inducement and temptation that a more uninhibited and expansive life can bring on seventh track Tempted. I was on a leash for most of my old life / Told I had to do nothing to maintain me safe / Years passed by and safe meant only bore / That’s why now I am confident to lose control. Tempted sees a return to quicker pace and vibrantly delivered vocals.
Jupiter (one of the tracks directly drawing inspiration from The Never-Open Desert Diner) opens with elegant bass work by Alessandro Cau and earliest moments of the song bring to mind Peggy Lee’s version of Fever. The back-and-forth of the quieter verses and the spry, agile choruses never let the listener settle and the uneasy feeling that is building continues. During his journey, the traveller observes The Great Blue Heron (a tall waterbird native to North America) on its own migration and he wonders just how in control he really is. Helpless to join the bird, which experiences an even greater level of freedom, he wonders if the bird is observing him too. And it feels like he’s falling / But he’s in control / And I know he’s watching / All my pain from up above. The Great Blue Heron sees the introduction of Hammond Organ (played expertly by Andrea Schirru) to characterise the bird and one of the best guitar solos on the entire album.
Many bands and artists have covered Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones with varying success. The inclusion of this song at this point in the album does not feel forced and captures the thrilling electricity of the original.
King Howl have created a well-balanced, entertaining and hook-laden album. Fans of blues and stoner rock will find much to savour. While at times it harks back to 70s classic rock, it never feels dated and those who enjoy bands such as Clutch, Kyuss, The Black Keys and even The Doors would do well to give this a try and to follow The Great Blue Heron…..
Homecoming is released on 9th June 2023. You can visit King Howl's bandcamp page here:
Written: 3rd June 2023
Watch the videos for Motorsound and Home below.
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