Howlin Rain - The Russian Wilds (2012)

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Howlin Rain - The Russian Wilds (2012)

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It’s been a while since I have been really excited about a new release. To those who follow The Soda Shop, it’s no secret that I’m not the biggest fan of the super macho, growled vocals and amps that are turned to 11…all of the time. I love singers who can sing, guitar players with dynamics, and clean sounding records that leave a certain “headspace” that is not so easily achievable with stacks of Marshalls, Ampegs, and vocals that push red on the meter. So when Howlin Rain put their new album up on Rdio.com for a sneak peek, I was a little more than curious. I never like to buy into the hype of a record with a larger than average promotions budget that comes with being on a label like American Records. They usually fall flat (El Camino anyone?). Some of you might remember Howlin Rain’s frontman, Ethan Miller, from the underground psychedelic mindfucker that was Comets on Fire. I can honestly say that Miller’s progression, while completely logical, is a radical departure from the chaotic, free jazz inspired, psychedelic freak outs that were the trademark of Comets on Fire. ’The Russian Wilds’ is a completely organized and well thought out studio performance. If you watch the short film they recently put out to promote the band and the record, this is due in no small part that the album’s producer, RICK FUCKING RUBIN, didn’t want to make the record until the band had rehearsed and toured the material extensively. Good work usually comes with practice and dedication and it is evident here.

I’m guessing the band has a deep collection of classic vinyl. You can hear influences from just about era of music from the 50′s to middle 70′s. The most surprising part of the record is Howlin’ Rains flawless vocal harmonies, which couple incredibly well with Miller’s wild man rock-n-soul vocal stylings. They take off where the post Byrds/Flying Burrito Brothers ‘country rock’ movement bands like Poco and Pure Prairie League left off. While I’m not a fan of those bands, they surely could sing some tight harmonies and Howlin’ Rain definitely took notes. As mentioned in the short film, the record has some really ‘sparse’ instrumentation at times. This is not a bad thing. In fact, it’s an exercise in immaculate taste. In the land of digitally recorded records, it’s really easy to go overboard with the “fuck it, lets do another track” school of thought. Sometimes, the groove just needs to shine through without a million other things going on. It’s what I call breathing space and The Russian Wilds definitely makes that bubble of space happen throughout.

Another thing that caught my attention was the tone of the instruments. It’s been a while since I have heard a modern record that can boast of such tasteful tone wizardry. When the bass is fuzzy, you don’t lose it in the mix. Actually, quite the opposite, which is quite a trick in todays rock market where over-saturation is the name of the game. The same is true with the guitars. Just because you have 13 fuzz/overdrive/distortion pedals in your arsenal doesn’t mean that they have to be on all of the time. Howlin’ Rain gets this and uses them for effect, rather than using them as a technique to mask poor practice habits. The extended jam sections of the songs don’t lose their effect either. Just when you think that these well crafted ‘pop’ rock tunes from a bygone era couldn’t go any further, the bands incredible talent for copping that “thing” that makes a great guitar solo or instrumental passage hit that special place in the brain shines through brilliantly. At a time when I feel that the guitar solo has once again become a generic tool of technical tom-foolery (or more appropriately, pentatonic dumbness) Howlin’ Rain has convinced me that there is still hope for thoughtful musicality and creativity to be applied to the art. It is more than apparent that Miller’s love for jazz has only sharpened the bands ability to hang with the groove and make logical yet surprising harmonies and melodies open up the song instead of closing it down. At times, the record reminds me of a more tasteful, thoughtful take on the sonic space that the first Mars Volta record, coincidentally also produced by Rubin, tried to capture but with less chaos. My thought is more hippy jams, less punk rock fury. These guys could have gone toe to toe with Little Feat, The Grateful Dead, The Allman Bros. Band, and CSN&Y if they would have been born 60 years ago. You can not account enough for good taste and Howlin Rain has succeeded in the venture.

Don’t believe the hype, listen for yourself. If you are looking for doom, gloom, and distortion, this is not the record for you. However, I think anyone who is a fan of musicality, instrumental and vocal prowess, and well thought out composition within classic rock styles should find their favorite listening seat and give this record a spin. I don’t usually rate albums, but I’m giving this record a perfect score of 10/10. Bravo.

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