The Howl & The Hum are a band apart - charting their own course, writing and singing about the things they want to, staying honest, and connecting with fans in a truly unique way. I had the pleasure of speaking to front man Sam Griffiths and bassist Brad Blackwell ahead of their Revive Live / Music Venue Trust gig at The Soundhouse (a fantastic 200-cap pub style venue) in Leicester on 21st January. Fuelled by a local curry and sitting in a nondescript back room shortly before taking to the stage, the pair seemed relaxed and happy - glad to be on the road again and having the chance to share their music with everyone who came out to hear it.
You're here in Leicester as part of a Revive Live tour - these shows have been great for venues like this, for fans, and for the local support acts who get to play to a guaranteed crowd. What do you get out of it?
Sam: It's bonkers for us because it means we can continue doing the band and go out and sell merch, and that then turns into more rental time for the studio. It all goes into the future and maybe buying another synth for album two! So it's fantastic for us.
This has also been an addition to our debut album tour ... we're finally being able to tour the album, which was snatched from us. The longer we can make our first album tour, the more real it feels. We've got a lot of validation to be made up for, so we're seeping it out of every audience member at every gig we can.
We genuinely feel as grateful as we possibly can to everyone that's coming out, because these are people that have heard the album. It can get pretty existential when you're not touring - you ask yourself, am I doing anything ..? Do I exist if I'm not dancing weirdly on stage ..?
So, there's a second album coming?
Sam: We're working on it. It's a strange position to be in - usually the sophomore album comes after the first album does something. Either it's rubbish and everyone hates it, or it's massive. We're really proud of the album, critically it went down really well and it sold well, but in the scope of how albums sell, not that great because we couldn't tour it. Ours was such a strange situation to release it in, so writing a second album to that, what do we do? Do we write 'Human Contact 2'? Do we write an album about the Covid crisis? Or do we try to encapsulate the future that's been stolen from us in a sense?
So, there's a second album coming?
Sam: We're working on it. It's a strange position to be in - usually the sophomore album comes after the first album does something. Either it's rubbish and everyone hates it, or it's massive. We're really proud of the album, critically it went down really well and it sold well, but in the scope of how albums sell, not that great because we couldn't tour it. Ours was such a strange situation to release it in, so writing a second album to that, what do we do? Do we write 'Human Contact 2'? Do we write an album about the Covid crisis? Or do we try to encapsulate the future that's been stolen from us in a sense?
That's what I'm interested in at the moment - that emotional element. A lot of people, even those not involved in the music industry, feel like their futures have been at least altered if not stolen from them and I think that's something incredibly interesting to do with how we're living. Those are the vague ideas that we're taking to the studio at the moment, and I'm sure there's going to be some interesting sounds that accompany those. If anything, this tour's a bit of a kick up the arse.
Brad: It feels almost like a start in a way - we all get back together, and play as the four of us again.
Sam: Yeah. It hasn't always been the case, but this time we actually love spending time together in the van - I don't think we've ever been that joyous in the van. I don't think we've all got on this well for this length of time. It's a very good place to be as a band.
Brad: The Covid scenario of stopping everything, changing everything, then coming back to everything new - as bad as some of those situations have been - has reset some things in a good way, maybe a healthy way.
Sam: There were a lot of negative feelings following the album. There were other bands who put out albums during lockdown that did stratospherically well. So we were asking, is there anything we can do better, is there a way we can tour this, what have we done wrong, should we even carry on? Maybe we should become butchers. But pressing the default button then, we realised: actually no, we've put a lot of work into this and we've got a lot more to say. If anything, we've probably got more to say because we ourselves can reflect on what the first album did and said, and then follow that up with a sophomore effort.
I think it's super important to talk about what we all go through, and I'm as flawed in that as anyone. A lot of those songs are directly entirely to me - I'm talking to myself when I say 'I think we should talk', and at the same time it's me trying to talk to other people. We can give all the advice we want but it's still difficult to fix ourselves, and I hope the song still sails around that idea.
It's a difficult time - but the song was actually written before all this.
Brad: It's been around for a while, but every time we tried to record it, it felt like it was captured in a bit of an awkward way. It didn't make sense.
Sam: And then it just sort of came together at the right time. We'd all been isolated, and Brad was taking some time off, then we wrote the ending when we were in the studio and it came together. I think it worked and gave the song a sense of finality because it found its place. It never felt right until it did.
