London-based desert rockers The Howlers are making waves with their latest heartfelt release, ‘I don’t love you all the time’. Formed in 2018, the band has gone from strength to strength in such little time, receiving critical acclaim from the hottest radio stations and music publications. Firmly established as one of the UK’s best-emerging bands, their aptly named recent single acts as an emotive tale fuelled by their sun-soaked rock attitude. Their distinctive style sets them apart from the rest of the ‘pop-punk’ crowd with their 70’s influences and authentic sound.

With the building and excitement and anticipation for new material from The Howlers, here at CLUNK, we had the fantastic opportunity of chatting to the lads about their upcoming plans and what the last few years have held for them!

Alannah: For our readers who aren’t familiar with your music, who are The Howlers and how did the band come together?

Adam: We are me (Adam, Guitar & Vox), Cam (Pots & Pans) & Guus (The Big Guitar) and We all met whilst studying at University In London, Adam and Guus ended up on the same course and met Cam whilst out in Shepherds Bush.

Alannah: You’ve described your latest single ‘I don’t love you all the time’ as not being a love song – what is the story behind it?

Adam: After I Lost loved ones to Covid-19 in the 2020 global pandemic, we locked ourselves away in a factory in North London factory in an attempt to distract ourselves from what we were all going through, supporting each other by making music, we are very close as a band so we go through everything together like a family.  ‘I Don’t Love You All The Time’ is not only a testament to the band but an ode to the trials and tribulations of love and loss in modern times, an understanding of how to come to terms with falling out of love with someone whilst at the same time also longing to be loved in kind. 

Check the video for the new single ‘I Don’t Love You All The Time’ here:

Alannah: Tell us about your upcoming EP!?

Adam: Someone let the Cat out of the bag a bit too early… The EP is the product of our almost rebirth as a band, when the pandemic all kicked off we took a look at the band and very quickly and honestly decided frankly the songs were not up to scratch it takes a lot to look at your art and admit that you were not quite cutting it, so we tore up the set and started again and the result was about 6 tracks that represent who we are and how far we have come despite all the rubbish we have had to contend with and believe us when we say in our reasonably short career we have had more than our fair share, that’s why the EP title is ‘The Sum of Our Fears’ it pulls together everything we have been through in such a short space of time and we just want to use that to give people a little bit of hope. 

Alannah: What track are you most excited for fans to hear?

Adam: The next 2 singles we are putting out are some of our proudest works not because they have face-melting riffs or glass shattering vocals but because we enjoy playing them together more than anything, songs that you don’t have to think about to play you just feel it and you can feel the energy in the room, there’s nothing quite like that feeling, to look up and see everyone smiling. 

Alannah: Can you tell us about your writing process – what comes first, the lyrics or the instruments?

Adam: Humming or Whistling comes first I shit you not, Adam will mostly bring a demo or some music to our lock-up and we take it apart and build on it from there with everyone really working on every single instrument together, we all play multiple instruments so it’s great to be able to share that experience, but most of the tunes start as something one of us Hums, we don’t write with an idea for a song like we want to write about why apples are green and not blue. It’s subconscious if it feels right then 9/10 it is right and that’s how it comes along, following our instincts.

Alannah: What’s your favourite new release of 2021, or are there any you’re particularly looking forward to?

Adam: The other day I heard a track by Opus Kink – Wild Bill which is a really fun track, Night Beats have been releasing some corkers lately as well but if the Opus Kink Gang are reading they really should be proud of their new single, but to be honest most new releases bore the tits off us and someone needs to speak up and say the Post-punk pony has been flogged to death and beyond, as a band that has been wrongly pegged as sounding like other artists, it’s deflating to see how many bands get away with totally ripping of other artists or just doing the same old Angry rubbish or just dreary nonsense … there is enough hate in the world can’t we all have a bit of hope instead. 

Alannah: What’s the band’s biggest dream?

Adam: To make a difference I guess, were not asking for much just to affect people’s lives in a way that doesn’t add fuel to the ‘Angry at the world & government & life’ fire we all have burning, we just want to give people an escape a chance to forget, leave all the rubbish at the door and just enjoy themselves without being politically or emotionally charged up, there will always be a place for music that makes you feel in deep and meaningful ways but sometimes we all need to come up and take a breath, otherwise, you just drown in the hate.

“We just want to give people an escape a chance to forget, leave all the rubbish at the door and just enjoy themselves without being politically or emotionally charged up“

Adam – The Howlers

Alannah: If you could tour with any artist who would it be?

Adam: I think a band like Black Honey is the ideal support for us, BRMC, Allah Las but then again who wouldn’t want to tour with them all. 

Alannah: What’s your proudest achievement as a band to date?

Adam: Getting knocked down and getting back up again and again and again, there is so many horrendous people in the music industry that it grinds you down but we are a band that has come to surround ourselves with an incredible team of just amazing people from hard work and understanding.. not a bad bone insight. 

Alannah: What does the rest of 2021 hold for The Howlers?

Adam: More records , more recording, some shows what more can you want from a band!

Let us know what you think!