Fresh faced and feisty, the Brighton boys in Howland put on a show to celebrate their new single ‘No Way’. Their set has its bumps along the way, but when combined with the supporting talent and ecstatic energy from these boys, a great evening is to be had by all.

Tonight’s supports come in a variety of stylings and all are solid representations in showing what the upcoming music scene has to offer. SEATS bring a style of dreamy electronica and screamed psychedelia which can only be described as delightfully deranged. Despite the smaller turnout for their set, it is as though the singer were playing to a sold out show to the masses as he frantically throws himself around the stage. SEATS' deliberately sloppy style is a brilliant showcase of musical creativity and whilst it may not appeal to all, the lads act as a great start to the evening.

Next up are Misfires. The band had to make their way down from Swindon for tonight’s show and the journey was certainly not in vain. Their set is the standout of the evening and their tropical, indie-pop vibes make for a listen which certainly gets a fair few moving. Vocalist, Matty, is a brilliant frontman and eloquently fills the spotlight throughout the set, filling the song intervals with witty humour so no silences are left for too long. The guys all play hard, and track ‘Louisiana’ make it clear why they are making waves around the Swindon area. If these guys continue to play more sets like this, I can see their sound almost certainly infecting the Brighton scene too.

Headliners, Howland, enter the stage and initiate things with a flood of energy in the form of ‘Hide’. Frontman Tyler Adams’ non-refined, husky vocals, whilst not the strongest on the scene, do hold a pretty refreshing tone when met with the song’s equally bouncy riffs and his upbeat stage presence makes for a great opening to the set. The band all sound incredibly tight and the track’s strong chorus fills the room nicely enough to get the crowd moving.

My biggest critique tonight doesn't come from the band at all, but a lone individual in attendance. Being a smalltime local band, sure, it’s pretty expected to bring along a group of friends to support your show. To begin with, the jokes and banter shared between the band and audience give an intimate, communal feel, however by the time of the third or fourth track, one ‘friend’ is almost intentionally trying to steal the boy’s spotlight by heckling obnoxious lines which completely distract from the music. Tyler does deal with this to the best of his ability but, in all honesty, this guy’s persisting distractions really took away some of the edge from Howland's night. Maybe next time don’t put him on the guestlist.

Despite this, as the set progresses, Howland's energy only continues to increase and each track feels bigger than the last as each member actively throws themselves around in a manner that catches the eye. As the boys only have two officially released tracks to their name their set is short and sweet, but perhaps a few more numbers would have made the evening feel more complete, as even some of the supporting sets felt longer. As assumed, it is the newly released, ‘No Way’ which ends tonight and does act as a nice closure to the evening. The powerful guitar solos streak through the room and the band all let out their remaining energy in one final climactic blur of sound and movement that the crowd respond to strongly, before exiting the stage in a swift, mysterious fashion.

The music itself tonight has certainly done Howland justice and definitely demonstrated that they are an upcoming talent to keep an eye on over the next few years. I would say that maybe a headline performance should have waited until the guys have at least a few more tracks under their belt but, nonetheless, every band has delivered an extremely solid performance and definitely left their mark on The Hope & Ruin this evening.

Ben Walker
Website: howlandmusic.com
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