Steveless/syd Howells - The Happy Man Is A Contented Fool

  by Jamie Rowland

published: 7 / 2 / 2006

Label: Select Label
Format: CD

intro

Challenging and uncompromising, but ultimately rewarding joint album from noise pop experimentalists, Steveless and Syd Howells

A hell of a lot of people will probably think this album is terrible. The latest collaboration from Dan ‘Steveless’ Newman and Syd Howells is a lot more subdued than previous ones, which were...well...violently experimental is the best description I can think of. A collection of improvised tracks, the album is certainly a difficult listen, and not one that is easy to describe. As with previous Steveless/Syd Howells albums, this sounds pretty evil. The record is full of creepy organs, stop-start guitars and irregular, cymbal heavy drumming, with vocals rising in and out of the tracks in an almost nauseating way. It’s a strange listening experience, but I think that is part of what makes ‘The Happy Man…’ so appealing to me – this music is challenging and it’s uncompromising. It dares to be different. What I really like about these records on Howell’s own FuKu records is the way melodies seem to desperately try and crawl their way to the surface of a track, while everything else in the song bludgeons them mercilessly to death. You just don’t see such merciless melody killing in music these days, and I think there’s something wholly refreshing about it. To get yourself a copy of this record, head along to myspace.com/stevelesswithsydhowells

Track Listing:-