Melbourne Citysearch.Com

---

Rowland S Howard
Teenage Snuff Film
Reliant/Festival

Rowland S Howard strolls down a melancholic path on his solo record Teenage Snuff Film. The former Birthday Party musician utilises deepish singing and unsophisticated guitars and drums to churn out a drowning pitter-patter of moody Melbourne sounds. She Cried weeps over a simple backdrop of instruments while a vengeful energy takes over on I Burnt Your Clothes. It is here that Howard teases us with morbid distorted guitars. The organ and guitars pace picks up a little in Exit Everything, a song marked by simple crescendos of both instruments and Howard's shadowy vocal licks. Melbourne musician Andrew Entsch, who recently died of a heroin overdose, plays organ on Silver Chain while Bad Seeds musician Mick Harvey lends a hand on bass guitar throughout.

Produced by Lindsay Gravina and recorded at Melbourne's very own institutions of rock, the Birdland and Sing Sing studios, Teenage Snuff Film makes the most of jaded new wave sounds. Howard pulls from a pseudo electro past and wipes this with a sympathetic Gothic touch. Howard also has a go at Billy Idol's White Wedding and he takes the knock-about energy of that '80s hit and amplifies it with whispery vocals and melodic guitars.