So simple yet deep--the climbing phrases of those first verses, escalating longing and doubt. I know I've written this before but: early Beatles come to mind again. So does some of Brian Wilson's mournful stuff. And if John Cusack ever needs a new song for his boombox in "Say Anything", this would be a great one.

This is without doubt, the most searing, bare-bones expression of grief and regret by Howlie or anyone I can think of. Beware when listening to it! You will cry and check on ALL your friends! We don't know which friend he means but it could be about anyone, any time we let that human compassion slip, however briefly. It brutally nails the random, uncaring way that life strikes us down. Evan's singing here is also the closest to a crying jag that you can get...beautiful as well as heartbreaking.

If Elliot Alderson wrote songs, this could be by him: "Pretty girls; I don't want their hands on me"! This is delightfully short, pretty as it is and again, lo-fi and reminiscent of the Fab 4, but who wants to hail the actions of any girls who could ignore such a heartfelt young man?

This is a seemingly simple melody, with some nice key changes and Evan's distinctive, hypnotic voice...a lovely song to someone who makes him feel better. Nice but short guitar solo. Utterly charming!

I could write a novel about this song--the first of Howlie's published ones I heard and to me, still the most beautiful. The harmonies are like nothing I've ever heard. It's amazing how the lyrics "wrap" around from verse to verse, like the singer's thoughts overflowing, losing some control. I love this song in so many ways!

If lust, as Nabokov wrote, is never quite sure of itself, then love certainly isn't either. This song seems like a tribute to the doubts and fears, especially about oneself, when longing for another. The vocals and rough yet lyrical guitar recall many of John Lennon's songs such as "In My Life" and "Jealous Guy"--wistful, pained and eerily beautiful.

The 3/4 meter lightens the singer's embarrassment at a new and strange interaction, while the bell-like sound gives an almost childish, carousel-like sound to it. I love the "your cat" line especially. I can picture it!

Once you get past some of Howlie's more depressing titles...and not long past, you are guided by a neo-Orpheus into the underworld of memory and wish, searching for his Eurydice(s?) in his own world amidst dreamy, yet sometimes harsh lyrics and instrumentation.