Rowland S. Howard
Still a teenager when he wrote 'Shivers', Rowland S. Howard gave Melbourne's post-punk scene one of its most haunting songs, a deadpan ballad sung by Nick Cave in the Boys Next Door.
In the Birthday Party his guitar was a weapon, all shrieking feedback and serrated twang, and he went on to Crime & the City Solution and These Immortal Souls, whose dark, romantic material made room for his own voice.
His solo albums Teenage Snuff Film and Pop Crimes are bleak, beautiful and deeply personal, and he died in 2009, only months after the second was released.
If you like Rowland S. Howard you should check out: The Birthday Party, Crime & The City Solution, The Boys Next Door, Nick Cave, Einstürzende Neubauten, The Gun Club, Swans, Grinderman, Dirty Three, The Scientists
