Late to the Party: Howling Black Soul - Darkly Infectious Bluesy Tunes from Southend on Sea
Howling Black Soul is a small but mighty three-piece band hailing from Southend on Sea, UK. The band describes their sound as "Free meets Black Sabbath with a 1972 valve amp thrown in for good measure." I'm here to tell you: that's an incredibly accurate description, straight from the horse's mouth.
Howling Black Soul released their self-titled debut album in August 2014, but today, we're talking about their sophomore effort, The Otherside, released in September 2023. While it's excusable to be fashionably late to the party, I absolutely can't believe this delightful little album has been floating around for about 6 months and I'm just now getting wind of it. No worries, we're here to make up for lost time.
The Otherside
The Otherside contains ten super catchy, retro-rock inspired tracks:
1. Spitting Feathers
This song is jaunty, bluesy, and has a foot-stomping beat. Right out of the gate, every aspect of Howling Black Soul's music seems louder to me (must be those valve amps, huh?) and I'm absolutely addicted to it. Vocals, bass, drums, guitar: all loud, but never competing. This gives the music a bit of a retro garage rock feel in addition to its other influences.
2. I'll Be Calling
This is a dark blues rock song that reminds me of the genre's connection to the heavy rock and metal bands both new and old. Black Sabbath, of course, was primarily influenced by blues, putting their own rather macabre spin on it. Needless to say, these architects of doom were a huge influence for Howling Black Soul.
This catchy tune, adorned with the lyrics, "Gonna find you/I'm the devil in your dreams/At night", has a very vengeful tone to it.
3. The Memory of You
The Memory of You was the single released for The Otherside in August 2024. Arguably the most infectious song on the album, it best exemplifies my favorite thing about Howling Black Soul: their ability to make a lament about some dark and painfully relatable subject matter, but deliver it in such an upbeat, freeing way.
Lyrically, this song could either be about a lost love, or perhaps the death of a loved one. Certainly a thought-provoking track that many will empathize with.
4. Force of Nature
This track features spiraling retro rock bass and guitar that provides a nice change of pace after the previous three blues-tinted songs. This riff has a way of getting in your very bones and grabbing hold of you.
5. You're Gonna Miss Me
Another infectious number, this song feels like a sequel or alternate version of The Memory of You in some ways. The latter is more morose; a fresh, raw wound. You're Gonna Miss Me, on the other hand, is what you get after a bit of time has passed, a triumphant proverbial f-you to an ex lover who didn't know what they had til it was gone.
6. Lifeless
Lifeless is another bluesy retro-inspired number that, primarily in the vocal department, reminds me a bit of the Doors, but much darker (obviously).
"All your life
Keeping faith
With all those lies
That sealed your fate
They never speak the truth
And as the elders always
Use to say
Step forth and take."
7. Blown to the Breeze
This is probably the brightest song on the album. The percussion and lighter guitar gives the track an almost beachy vibe. The vocals, for a good portion of Blown to the Breeze, are sung in a much higher register compared to the songs before it, but it's an incredibly good fit here. There are also some nice vocal harmonies here.
8. Profanities
Profanities has rollicking, upbeat, feel-good instrumentals, as well as vocals that remain a bit sunnier as they did on Blown to the Breeze. However, the lyrical subject matter makes it all a tad bit tongue in cheek, and I'm here for it.
9. Follow it Down
My favorite thing about this song is that there are vocal parts that give strong late 70s/early 80s David Bowie vibes peppered among the vocalist's normal tone. This is one of two longer songs that wrap up the album, and it's a bit more progressive in nature. A very fun listen indeed, the end is altogether jammy. Combined with those retro rock vibes, I feel like I should be crowd surfing at a music festival in the early 70s.
10. The Otherside
Vocally and lyrically, the title track feels a bit more serious and sincere in tone. It's more melodic and also utilizes some female backing vocals for variety. The last two songs on this album are quite similar in that they both feel like they're from the same era in music history, with more of a proto-metal influence.
Final Thoughts
There are many songs on The Otherside that are a bit dark and bitter, but they never take on this quality in a catastrophic way that leads to the album feeling one-note or like a buzzkill. Instead, the delivery feels powerfully cathartic, buoyant, and confident. You'll never guess that you're listening to a song about a soured relationship or about straight up haunting someone because you'll be too busy rocking out. I feel like this is a good time to add that, while listening to The Otherside, my foot went from tapping to totally stomping along, if that tells you anything.
That being said, Howling Black Soul isn't a one-trick pony. They've also demonstrated that they can brighten up their music when the time is right, utilizing a variety of techniques to do so. Darkened blues rock is at the forefront here, but there are also plenty of nods to proto metal, classic rock, and even garage rock.
The Otherside begins in a limbo between Free and Black Sabbath, finds a middle ground between The Doors and Bowie, and somehow ends up at Woodstock. How cool is that?
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