{"title":"Rowland S Howard","description":"\u003cp\u003eRowland S. Howard’s music feels like a private transmission from the darker side of post‑punk: a voice that flirts with menace and a guitar tone that can cut like broken glass. That combination—spare, dramatic songwriting wrapped in twisted, reverb-drenched guitar—made his work stand out from peers and still rewards close listening.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBefore solo records anchored his reputation, a teenage Howard wrote “Shivers,” a song that set him apart as a songwriter even within the chaotic energy of The Birthday Party (originally The Boys Next Door). His guitar playing in that group helped define an era of late‑1970s\/early‑1980s Australian post‑punk: noisy and confrontational, but controlled by an unmistakable sense of melody and sly dynamics.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter The Birthday Party dissolved, Howard formed These Immortal Souls and continued to refine a sound built on atmosphere and sorrow. Across both group and solo projects, collaborators like Genevieve McGuckin (keyboards) and figures from the same scene helped shape arrangements that favored mood over flash. Those players and the small ensemble approach kept the focus on songs that felt both bruised and precise.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHoward’s solo work, especially Teenage Snuff Film (1999) and Pop Crimes (2009), displays a rarer intimacy: songs simmering with rueful wit, ragged romance and a guitar that serves as a character rather than mere accompaniment. Pop Crimes, released shortly before his death, is often cited as a late‑career statement—less about volume than about the economy of texture and the sting of a well‑placed chord.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis musical vocabulary drew on rockabilly phrasing, noir-ish pop, and the abrasive aesthetics of post‑punk, which is why his name keeps appearing in conversations about subsequent alternative and gothic-tinged artists. Rather than surface theatrics, Howard’s appeal lies in how composition, tone and lyricism combine to create a persistent emotional charge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor listeners coming from Nick Cave or late‑period post‑punk, Rowland S. Howard offers a more fractured, intimate counterpoint: music that rewards repeated spins and careful attention to the way each guitar line occupies space. That marriage of songwriting and distinctive guitar work is what keeps his recordings interesting and worth exploring today.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"rowland-s-howard-teenage-snuff-film-180g-etched-vinyl-2lp","title":"ROWLAND S HOWARD 'Teenage Snuff Film' 180g Etched Vinyl 2LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eCondition: New\/Sealed\/Mint\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goldmine Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":37613997883550,"sku":"","price":80.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0529\/9434\/3070\/products\/rowlandshowardteenage1.jpg?v=1613798358"},{"product_id":"rowland-s-howard-pop-crimes-vinyl-lp-1","title":"ROWLAND S HOWARD 'Pop Crimes' Vinyl LP","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eCondition: New\/Sealed\/Mint\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goldmine Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47655234765021,"sku":null,"price":55.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0529\/9434\/3070\/files\/rowlandshowardpopcrimes1.jpg?v=1773897141"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.goldminerecords.com.au\/collections\/rowland-s-howard-vinyl.oembed","provider":"GOLDMINE RECORDS PTY. LTD.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}