Album Review: Rowland S Howard - 'Pop Crimes' (Infectious)

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8 / 10 Sadly banished to semi-obscurity following The Birthday Party’s tumultuous split, history seemed finally to be catching up with Rowland S Howard when he was taken by liver cancer at the end of 2009. Thankfully we’ll always have ‘Pop Crimes’, a brooding piece that sees the post-punk firebrand playing the existential cowboy as beautifully as ever. ‘The Golden Age Of Bloodshed’ is as menacing as electric tumbleweed, while on the title track Howard’s guitar plays shimmering and low. Sour and implacably sexy, it’s a distinguished last will and testament from a man who drank deep from the cup of sorrow and savoured every last drop.

Alex Denney

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