Brad: That song could have gone on the album - it was around in its earlier versions - but it never quite sat there. I think it's good that it's just this standalone piece.
Sam: It's not a part of the second album, either. It stands alone, but it sort of ties up a few themes, and we're proud of it. We're proud of the sound of it and the video.
Speaking of the video - it was filmed in South Wales?
Sam: Yes, my family's from Wales, and Matthew Thorne, the director, also has Welsh lineage. His grandad is from Wales although Matthew is Australian, and we were joking that our families knew each other - turns out that they did and lived on streets next to each other. It reminds me of the closeness of Wales - that sense of familiarity, closeness and family - and I think he captured that in the video. Sweeping views, and also hints of Welsh accent, people standing in the butcher's, people standing in the working men's club.
Matthew is naturally unassuming, gentle and empathetic and knows how to talk to people on their level, and as a result he got all that very natural footage. And some of it was filmed just a few doors down from my aunty's house, so it feels a bit like a family portrait to me. It means more to me than to anyone else, and I like that.
Brad: But it works, and it totally translates.
It really does. Thank you both - have a good gig! [Note: They did]
The Howl & The Hum are playing rescheduled dates in Scotland on 12 and 13 April. You can follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well on their own website
Brad: It feels almost like a start in a way - we all get back together, and play as the four of us again.
Sam: Yeah. It hasn't always been the case, but this time we actually love spending time together in the van - I don't think we've ever been that joyous in the van. I don't think we've all got on this well for this length of time. It's a very good place to be as a band.
Brad: The Covid scenario of stopping everything, changing everything, then coming back to everything new - as bad as some of those situations have been - has reset some things in a good way, maybe a healthy way.
Sam: There were a lot of negative feelings following the album. There were other bands who put out albums during lockdown that did stratospherically well. So we were asking, is there anything we can do better, is there a way we can tour this, what have we done wrong, should we even carry on? Maybe we should become butchers. But pressing the default button then, we realised: actually no, we've put a lot of work into this and we've got a lot more to say. If anything, we've probably got more to say because we ourselves can reflect on what the first album did and said, and then follow that up with a sophomore effort.
And how's the tour been so far?
Sam: It's been amazing! We were expecting to treat it as, sort of a series of rehearsals filled by men with their dogs and no one else really, but every gig has been full. Singalongs, everybody having a good time, and willing to enjoy a space like this while we can. It was very much on tenterhooks as to whether or not it was going to happen, and the fact that it's going ahead with so much gusto and people are genuinely showing up to appreciate the music. The atmosphere has been really great.
It's a shame the Scottish dates had to be cancelled ...
Sam: Yes, but they have been rescheduled. We're really keen to go out and play this year without intruding on writing the second album, but we're going to try and play a few more dates up in Scotland because it's one of our favourite places to play - our first ever tour was the Scottish Highlands.
Can we talk a bit about Thumbs Up, and the messages on that? I really love the song, and I particularly like the imagery in it - the movie references are so clear and compelling. But what was the process of writing that song?
Sam: Thanks. Yes so the 'thumbs up' lyric came from my ex-girlfriend's David Shrigley tote bag, and the Terminator thing is a thing that's always been in the back of my head. I don't think I'd seen the film anytime that recently - it's one of those things where if it had happened 10 seconds later in the day, that lyric wouldn't have come to me. I love pop culture references, and I think if we went into any higher-brow reference than that, we'd start to feel uncomfortable. And it said exactly what I wanted it to say.
So it kind of flowed from that first reference?
Sam: As soon as the Terminator arrived, everything fell into place! The fact those images are sort in a general cultural consciousness means that hopefully I can pick those out and people will know what I'm saying while being able to tell basically a completely separate story, and then link in and out of those other references, like Bruce Willis and Predator 2.
I was imagining these were films the band like to sit around and watch ...
Sam: I don't know if we've sat down and watched the Terminator together - yet.
Brad: We should!
Sam: Definitely. We recorded 'Sweet Fading Silver' to Jurassic Park. To get us in the mood, our producer projected the film over the top of us. I think it helped - it gave the song a vibe, it gave us a sense of performance.
In terms of telling the other separate story - the theme of toxic masculinity - what was the motivation for wanting to talk about that?
