The Howlers

In the organizer's words:

In early 2022, The Howlers were, at least it seemed, at their peak. They had just completed a sold-out tour after recording their debut EP during the lockdowns of 2020. Now the British indie rockers are back with their debut album What You've Got To Lose To Win It All and will be performing in Hamburg (Hebebühne) on March 12, 2025.

"We decided to grow together during the pandemic," says lead singer Adam Young, describing the band's almost apocalyptic experience of shuttling back and forth between their shared accommodation and a rehearsal room. Adam, bassist Guus Ter Braak and their former drummer lived in cramped quarters, eating and sleeping in a small shared apartment and made the record against the precarious backdrop of a live music industry in lockdown turmoil. The result was the band's first EP, which quickly garnered the band attention and a legion of loyal fans, but under the surface, things weren't as smooth as they seemed. Despite their rapid rise, The Howlers, in their then formation, had more to contend with behind the scenes than one would expect from an up-and-coming band.

Guus and Adam, friends and bandmates since they met at university, found their close working relationship challenged from all sides. Creative differences with former band members surfaced, exacerbated by the stress individual band members were under due to personal loss, illness and grief. Adam lost two family members during the pandemic and suffered a series of alarming health emergencies himself, bringing the band's progress to a near standstill. "I had two strokes within two months," says Adam, "mainly because I was carrying everything on my shoulders." These and other stresses almost spelled the end of The Howlers and put the friendship between Adam and Guus to the test.

But then things took a miraculous turn when drummer Tom Triggs came on the scene. Tom had been moving in the same circles as Guus and Adam for a while. When his former band broke up during the pandemic, he was looking for a new project. This seems to be a fateful moment in the band's development. The band's management played Tom some demos of the album. He fell in love with the music and fit into the band "like a round peg in a round hole". The latest version of the band then recorded their Further Down The Line EP, with longtime collaborators and good friends Black Honey both producing and appearing on the record, as a defiant response to the turmoil they had been through.

The song that stood out for Tom was El Dorado, the first single released from their new album with Tom on drums. "The song speaks volumes," says Tom, "it's about finding your way to a better place and taking the journey of ups and downs to get there." The album, whose title What You've Got To Lose To Win It All is taken from one of the lyrics in El Dorado, was recorded in Eastbourne over a period of 8 days, again with the support of Black Honey. The record returns to the genre of desert rock coined by The Howlers themselves, but draws on the diverse individual influences of Adam, Guus and Tom. This fusion of soul, pop, rock and folk results in a driving, cinematic album.

The experience of recording their debut album in those eight days near the beach in Eastbourne was both cathartic and healing for a band that has been through so much both as a collective and as individuals. Adam recalls the last day of recording when they discovered there was a huge fireworks display and bonfire going on in the town. It was pure coincidence that this local event was taking place, but for The Howlers it felt like an important, celebratory moment; watching fireworks together as the perfect cinematic conclusion to recording an album that has dealt with so many emotions and challenges and is a testament to a band that has triumphed against all odds.