Harry Howard, brother of Rowland S. Howard, also of the legendary These Immortal Souls, Crime & The City Solution, Pink Stainless Tail and involvement with The Birthday Party has released his second record titled “Pretty”. We talked with Harry about his album and here’s what he had to say…
[Photo by David Wadelton]
How did the process of writing “Pretty” differ from the first NDE record and working with These Immortal Souls or Crime & The City Solution?
I wrote a lot of songs immediately after the first LP was released. Partly because I had something there to react to, (which was inspiring) and partly because I was so concerned that it might be completely fucking awful and that I was desperate to improve. That’s said, I really like the debut ~ it’s just my psyche was feeling a trifle exposed. Working with Crime and then TIS were both very distinct experiences. Crime was more democratic than TIS and song ideas were often very sketchy giving me an opportunity to be quite involved in the outcome. In the NDE I find myself in the position Rowland was in in TIS ~ musical director. I don’t arrange the music nearly as closely as Rowland did. I love having the random aspects of the other players contributing things I would never come up with. So I try only to write guiding bass lines occasionally and keep my interference with Eds keyboards to a minimum. Sometimes that’s quite hard and I really have to bite my tongue. In TIS I made up about half of what I played as things were so tightly (and brilliantly) arranged. I would also contribute aspects to arrangements, either by open suggestion or just by the way I would assert my bass lines. Rowland was such an inspiring musician to work with that I was generally very happy to be there . With hindsight I only think more and more of his talent and that I was lucky to be there at all with so many talented types.
You’ve primarily played in Australia; do you plan to branch out to other territories?
Nothing would please us more than to escape Australia shores for a bit and play overseas again. It is very expensive for any band to get out of here, whether to Europe or the States. Trying to organize a short European invasion late next year. I might take one of Rowland’s songs with me, because I can’t take him and I’ll feel very sad there without him.
Who plays on the record and who plays with the live band?
The NDE are Edwina Preston keyboards backing vocals. Edwina is also a writer (The Inheritance of Ivory Hammer, published by UQP) she also led The Moll Flanders Band in Melbourne in the 90′s. Dave and Clare Graney have been highly productive musicians since The Moodists in the 80′s. They play in Dave Graney and the MystLY where Dave sings and guitars and Clare drums and B/V’s.
Is there a lyrical theme on this record or that is different than the first NDE record?
Put briefly the second LP concentrated more on relationships and the first on mortality.
Relationships and less on mortality
Stream the new NDE album here:
Harry Howard and the NDE – “We Cant Decide”
These Immortal Souls – “Marry Me”
Crime & the City Solution – “Six Bells Chime” (from the movie “Wings Of Desire”)