Sam: There were a lot of articles at the time trying to open the openness of men, and masculinity. I went to an all boys school and it was a very strange experience. It was full of young men who had a lot of problems and were never able to talk about it. I've lost friends to suicide - too many people that went to my school have died ... and that affected me as a person and innately as a songwriter.
Sam: It's been amazing! We were expecting to treat it as, sort of a series of rehearsals filled by men with their dogs and no one else really, but every gig has been full. Singalongs, everybody having a good time, and willing to enjoy a space like this while we can. It was very much on tenterhooks as to whether or not it was going to happen, and the fact that it's going ahead with so much gusto and people are genuinely showing up to appreciate the music. The atmosphere has been really great.
It's a shame the Scottish dates had to be cancelled ...
Sam: Yes, but they have been rescheduled. We're really keen to go out and play this year without intruding on writing the second album, but we're going to try and play a few more dates up in Scotland because it's one of our favourite places to play - our first ever tour was the Scottish Highlands.
Can we talk a bit about Thumbs Up, and the messages on that? I really love the song, and I particularly like the imagery in it - the movie references are so clear and compelling. But what was the process of writing that song?
Sam: Thanks. Yes so the 'thumbs up' lyric came from my ex-girlfriend's David Shrigley tote bag, and the Terminator thing is a thing that's always been in the back of my head. I don't think I'd seen the film anytime that recently - it's one of those things where if it had happened 10 seconds later in the day, that lyric wouldn't have come to me. I love pop culture references, and I think if we went into any higher-brow reference than that, we'd start to feel uncomfortable. And it said exactly what I wanted it to say.
So it kind of flowed from that first reference?
Sam: As soon as the Terminator arrived, everything fell into place! The fact those images are sort in a general cultural consciousness means that hopefully I can pick those out and people will know what I'm saying while being able to tell basically a completely separate story, and then link in and out of those other references, like Bruce Willis and Predator 2.
I was imagining these were films the band like to sit around and watch ...
Sam: I don't know if we've sat down and watched the Terminator together - yet.
Brad: We should!
Sam: Definitely. We recorded 'Sweet Fading Silver' to Jurassic Park. To get us in the mood, our producer projected the film over the top of us. I think it helped - it gave the song a vibe, it gave us a sense of performance.
In terms of telling the other separate story - the theme of toxic masculinity - what was the motivation for wanting to talk about that?
Sam: There were a lot of articles at the time trying to open the openness of men, and masculinity. I went to an all boys school and it was a very strange experience. It was full of young men who had a lot of problems and were never able to talk about it. I've lost friends to suicide - too many people that went to my school have died ... and that affected me as a person and innately as a songwriter.
It's a difficult time - but the song was actually written before all this.
Brad: It's been around for a while, but every time we tried to record it, it felt like it was captured in a bit of an awkward way. It didn't make sense.
Sam: And then it just sort of came together at the right time. We'd all been isolated, and Brad was taking some time off, then we wrote the ending when we were in the studio and it came together. I think it worked and gave the song a sense of finality because it found its place. It never felt right until it did.
Brad: That song could have gone on the album - it was around in its earlier versions - but it never quite sat there. I think it's good that it's just this standalone piece.
Sam: It's not a part of the second album, either. It stands alone, but it sort of ties up a few themes, and we're proud of it. We're proud of the sound of it and the video.
Speaking of the video - it was filmed in South Wales?
Sam: Yes, my family's from Wales, and Matthew Thorne, the director, also has Welsh lineage. His grandad is from Wales although Matthew is Australian, and we were joking that our families knew each other - turns out that they did and lived on streets next to each other. It reminds me of the closeness of Wales - that sense of familiarity, closeness and family - and I think he captured that in the video. Sweeping views, and also hints of Welsh accent, people standing in the butcher's, people standing in the working men's club.
Matthew is naturally unassuming, gentle and empathetic and knows how to talk to people on their level, and as a result he got all that very natural footage. And some of it was filmed just a few doors down from my aunty's house, so it feels a bit like a family portrait to me. It means more to me than to anyone else, and I like that.
Brad: But it works, and it totally translates.
It really does. Thank you both - have a good gig! [Note: They did]
The Howl & The Hum are playing rescheduled dates in Scotland on 12 and 13 April. You can follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well on their own website
Watch the Thumbs Up video:
Check out the band's music on Spotify: