Hailing from Southampton, Howland originally formed back in December 2014, labelling themselves as an indie and alternative 4-piece. Four months later, the band played their first major gig supporting Neon Waltz at The Joiners in Southampton, alongside The Costellos to a sold-out crowd.
Howland continued to write and gig together until their original frontman left the band, who was later replaced by talented singer-songwriter and guitarist Tyler Adams. Today, the band is made up of Adams himself, alongside Lee Vincent (guitarist), Tim Beavis (bass and backing vocals) and Ben Roe (drums/percussion) and on Friday 31st July 2015, I got the opportunity to see them at the well established The Enterprise.
I went into the gig with little to no expectations. After all, Howland had only been a band in their current formation since May. In fact, after their set I spoke to the guys and discovered that their first practice in the new line-up was only a few weeks prior to The Enterprise gig. With all of this in mind, I knew that the evening could take a turn for the unexpected. Ultimately, the gig would showcase the band and what they could throw together in such little time.
“What a turnout!” frontman Tyler Adams joked before the band begun their set. It was an obvious reference to the fact that – sadly – the venue was something of half-packed. The Enterprise is a great venue in Camden, but rather annoyingly the main performance area is located upstairs and pretty much hidden away. This meant that unless you had seen Howland promoting the gig online, you’d really have no idea that anything was going on at the intimate Chalk Farm venue.
Despite the low attendance, that didn’t stop Howland from opening their set full of energy with ‘Escape’, an upbeat track that had obvious indie rock influences and sounded like something you’d hear midway through a record from The Strokes. This was followed up with “Waiting For You”, a track that boasted impressive riffs, heavy drums and lyrics full of angst such as “true love waits / and I’m not waiting no more”.
At this point, Howland were already making their impression on me. Their influences were shining through (The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, The Cribs) but they – like many new indie acts usually do – were not limiting themselves to copycat melodies or attempting to clone an existing band. In fact, I was surprised at how refreshing their take on indie and alternative music was and how well they executed this in a live setting.
Next, the band covered ‘If You Wanna’ (The Vaccines) and ‘T-Shirt Weather’ (Circa Waves) which were both just as stellar as the originals. I thought that it was rather fitting that Howland decided to play two tracks so similar to their own style, and frontman Tyler’s vocals suited both tracks without fault. Following this, a catchy Libertines-esque track called ‘Mirrors’ and another by the name of ‘Bruises’, which Adams explained was about a great singer he knew that he helped give the confidence to sing – a nice touch, I thought. At this point, guitarist Lee joked that the band’s set was an example of “how to clear a room by Howland”, making light humour again of the fact that the venue was still something of less than busy. As the band closed with heavier track ‘Callout’ that really gave Tyler Adams a chance to shine, I couldn’t help but feel like the band deserved a bigger time slot at the gig. They were the first of four bands playing The Enterprise so they had just under half an hour, but I really could’ve watched them for a lot longer as I especially was starting to get into their original tracks.
I left the gig feeling like I had truly seen the beginning of something prospectively very big. Howland are one of the first up and coming bands to genuinely get me excited and I was impressed at how well they made the most of what they had at The Enterprise. Each member brings something of value to the group; the songs are catchy with interesting lyrics and very importantly, the band have got a sublime live presence. If they continue to carry on doing what they’re already doing so well, then I’m positive that this is just the start of a potentially very successful Howland.
Howland are supporting Little Comets at The Joiners on 6th August and will be playing on the main stage at Close Up Festival with the likes of Lisbon and Youth Club on 8th August – don’t miss out on the opportunity to see this fresh talent in action.
Words by Megan Wilson
@megzybelle