Bobhowla 14 Track Demo CD

Bobhowla, is essentially 27yr old ‘Sandgrounder’ and troubadour Howard Doupe. Southport born Doupe’s debut has been 5 years in the making. He has enjoyed successful collaborations with a number of musicians (several contributions appear here), yet the album’s genesis, foundation and raison d’etre are moulded and influenced by Doupe’s heartfelt determination to embrace the ‘honourable’ and ‘admirable’ art of songwriting.Doupe freely admits to sharing, with many others, the ubiquitous inspiration following his early experiences of both Nirvana and Oasis. Where he positively differs is in eschewing the overplayed anthem and bombast and relying on his inherent ability to convey his feelings via a collection of songs which have been allowed to simply ‘express themselves’. Doupe’s “compulsion” to create music which “comes from within” is majestically manifested via idioms ranging from blues – flecked alt-country, psychedelic folk to both heart rendering melancholic and uplifting swaggering indie guitar homage’s and point to influences from Ryan Adams, Jeff Klein, Kings of Convenience to Lowgold, Beck and Spiritualized.Doupe’s Bobhowla align the classical acoustic harmonies of Dylan (perfectly portrayed in the hidden track ‘Sing Soul Serenade’), with the more contemporary melodies and story-telling of a McNabb, Fretwell or Rice (‘Last Night’,‘Million $ Man’, ‘Tiptoe’).The diversity of musical soundscapes are underpinned by the mournful yet beautiful coda (‘Forever Close’), its fragility exemplified through layered guitars and it’s angst ridden denouement matched by a succession of soaring, searing, guttural guitars, manic Moon-like drums and a gravel vocal (‘Never Faded Away’) or the U2 meets Mogwai epic instrumental (‘Never The Only One’).Overall, this debut captivates and stirs the listener in equal measure, whether it be with the Drake imbued grief laden (‘Brittle Sticks’) or the psychedelic pop infused La’s Vs Shack sing-a-long of (‘Stick With Your Baby’). Doupe has established a creditable template upon which he should continue to ‘create expansive pieces of music’ from the heart with soul. Words: Steve Williams