Howlin' Circus - Run The Wrong Way
Toronto-based alt-rock outfit Howlin’ Circus recently dropped “Run The Wrong Way,” the title track from their forthcoming album, slated to drop March 22.
Howlin' Circus
Born in London, England, Howlin’ Circus made a splash with “When Summer Comes,” a rollicking psychobilly tune. Before long Howlin’ Circus was performing at festivals, such as Strawberry Fields, Newt & Beer Music Festival, and Off The Tracks.
Then history intervened in the form of Brexit. Soon after the Brexit vote, founding member Jafar Sandouk (guitar) left London and arrived in Toronto, where he hooked up with Adam Burnell (drums) and Bryan Swartz (bass). The band worked on fine-tuning their live performances, while working on new material, which resulted in the release of a self-title EP in 2017, earning beau coup airplay in the UK, US, and Canada.
Since then, the band’s live shows have elevated to galvanizing affairs, full of raw energy and excitement. At the same time, Howlin’ Circus began laying down tracks for their debut LP, Run The Wrong Way.
This is one of those songs you can listen to over and over and not get bored out of your mind, probably because of the flow of the harmonics, elusively familiar but simultaneously fresh and reeking of brawny, dirty colors.
With a distinctive sound blending elements of blues, gospel and raunchy garage rock, Howlin’ Circus delivers potent music brimming with visceral energy and tons of momentum.
“Run The Wrong Way” opens on rumbling drums flowing into a guitar-driven melody reminiscent of Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, rife with gleaming guitars and surging textures. The punchy, pulsing rhythm rides the thrumming bass and resounding percussion, infusing the tune with buff impetus.
Sandouk’s voice, rich, rasping, and resonant combines the best of Tom Petty and Springsteen, being both drawling in a lazy kind of way, but ripe with nuanced projection, as if amalgamating punk impudence with skater punk nonchalance on a matrix of mid-Western twang.
This is one of those songs you can listen to over and over and not get bored out of your mind, probably because of the flow of the harmonics, elusively familiar but simultaneously fresh and reeking of brawny, dirty colors.
Howlin’ Circus definitely holds it down on this track. If the rest of the album is this good, then you’re in for a treat.
