Howler – America Give Up

Minnesotan quintet Howler need to cut loose from their influences, or seek out new ones. The debts to The Jesus and Mary Chain's Psychocandy and The Strokes' Is This It are so pervasive on this debut album that they obscure any sense of a band establishing their own sound. Too Much Blood effectively takes the drums from the JAMC's Just Like Honey and adds a layer of Shagri-Las' harmonies, which is fine for nostalgia, if a little implausible in 2012.

America is the most promising track here – the Jim Reid style vocals pitched against choppy rhythms and bludgeoning guitars, providing a genuinely arresting moment on an otherwise uneven record. Frontman Jordan Gatesmith is only 19, and there's enough material on America Give Up to suggest an interesting future for the band, but for now they remain a work in progress. [Simon Fielding]